What does it take to be a Technology Innovator and Pioneer? You might think that all you need to have is a good idea and to be the first to bring it to life. But think again. Don't confuse innovation with invention. There is a lot more to it than that. A company that is an innovator and a pioneer not only introduces better technology but also shakes up its industry. Its innovation has a significant impact on business and society alike.
How can a company turn "what if" into a statement rather than a question? An innovator offers real solutions to global problems that people might not even be aware of. Innovation is about pushing through known limitations, not by creating immediate fixes, but by redefining problems and then stepping into the unknown to solve them.
At a time when digital technology is transforming one industry after another, people tend to view innovation and change as the result of breakthrough discoveries or technological wonders. But, it's more about solving the customer's pain points with the tools at hand than inventing new solutions from scratch.
Excellent examples of tech pioneers are WhatsApp and TikTok. Even though they weren't the first, beyond introducing a better messaging app and social media platform, they completely redefined expectations of what it should be and could do. They revolutionized society and redefined how these industries operate.
How did this concept manifest itself in the history of diamonds, and who are the major pioneers who revolutionized the diamond industry? Coming up next!
Throughout history, diamond merchants used various broad terms to describe the four factors we now call the 4Cs, without any standardization. Get this- to describe clarity, they referred to diamonds as "without flaws" or "with imperfections." Sounds absurd, right? Especially since we now use the diamond grading scale and know the extent of diversity between "with imperfections" and "flawless." That led to a severe lack of trust and communication in the industry, making quality control and diamond trading very challenging. How did the solution come about?
History teaches us that times of crisis are also times of opportunity and can often spark revolutions. Accordingly, in the early 1950s, after the Great Depression, the 4Cs came to light and changed the game thanks to an American jeweler called Robert M. Shipley. He followed his vision to ensure the public's trust by providing standardization and scientific background to quantify and qualify diamonds. He developed a whole new terminology, methods, and procedures for grading a diamond's quality - the 4C's.
In 1995, Sarine introduced the diamond industry with the world's first rough diamond planning software. A pioneering technology that provides a fully automated and computerized planning process that maximizes the value of the polished diamond/s extracted from the rough.
Before the emergence of Sarine's Advisor®, the optimization process could only be done by a handful of skilled operators. Due to its long and expensive process, it was done only for very special diamonds. Nowadays, planning is much more cost-effective, scalable, accessible to almost any diamond, and done faster and automatically.
In 2001, Sarine took yet another initiative and launched Laser Marking. The technology enabled diamond manufacturers across the globe to not only find the best solution for their rough but also to mark physical manufacturing instructions on the stone, assisting the manufacturers and ensuring that they manage to execute the planned solution perfectly.
But the process still wasn't perfect, and there were still global problems to address. The mapping of the inclusions could only be done manually by the planner. A process that decreased the value of the diamond since it required "opening windows" and was very subjective and error-prone. Furthermore, the buyer of a rough diamond could not have known its value before purchasing it and handing it over to the planner.
That is why in 2009, Sarine stepped up to the plate and introduced the diamond industry with Galaxy®. An inclusion mapping system, which, together with the Advisor software, took the industry to new frontiers to maximize the potential of rough diamonds. The procedure takes a rough diamond and reveals to the manufacturer a perfectly accurate picture of all its possible futures as a polished diamond and all its possible values. The idea that diamond manufacturers could now easily predict and design the optimal cutting plan with complete precision was a significant breakthrough that influenced the entire production pipeline. Galaxy® and Advisor® not only changed how diamonds are mapped and traded – but they also changed the way the industry relates to the concept of rough planning. Now, in contrast to the other Cs, we look at clarity as a parameter that can be highly influenced, and there is much room to specify, optimize, and cater to market requirements.
Across the international diamond industry, the 4Cs have been the gold standard, and all grading was done manually by gemologists based on them. But this is changing, and it's changing fast.
Since the 1950s, the diamond industry has evolved tremendously and discovered many more important parameters beyond the 4Cs, such as light performance, BIT, BIG, etc. Despite this, the way diamond grading is done hasn't changed much. Furthermore, public attention has been drawn to the fact that diamond reports are largely based on declarations and therefore vulnerable to human errors and manipulation.
Some parts of diamond grading are objective such as weight, location and type of inclusions, angles, and dimensions. However, a large part of diamond grading is subjective and is regarded by the public as an inexact science. Consequently, there is still a significant need to build up the public's trust and create a more consistent, precise, objective, and reliable grading.
To address these problems, the world's first automated AI-based grading technology was designed - and diamond grading is once again revolutionized for a brighter future.
eGrading, developed by Sarine, eliminates the need to send the diamond to a lab for a third-party evaluation, making grading much faster and less expansive with grading at the source. Furthermore, this next-gen technology captures the finest details and tests additional parameters required to source and price the diamonds, such as light performance, fluorescence, milkiness, color tinge, and more, to enable much more effective trade.
Every day, people around the world come up with new ways to make the world better. Our economy is basically based on people wanting more, and eventually, everything needs an upgrade, and the culture of innovation across the globe is more robust than ever. There will undoubtedly be more revolutions to look forward to in diamond grading and the diamond industry in general.
Experts predict that AI will continue to improve and be applied to improve human lives online and offline. Algorithms have been improving and advancing for years, so we indicate AI to be used to make further innovations and advances in diamond grading.
The opportunities to innovate have never been greater or more widely available for those who desire to do things differently and are prepared to push for change. In our complex, dynamic world, perhaps we should all aspire to be pioneers.
And as for Sarine's future? We have a lot more up our sleeve.
Now, Sarine's new Advisor® 8 software is underway! Better than ever, by leveraging the power of automation, this software includes many more new features to make diamond suppliers' workflow much easier, efficient, cost-effective, increase productivity, and cut operational costs.
In Sarine's ongoing journey to reshape the diamond industry, Sarine is leading the next technological evolution. Stay tuned and look forward to new advancements and cutting-edge technologies to provide diamond businesses next-level growth.
Are you a retailer? Stop wasting valuable time and hurry to discover Sarine's latest innovation designed especially for retailers – eGrading™.