TV Crime Drama CSI: Las Vegas Uses Gemprint Corp Machine

The Gemprint instrument.

(IDEX Online) – The latest version of U.S. diamond firm Gemprint Corp's technology was recently featured in an episode CBS hit crime drama, CSI: Las Vegas where it was used to solve a murder mystery, the company said.

The episode entitled, "Road to Recovery" centers around the mysterious and tragic death of an expensively dressed young woman with a four-carat diamond ring on her hand. With no identification at the scene or fingerprints on file and no missing person report filed, the only physical evidence that can lead to identification is the diamond.

Forensic experts place the victim's ring in the Gemprint, and with images and graphics flashing, we learn that the diamond had indeed been Gemprinted and was registered in the international database to the husband of the dead woman.

The episode of CSI is the second time Gemprint has been specifically written into popular crime dramas on TV. Previously, Gemprint was used to solve a crime on Law and Order.

The latest Gemprint instrument - as seen on CSI: Las Vegas - will be available early next year, the firm said. Among the many exclusive features, and in addition to producing the optical fingerprint of the diamond and its patented registration and recovery system, this model will take high resolution photomicrographs and scientifically measure the light performance of the diamond - loose or mounted - all within a couple of minutes.

Gemprint is the only diamond identification and recovery system that qualifies for consumer insurance discounts on diamonds that are Gemprinted and registered, the company said in a statement.

Gemprint is an identification system for diamonds that records the unique and subtle distinctions in diamonds, just as fingerprinting does for people. Completely noninvasive, Gemprint technology works by shining a low-powered laser light at a diamond, which is refracted within the diamond and reflected from every facet and internal characteristic.

The light coming back from the diamond is a distinct ‘optical fingerprint’ – a Gemprint – that is recorded and saved in a database shared instantly among a global network of jewelers, law-enforcement and government officials. Gemprints can be matched and retrieved in seconds. As forensic evidence, Gemprint has been used by the FBI and the Canadian government since its invention in 1976. The online registry allows consumers to manage their registration, update their contact info, report a diamond lost/stolen, or transfer ownership.