Antwerp Facets (April 2007) writes:
A machine that will predict a diamond’s clarity has proven an elusive goal in the industry. Indeed, the difficulty in doing so left clarity as the only one of the 4C’s which could not be forecast by readily available technology.
An Antwerp company set up last year, however, believes it has created equipment that will give diamantaires the ultimate solution to diamond planning, since they will be able to see inclusions and their precise location.
Matrix Diamond Technology was established by Paul Van der Steen and Ziad Al-Ahmadi. Van der Steen, with 30 years of experience in the diamond manufacturing business, is responsible for the firm’s proprietary technology, while Al-Ahmadi, who has long experience in the cutting and manufacturing of stones, provides the hands-on diamond expertise.
Matrix Diamond Technology came about as the result of a relationship with a Russian company called Octanus. It involves a scanner that measures the outside geometry or topography of the diamond, and then enables the diamantaire, in Van der Steen’s words, ‘to look right into the stone and see what is inside. If you have the exact location of inclusions, this allows the full optimization of the rough stone so that the most highly efficient and high-yielding polished diamond can be produced. This is the ultimate dream, because this gives the diamantaire the map of the rough diamond. The only way currently to get a similar view is to polish little windows on the rough stone to look inside it. Our software shows you the best sawing plane, the best place to cut the diamond for optimal results. That’s why our slogan is ‘Ever dreamt of polishing the same stone twice.’
A built-in price list enables real time decisions on the best cuts and sizes by providing up-to-the minute prices. This means that the system can change the user’s original plans for how he planned to cut the stone. It shows how to cut the main stone and what type and size of satellite stones can be achieved. ‘The Matrix vision is that if you cannot get close enough commercially to the value of the diamond then you will not be able to compete in the market. We are bringing substantial added value,’ Van der Steen explained.
The system’s camera takes 800 shadow pictures as the basis for creating a 3-D model of the stone, and 200 images as the diamond is turned which allows the 3-D model to be placed on top of a picture of the rough. This allows the precise location of inclusions to be seen on the photograph of the diamond. ‘With a microscope you are not able to see as precisely where the inclusions are, but with our system you see its exact location,’ Van der Steen explained, adding that inclusions can be identified down to the level of VVS1.
Regarding the issue of increasing yields, he said there were three levels for achieving this, and thus improving margins. ‘The first one is key weights. There are certain situations where a small difference in weight equals a very large difference in price. Take two stones, one weighing 4.95 carats and the other 5.03 carats. That tiny difference in weight is very large in money terms. It is important to increase the key weights. If you have stones weighing 5.5 carats and 4.7 carats, our system finds solutions that allow for creating two stones of 5 carats each.’
Next, there is the problem associated with the classic approach to rough planning where a relatively large reserve is needed when sawing on the cutting plane for the main stone. This usually means the secondary stone is much smaller due to the need for a reserve. And then, after cutting, the reserve on the main stone is polished off which is clearly a waste of the rough. ‘Due to our precise capabilities, we reduce the reserve and save more of the diamond. Diamantaires want to raise their margins and these are classic ways to do so,’ Van den Steen said.
The third level relates to the optimizing of a stone being cut into two or more diamonds. ‘In the classic way, the main stone is cut, and only then one looks at the possibilities for the other stones. This optimization is important because in a 20 carat stone, for example, the satellite stones can be 3 carats each. Here, you can take an overview of the stone and see all the possibilities right from the beginning.’
Meanwhile, Al Ahmadi, the owner of United Cutting and Marketing, said Matrix is projecting itself to strategic partners such as serious rough suppliers. ‘All diamond companies want to add value to their stock. Miners, for example, are looking to add to their margins. I believe they are selling at a lower price than they could achieve if they knew more precisely what was in the diamond.’
He said the end game for Matrix is as a partner to a big brother and supplying them with high-tech equipment that has been unequivocally proven. ‘The system was born out of necessity since margins have become so small nowadays. A system like this would not have been developed 20 years ago because the margins then allowed all diamond firms, from sightholders to small and medium firms to manufacture and get away with healthy margins. Put simply: the business was easier then.’
Al Ahmadi said many diamantaires were barely making any profit. ‘We are offering solutions based on our knowledge of the industry. The miners supply their clients, but they do not know exactly what their clients are getting from the stones. With our system, we can tell them precisely what is in the stone. Sighholders, today more than ever, need results and our system helps them achieve that because we can eliminate mistakes. We are currently talking with two of the top 10 sightholders in the world about using our system. They are giving us diamonds to work on with them as partners.’
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