De Beers, world's leading diamond mining company, is working to simplify the process of detecting smaller diamonds like stars and melee through its Automated Melee Screening device (AMS).

The company is believed to have carried out successful internal testing with a small number of Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sightholders specializing in melee diamonds and that the device is expected to be launched sometime in the first half of 2014.

As it stands, there is no foolproof way to test the parcels containing smaller diamonds. The current technology requires sample testing, and even then this is done on a tedious and expensive stone-by-stone basis, using the equipments developed by De Beers like DiamondView, DiamondSure and DiamondPlus.

Industry sources said the AMS device has been so designed to screen bulk quantity of smaller stones. The device would easily detect the presence of synthetic lab-grown diamonds among the hundreds of natural diamonds.

At the DTC's first sales sight in Gaborone in Botswana, De Beers Group's CEO, Philippe Mellier was quoted as saying by Rapaport group, "'De Beers will work with industry bodies to identify entities that have sold undisclosed synthetics. This will help discourage non-disclosure."

Mellier added, "Selling one product by misrepresenting it as another, as in the case of undisclosed synthetics, could be illegal and may be a criminal offense in some jurisdictions to be addressed by law enforcement authorities."

Samir Joshi, executive director, Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) said, "The De Beers' AMS device is much awaited in the industry. It will not only protect the consumer interest, but also prevent those indulging in wrong practice.

Several diamantaires are mixing synthetic diamonds, which cost much less, with the natural ones, in order to make some quick bucks.