To answer the trade main needs, GGTL Laboratories has been developing instruments to improve the gemstones analysis. We focus on matters such as authentication, synthetic discrimination, treatment disclosure and origin determination.
The new D-Tect V2 is available.
During a year of development, we have completely redesigned it, making it more ergonomic, efficient and compact.
Equipped with a new generation of highly sensitive spectrometer, its working speed is almost multiplied by two.
It is equipped with the latest version of our in-house software, Spect-Ident, to which a database is added to provide valuable assistance in sorting colourless melee diamonds. Spect-Ident monitors the collected spectra in real time, and with the help of coloured, luminous or sound signals, it indicates to the technician the 100% natural stones and draws his attention to those that need to be observed more closely.
The D-Tect V2 can analyse diamonds of all shapes and sizes, from Ø 0.4 mm to... 100 ct and more, no limits.
For the vast majority of stones, the analysis is done at room temperature, and the few uncertain stones can be analysed at low temperature (77K, or -196°C) as it is done in modern gemmological laboratories.
In terms of efficiency, its effectiveness is no longer in question; a trained technician can, for example, analyse up to more than 1500 diamonds of Ø 0.8 mm per hour, and even more for larger diameters.
Finally, the D-tect V2 can also be used for Raman scattering spectrometry, which permits the identification of substitutes such as synthetic moissanite, CZ, natural zircon, etc.
As before, the D-Tect is, together with the DFI (Version 3 planned for 2023), the only instrument on the market that gives only two answers for diamonds, "natural" or "synthetic".
No refer to send to a laboratory, therefore less costs and no time wasted.
For more information, please contact us at switzerland [at] ggtl-lab.org (switzerland[at]ggtl-lab[dot]org), we have a demonstration unit in Geneva - Switzerland.
The D-Tect V2 is designed, developed and manufactured in Switzerland, it is sold exclusively by GGTL Laboratories, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Antwerp.
Documentation
Developed in house, the DFI is an extraordinary instrument dedicated to the identification of synthetic diamonds in parcels of colourless (D-Z) diamonds. With the necessary expertise, the DFI can be used for a large range of other analysis for coloured diamonds and coloured stones. The operating principles are the direct simultaneous observation of the luminescence under various UV and laser excitations (several excitation bands from the deep UV all the way to 405 nm), at room or at low temperature (77k) luminescence spectra and finally the Raman spectra. Currently, the DFI is the only instrument (along with the D-Tect, produced by GGTL Laboratories) able to unambiguously identify a natural or synthetic diamond and imitation without any further testing (no “refers”) ever needed. The instrument’s ingenious Spect-Ident software developed by GGTL gives an unexperienced user the possibility to conclude without need of spectral interpretation and enables a significant increase in screening speed. The DFI can be supplied with a single channel or a double channel spectrometer calibrated for absolute irradiance, which both have very high throughput and cooled CCD detectors and hence permit very rapid analysis. The single channel system has a spectral resolution of 1.3 nm while the double channel system has a resolution of about 0.3 to 0.7 nm.
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Our UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer has been specifically designed to analyse any gemstones of all sizes, from 1.0 mm an up, at room and at low temperature (-196°C, liquid nitrogen conditions). The analysis time with this instrument is very fast; single scans takes less than 50 msec, making multi-scan acquisitions very efficient. The instrument can be supplied in various configurations that permit resolutions between 0.3 and 1.2 nm. The instrument is delivered with all accessories needed for low temperature spectroscopy and, upon request, we can supply the accessory for the acquisition of polarized spectra.
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The GGTL Photoluminator Raman/Photoluminescence spectrometer system is specifically built for the analysis of gemstones. Its main application is for low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy of diamond. The system is adjustable with various spectrometers and lasers from 360 to 785 nm, thus allowing solutions for many budgets and uses. The standard Photoluminator system uses three lasers: a 405 nm, a 473 nm, and a 532 nm laser, which can be exchanged in less than one minute without moving the sample that is being analysed.
The sample chamber is sealed against any laser leakage as the lasers can only be operated with a closed sample chamber door; hence the instrument is classified as a class I laser product. A volume of 28x29x32 cm is available inside the chamber where the samples are moved on a motorized XYZ stage with a 50 mm motion in each direction. The stage is set up to work best with the special GGTL low temperature accessory supplied with the system.
The GGTL Photoluminator system can be coupled with a series of different spectrometers via a fibre optic cable. The standard version uses a quadruple-channel spectrometer with thermoelectrically cooled CCD detector that operates over a range of 250 to 1050 nm offering a rather high resolution of 0.30 nm. If even higher throughput is needed, then double or even single channel spectrometers with equally cooled CCD detectors can be supplied; these have a lower resolution of 0.60 nm (double channel) and 1.2 nm (single channel) but have a higher light throughput. If a higher resolution is needed, we can supply a research grade Echelle spectrograph with the GGTL Photoluminator that delivers a (average) very high resolution of 0.05 nm over the range of 350 to 1150 nm. It uses an Andor camera with a thermoelectrically cooled CMOS detector. The acquisition time using such a system is distinctly longer than with the standard spectrometers, thus more complex and requires a trained hand.
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Hard steel (K890, very good toughness and compressive strength), hardened base and pestle.
Traces (in %, ≈): C 0.85, Si 0.55, Mn 0.40, Cr 4.35, Mo 2.80, V 2.10, W 2.55, Co 4.50.
CHF 490.00 + shipping costs.
VAT applicable for shipments within Switzerland
Ordering: switzerland [at] ggtl-lab.org (switzerland[at]ggtl-lab[dot]org)
The Abich mortar allows the pulverisation of most rocks and other mineral materials for the preparation of powders (X-ray diffraction, infrared spectrometry, etc.). This relatively old tool remains useful and convenient. It can be used manually (using inertia of the pestle), or by percussion using a heavy mallet.
Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich (born 1806 in Berlin, died 1886 in Vienna) showed an early interest in geology, thanks to his father, Wilhelm Von Abich, a mining consultant, and his maternal grandfather Martin Klaport (1747 - 1817). Later, as a student of physics and mathematics, Abich was able to attend lectures by several of the great scientists of the 19th century, George Hegel (philosophy), Leopold Ranke (history) and Leopold von Buch (geology), as well as lectures on geography by Carl Ritter and Alexander von Humboldt.
In 1831, after obtaining his university degree, Abich defended a thesis on mineralogy in Latin and studied volcanoes in Italy between 1833 and 1836. From 1841 to 1844, von Abich worked as a professor of geology and mineralogy at the University of Derpt (Tartu) (today in Estonia).
Some references
- Buser M., 1998, Hüte-Konzept versus Endlagerung radioaktiver Abfälle; Argumente, Diskurse und Ausblick, Eidgenössisches Nuklearsicherheitsinspektorat ENSI, Schweitzerische Eidgenossenschaft, 64 p.
- CIPM (1879). Procès-Verbaux du Comité International des Poids et Mesures, 1878, Imp. Gauthier-Villars, Paris, France, 271p. (see pages 166, 167, 169, 170, 217).
- Fremy, E. (Ed.). (1883). Encyclopédie chimique. (No. 71). P. Vicq-Dunod & Cie., 600 p. (see page 9).
- Melik-Adamyan H.H., Khachanov C.V. (2011). Investigations by the German geologist, H. von Abich, in Armenia. INHIGEO Newsletter No. 43, pp 49-52 (Biography).
- Meunier S. (1877). Géologie technologique. Traité des applications de la géologie aux Arts et à l'Industrie. VIII. Trad. Economic Geologie, Durham. J. Rotschild editor, Paris, 344pp (see page 208).