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Know how pure is your gem

Check out if the diamond you bought is a stone or a true gem

Did you know that even the most expensive American cubic zirconium or moissanitte-studded ring you buy in the market is not worth more than five rupees? Did you know what it takes to know if you have bought a real diamond? In an emerging diamond market in India, especially in Delhi, even the diamond jewellers may not know the real test of the gem as they don't have in-house expertise for that.

That's why ImGem Inc, an American gem information company has geared up to make Indian consumers aware of the diamond and its litmus test. The first such awareness campaign was held at Dilli Haat this past week in which Dr. Lalit Aggarwal, chairman and founder ImaGem Inc., and David Atlas, a gemologist and appraiser from Diamond and Gem Laboratories of America provided important information about the gem appraisal.

New technology

Says Aggarwal, "The traditional way of buying a gem is determined by four ingredients; colour, karat, clarity and cut. These are based on proxy. The newest way of gem appraisal is direct measurement of light performance in the diamond. It means how beautifully a stone performs when put to test for three major variants, that is, brilliance, sparkle and intensity." "A beautiful diamond is all about a perfect ratio in these three categories. The best gem is one which gives you a clear idea of how much light, that falls on it comes back from it, the shine in the high performance stone is brilliant and how much does it sparkle in the dark," informs Aggarwal. Some diamonds change colour too. To know, why, and to find out if it's a true diamond, one must go to a lab. So far, only Surat and Mumbai have such labs. Delhi may see one by the year-end by ImaGem. .

On the occasion a guidebook on the diamond, Little Book of Diamond was also released.

RANA SIDDIQUI

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