Diamond 'DNA' to fight fraud
2010-05-24 12:01
Cape Town - A company has developed diamond "DNA" technology to fight corruption and protect consumers.
Baron Baretsky presents himself as an activist for South Africans who buy diamonds, and he's on a collision course with the diamond industry.
"It's in the national interest," he fumed to News24. "We sold $3.9bn of diamonds in South Africa last year, and there's no research centre. South Africa is one of the few countries where diamonds are not regulated," said Baretsky, spokesperson for Dialab.
He has incurred the wrath of the diamond industry because of Dialab's "diamond DNA fingerprint technology" that analyses diamonds to determine whether they have treated to increase their value before being sold.
"We have a machine by Perkin Elmer that came out about four years ago. It checks the signature distinctive to diamonds and each peak of the graph is distinctive to certain things.
"We can check the stone against the peaks and this way we can identify whether the stone has been treated and we can also compare it the database to check whether it’s a real or synthetic diamond," he added.
Certificate
Indeed, the Dialab laboratory is impressive. Before News24 could enter, there were several security glass doors that Baretsky said could withstand AK-47 fire. The laboratory itself has air that is filtered to ensure that dust is kept to a minimum.
Baretsky said that he wants every diamond sold to carry a certificate that will specify its DNA.
"Every diamond must have a certificate. We are going to fight for that because it allows the diamond to be tracked in the market. Synthetic production is not new, but they must inform the consumer," he said.
"The industry is concealing knowledge from consumers. I've lost two big clients in the last month because they don't want this technology to come out," he added.
Baretsky said that he often gets death threats related to his work because of his attempt to provide the tools to police the diamond industry, but he is determined to fight for his system.
"You don't chemically alter the diamond to inflate the price and rip off the public. Everyday I have threats to my life - just two months ago two cars tried to drive me off the road. Diamond price inflation is a major risk in South Africa," he said.
He said that consumers had to be careful when purchasing diamonds - even from reputable dealers - because the diamond was judged subjectively in many cases.
Fake
In his laboratory, News24 used a thermal pen, standard for checking diamonds in the industry, to examine a stone. This stone was classified as a diamond by the device.
However, Baretsky demonstrated that the stone was, in fact, a fake. He said that this was why the market needed an independent regulatory agency for authentic diamonds.
Patent attorneys Von Seidels said that the patent was important because it allowed the identification of diamonds.
"It's a means to identify individual stones, much like a car has a chassis number," attorney Mike Von Seidels told News24. "Obviously the criminals don't want it."
He said that the patent process at an advanced stage, but could take several years before it was internationally accepted.
"It's a ball of string - some countries take longer. He (Baretsky) has about 12 months in South Africa, and to take on some countries, it might take three to five years, and even that's not certain," he added.
It seems that many South Africans have problems with diamond purchases. A check on consumer advocacy website HelloPeter.com revealed a litany of complaints about diamond purchases and comments sent from users to News24 revealed that many are unhappy with the quality of the jewellery they have bought.
Raw deal
"South Africa had no controls ever and nobody wants this problem to go away," said Baretsky. "I want to say to people 'Hi, guys be careful what you buy from shops. I will offer my lab free of charge to have diamonds verified.'"
The National Consumer Forum said that consumers who feel they have had a raw deal should report the company to the department of trade and industry.
"The best thing to do is to report cases to the consumer commission at the DTI," said Thami Bolani, chair of the National Consumer Forum.
"After October we will have a new consumer commission, but people should report unfair business practices," he added.
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