Russia to continue buying diamonds through state fund in 2025
The Russian budget for 2025-2027 has set aside $1.55 billion for the purchase of precious metals and gems.
Russian miner Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world’s top diamond producer by output, has unveiled its synthetics detector, aimed at cracking down on dishonest suppliers that mix lab-made stones with mined diamonds.
The portable machine, named ALROSA Diamond Inspector, screens polished diamonds and jewellery, identifying synthetics as well as treated stones or simulants.
Alrosa expects the detector’s relatively low price and high accuracy will make it popular both in Russia and abroad.
The company expects that its relatively low price and high accuracy will allow the detector to be in demand both in Russia and abroad.
The device was developed by the diamond miner together with specialists from the Federal State Budgetary Institution Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials (TISNCM).
A joint venture, Diamond Scientific and Technological Center LLC, will be in charge of its production and sale, and its price will be about half of those currently available in the market, Alrosa said.
“One of the main competitive advantages of ALROSA Diamond Inspector is the use of three optical detection methods, which give high assessment reliability,” Vladimir Sklyaruk, general director of Diamond Scientific and Technological Center LLC, said in the statement.
Alrosa’s efforts to ensure the authenticity of its diamonds complement rival De Beers’ recently launched initiative to create the first industry-wide blockchain platform, which will enable greater tracking of gems being traded worldwide.
The technology, which the Anglo American’s unit began developing last year, will allow tracing each diamond throughout the entire value chain — from mine to buyer.
