Editor’s Note
The Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF) has significantly expanded its capabilities with a new, larger laboratory in Basel. This major facility upgrade underscores its commitment to advancing research and service for the global gem and jewellery industries.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND: FEBRUARY 18, 2015 – The Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), one of the world’s most respected gem research, education and grading institutions, has inaugurated a state-of-the-art laboratory in Basel, more than doubling the size of its previous facility and enabling a massive expansion of the services it has provided the gemstone, jewellery and watch industries for more than 40 years.
The 720 square-metre new home, located within eyesight of Basel’s main railway station, is a significant upgrade from the 300-square metre laboratory that the organisation had occupied since 1994. Customised to facilitate the growth of SSEF’s diamond, coloured gemstone and pearl grading and testing divisions, it also is designed to keep the organisation at the forefront of gemmological research, while at the same time expanding the educational services it provides the Swiss, European and international gem communities.
The inauguration ceremony, which took place February 12, 2015, gathered at the new facility a select representation of the Swiss gem, jewellery and watch industries, as well as industry leaders who have travelled in from abroad.
Greeting the guests, SSEF’s Director, Dr Michael Krzemnicki, described the organisation’s transformation from a compact but highly respected Swiss laboratory into one of the world’s leading gemmological authorities, with a team of 25 specialists.
In his address, Marc-Alain Christen, the President of the SSEF Board, traced the growth of the organisation from a laboratory that focussed on the local market into one operates internationally.
Present at the inauguration ceremony was CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri.
SSEF’s role as a service provider at the very highest echelons of the business was confirmed by the presence at the inauguration ceremony of representatives of the world’s leading watch manufacturers, among them representatives of the Swatch group and the Richemont group, and also the auction houses, for whom SSEF has long provided expert grading services.
A highlight of the inaugural event was the public presentation of SSEF’s Automated Spectral Diamond Inspection (ASDI) system, which analyses and measures large quantities of melee diamonds, smaller than 3.8 millimetres in diameter, filtering out simulants, possible synthetic diamonds and possible HPHT-treated diamonds. As the participants watched, the machine sorted through a batch of more than 1,400 small diamonds, examining each one individually and accurately separating only the suspect stones.
Noting that he was long aware of ASDI’s technical prowess, but this was the first time he had seen it in action, was Simon Lawson, the head of De Beers Technology. Throughout his long collaboration with SSEF, Dr Lawson said,
