Version 6 Asha in production...
Update (7/2/2008) - Asha's version 6 production process is now patent pending:
U.S. Patent Application No. 12/139,931 -- Method for Producing a Highly Refractive Composite Gemstone, and Product
Asha® is now being offered in version 6, in limited quantities. Most of our products are still version 5.
The difference - for version 6, we introduce an 'optical layer' that is put on the core, and that is then sealed in with our traditional high-purity amorphous diamond.
The optical layer is a proprietary compound that has a refractive index of 2.5, greater than natural diamond whose refractive index is 2.42. Thus the optical layer boosts the light handling ability of the version 6 Asha, increasing the luster and sparkle.
Both versions use an amorphous diamond infusion process, so the outer surface of the finished Asha is identical, with all the benefits that the amorphous diamond provides (seals and prevents the normal clouding reaction that CZ has with air and water, keeps the Asha cleaner longer, reduces the 'blue haze' and glassiness apparent with most plain CZ, etc).
The optical layer is created and applied at a high temperature, and as a result, in induces some 'feathering' to the CZ core. Version 6 Asha's thus are not internally flawless like version 5, but rather are VS grade on average. The benefit is that each stone has unique defects, making it easier to identify 'your Asha' should you give it to a jeweler for mounting and be concerned about not receiving the same stone back.
The main difference visually is that version 6 has a slightly higher luster and a bit more sparkle, roughly a 5-7% improvement over version 5, due to the addition of the optical layer.
As noted, version 6 is only being rolled out on certain cuts and in limited quantities for now - due to the optical layer addition, the cost is roughly 15% higher than the equivalent version 5 stone.
