Synova Launches Automatic Diamond Cutting System

(IDEX Online) - A Swiss-based laser-cutting company has developed an automated cutting and shaping system for round diamonds it says substantially decreases the production pipeline by combining several processes into one machine.

Synova, which is partly owned by De Beers, says the DaVinci system also reduces polishing processes to a final finishing step. "Several cost, skill and labor-intensive steps in the polishing phase such as crown and pavilion blocking, girdle bruting or recurrent quality checks become redundant," said Synova Founder and CEO Dr Bernold Richerzhagen.

The system uses Synova's laser technology that recognizes when the machine has finished cutting the diamond and automatically starts facet changing.

Synova says a water jet-guided Laser MicroJet cools the diamond surface during laser ablation and reduces the risk of rough diamond cracking, especially with stress stones. The water jet maintains the laser's focus creating a cylindrical laser beam resulting in parallel walls and tight kerf widths.