ICA GemLab Expands Technical Services, Premium Reporting for Coloured Gemstones

The number that reframes what a gem certificate can promise is 97 per cent: the accuracy ICA GemLab achieved in determining ruby origins using artificial intelligence, a result that arrived alongside the mapping of more than 40 geographic gemstone deposits worldwide. Both milestones landed in 2025, which the lab's spokesperson Hatta described as a milestone year, and together they signal a meaningful shift in what scientific documentation can deliver to the coloured gemstone trade.

The AI systems underpinning that accuracy were developed through ICA GemLab's partnership with technology innovation firm GAIA Scientific. The approach is methodologically distinct from conventional origin databases. "What sets our approach apart is our use of databases that reflect natural geological overlaps, avoiding artificial separations," Hatta said. "This enables accurate and transparent uncertainty quantification and exceptional performance in identifying rare origins." The distinction matters: most origin databases impose clean geographic boundaries on geology that is, in reality, continuous and overlapping. ICA GemLab's framework is built to reflect that complexity rather than flatten it.

The AI work also restructured how the laboratory operates. By creating an automation framework for routine determinations, it freed the lab's gemmologists to concentrate on the most technically demanding cases. The effect, as the lab describes it, has been transformative, allowing ICA GemLab to handle both ends of the complexity spectrum without sacrificing rigour on either.

Alongside the ruby accuracy achievement, ICA GemLab launched provenance research for peridot and aquamarine in 2025, with preliminary results the lab characterised as extremely promising. Commercial origin services for both stones are planned for 2026, which would extend AI-assisted provenance determination well beyond the ruby category. The lab is also working to strengthen its gemstone treatment detection capabilities, an area that remains among the most technically demanding in gem certification.

The expanded technical portfolio includes improved testing protocols, inclusion-photography services, and premium reporting options designed to make high-level documentation more accessible across the coloured gemstone market. These additions arrive as ICA GemLab pursues broader commercial partnerships, having already formed alliances with high-profile brands and major trade associations in 2025 that, according to the lab, strengthened its credibility in the field.

Growth is now the explicit agenda. The lab is evaluating expansion into key markets over the next 12 to 18 months, targeting regions where demand for scientific certification is established. "We are pursuing partnerships that align with our commitment to scientific excellence and ethical practices," Hatta said. "We are also working on some equipment innovations that could make advanced testing more accessible. Our focus is on sustainable growth that maintains the quality and scientific rigour we are known for."

The 2026 commercial launch of peridot and aquamarine origin services will be the first concrete test of whether the AI framework that proved itself on rubies can scale to other stone categories. If the preliminary results hold, the implications for coloured gemstone certification extend well beyond any single species.