Our Equipment

This device is designed to determine the quality of a diamond's cut. The diamond is mapped and its proportions can be compared to numerous models. This allows precise determination of cut characteristics and comparison with many references for each type of cut.

Raman spectrometry allows determination of the mineralogical nature of an analyzed sample. This can be a gemstone, an ornamental stone, an inclusion, etc. We are currently engaged in various projects to develop our Raman, with the aim of improving its performance.

This device allows grading of diamond colour. Although the eye and experience of the gemmologist remain the best tools in this field, the contribution of such a device remains important. It allows adding an additional opinion to that of laboratory members and thus minimizes the risk of error.

An infrared spectrometer can be used to identify a mineral, but in our laboratory it is mainly used to highlight treatments. Indeed, this type of equipment is particularly effective at identifying organic materials present in gemstones (emerald filling in particular). It is also very useful for highlighting the presence or relative absence of trace elements in a diamond, and is therefore used in the search for synthetic diamonds. Finally, good results are obtained in the search for heat treatments on corundum. Our FTIR spectrometer has special equipment developed by laboratory members to operate in transmission for mounted gemstones.

Visible and near Infra Red.

Particularly useful in gemmology, this type of equipment allows highlighting the presence of specific elements causing gemstone coloration. These chemical indications help laboratory gemmologists define the origin of a gemstone or determine the reason for a colour, which can help identify a treatment. Designed to work in reflection, the laboratory equipment has been extensively modified to perform high precision transmission measurements, which allows, in most cases, analysis of mounted gemstones.

An essential tool for any laboratory, high precision scales (to one ten-thousandth of a gram) are two in number at the MGL laboratory. On anti-vibration table, they ensure particularly reliable weighing.

We also have a very efficient diffuse reflection equipment for analysis of unmounted gemstones.

Our UV-VIS-NIR spectrometer has recently undergone major modifications to adapt a complex lighting system (composed of lasers at different wavelengths) allowing its operation in photoluminescence. This system allows rapid switching between one operating mode and another, gaining precision and increasing the laboratory's processing capacity.