The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF is introducing a new service to support the documentation of the origin and provenance of pearls, in partnership with the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Zurich. It is made possible by a substantial expansion of the organisation’s...
The latest edition (May 2020) of SSEF's Facette magazine is now available online as a PDF. This magazine brings you reports of our latest gemmological research and findings, courses and other SSEF activities.- Age dating of gems- GemTrack™- Laser inscription of gems- DNA fingerprinting of pearls...
BASEL, SWITZERLAND: MAY 19, 2020 - A breakthrough study entitled “DNA fingerprinting: an effective tool for taxonomic identification of precious corals in jewelry”, authored by researchers from the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF and the University of Zurich’s Institute of Forensic Medicine (IRM) and recently published in the leading peer-reviewed journal...
SSEF has been at the forefront of pearl research and developing new methods for testing natural and cultured pearls for many years. Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki - director of SSEF- was invited to the Pearl Symposium in Bahrain in November 2019 to speak about these...
The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF has become the first gem laboratory worldwide to introduce DNA fingerprinting of ivory as a standard client service. It involves a scientific method that can provide valuable information about the species of ivory being used in jewellery and ornamental objects,...
The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF has successfully age-dated the historic ‘Ana Maria Pearl’ using carbon-14 (14C). This is the first time such a procedure has been conducted on a historic natural pearl, to provide valuable and new information on the age of a gem.Read Press...
GemTrack™ links a cut stone to a specific rough stone using gemmological techniques.GemTrack™ is based on a combination of crystallographic, structural, chemical and microscopic analyses that allow for detailed and potentially unique characterisation and fingerprinting of a rough stone. These same features are later investigated...
The latest edition (2019) of SSEF’s Facette magazine has been published. It is now also available online as a PDF. This magazine brings you reports of our latest gemmological research and findings, courses and other SSEF activities.Read and Download Facette SSEF FACETTE NO. 25, 2019 FEATURED ARTICLES:...
This presentation summarizes the findings of the LMHC group of gemmological laboratories (that includes the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF) as of February 2019 on the issue of ‘Sapphire heated with pressure’.Download PDF of presentation...
A recently published article by SSEF and co-authors in the Journal of Gemmology provides an extensive overview of blockchain, chain-of-custody and traceability in the gem industry.The full article can be downloaded here....