A Surat-based diamond company has developed new technology for rough diamond processing, livemint.com reports.

The immersion glass technology from Lexus Softmac, a unit of the Lexus Group, immerses a rough diamond in heated glass. Once the glass solidifies, the diamond's clear parts become transparent, allowing diamond polisher to spot inclusions using a microscope. These are mapped and the glass is melted so the diamond can be removed for polishing.

K.K. Sharma of the Indian Diamond Institute noted that immersion glass technology cut diamond wastage, keeping 70-75% of the diamond material intact, compared to the 50-60% given by other diamond planning technologies.

Lexus has used the immersion glass technique to cut a 154-carat rough diamond into 25 separate stones, 24 of which received clarity grades of Internally Flawless from the Gemological Institute of America.

Lexus Group CEO Utpal Mistry said the new technique was the first such technology in the world and noted that Lexus had patented the process in Europe and was applying for patent rights in India. The company expects to start worldwide distribution of the technology shortly.