Shopping for an engagement ring can be stressful, especially when you learn about the cut, colour and clarity of diamonds.
What you might not know about diamonds is that most diamonds in Australia over the last 10 years have been laser inscribed with a serial number that is like a fingerprint.
This number makes it easier to trace in the unfortunate event that your ring is lost or stolen.
The code on the ring makes it a “low risk” theft item as it’s easy for police to trace it.
However, this code isn’t easy to spot. It’s inscribed directly on the girdle of the diamond, which is difficult to see when it’s in a setting. The code can’t be seen with the naked eye, as it has to be checked under a microscope.
Roy Cohen spoke to 10 Daily, whose a diamond expert from Certified Diamond Insurance, and explained why the spot was specifically chosen on the engagement ring.
“It [the serial code] cannot be removed unless the diamond goes back to a diamond polishing factory where it is put back on the wheel and polished off. I mean, there are very few diamond polishing factories in Australia so the chances of that happening are very remote,” Cohen said.
“It’s even harder than for example, the engine number of a motor car. They could just machine it off. I mean, anyone could do that. But with a diamond? No. Only diamond cuts diamond.”
The area for the code was specifically chosen so that the code couldn’t be lost if the ring was melted down.
According to Cohen, the diamonds with the code laser inscribed on diamonds are considered “low risk” diamonds.
“Thieves can get caught so much easier with this type of diamond. If they go and sell that to a hock shop and it has the laser inscription on it, it is very easy to identify that that diamond has been stolen,” he told 10 daily.
This article originally appeared on Over60.