Russia Diamond Miner Alrosa Offers New Tracking Technology

Jul 5, 2021 | Yuliya Fedorinova, Bloomberg
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Russia’s Alrosa PJSC is offering diamond buyers a new laser-marking technology that will allow customers to trace rough stones and polished gems from the mine to the jewelry store. The company applies a so-called nano mark to the atomic structure of the diamond, replicating a process that occurs in stones over millions of years, said Oleg Kovalchuk, a researcher at Alrosa’s institute in Siberia. The physical mark is only visible with a special scanner, and differs from other modern tracing techniques based on keeping a digital copy of the gem, including with blockchain, or laser engraving, which can be polished off, according to Alrosa.