TW202032431A - System and method of packaging, authenticating and determining spot prices of fungible baskets of investment grade gemstones and precious metals - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to gemstone packages, which are fungible, standardised and portable, are provided to be used as high-value financial instruments and/or investments for commercial trading, e.g. in a commodity exchange and/or over the counter. The disclosure further relates to system and method of developing and/or packaging gemstone packages, system and method of configuring, registering and/or tracking gemstone packages, system and method of authenticating and/or tracking gemstone packages, system and method of tracking ownership of gemstone packages. In one embodiment, a fungible gemstone package comprising: a casing; a gemstone pouch and a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag which are arranged within the casing; and a plurality of gemstones arranged in the gemstone pouch; wherein the NFC tag is pre-configured with encrypted data which is to be verified against data stored external of the package for verifying authenticity of the gemstone package.

Description

System and method for packaging, verifying and determining the spot price of alternative baskets of investment grade gems and precious metals

The present invention relates to a system and method for developing, packaging, tracking and/or verifying investment grade, alternative and standardized packages containing gems and/or precious metals, which are used in physical and/or electronic markets and/or Financial instruments for commercial transactions in the exchange, the establishment of a system and method for spot price discovery of gem packaging, and its aspects.

Stock exchanges around the world provide an open and transparent way to discover and trade the market price of company stocks. It is also easy to find prices and conduct standardized gold and silver transactions. Their value and authenticity can be easily determined through commodity transactions.

In contrast, the transparency of diamond prices is low, because diamonds will not be traded in an open and transparent manner until commodity transactions. For example, the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange was established to provide a fair, orderly and transparent market for both buyers and sellers. Open buying and selling orders anonymously, and publish their bids, inquiries, and transaction prices to all participants in the market. When there is a cross/match between the bid and the inquiry, the spot/market price of the diamond will be determined.

Usually, even if the price of a single diamond is announced, its price cannot be used as a benchmark, because even when the key attributes such as carat, cut, clarity and colour are the same, The price of individual diamonds will also vary. But a basket of diamonds traded on a commodity exchange is fungible-a basket of diamonds that meet the specifications defined by the exchange can be exchanged for another basket of the same specifications at the same price. For example, each basket provided by the exchange may include a mixture of 0.5 carat diamonds and 1.0 carat diamonds, or all 1.0 carat diamonds or higher carat value diamonds with the same or similar characteristics. The price changes of diamonds compensate each other, so that the prices of diamond baskets of the same diamond composition are consistent. This exchange may allow trading of multiple standardized basket sizes, where each basket size can be represented by a nominal currency value.

Although some investors use trustworthy and safe depository vaults to store their diamond baskets, there are other investors who may prefer to conduct over-the-counter transactions and need a fast and reliable way to verify products.

Existing publications such as U.S. Patent No. 8,239,211 B2 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0223580 A1 describe standardized diamond baskets for market transactions, but they do not provide a fast and reliable way to verify products, and they also have other shortcomings .

The possibility of counterfeiting diamonds and the inconvenience and expense of diamond inspection prevent people from buying and investing in diamonds. Another factor that prevents investors from buying high-value diamonds is that diamond ownership is not easily traceable, so there is a money laundering problem.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of verifying alternative gemstone packaging, the method comprising: Receive the encrypted data, a key identification code and a tag identification code detected from the gem packaging from a device with near field communication (NFC) function, where the tag identification code is related to an NFC tag arranged in the gem packaging Joint Retrieve a key associated with the key identification code from a key database; Use the key to decrypt the encrypted data to generate a decrypted label identification code and a decrypted package identification code; Check the decrypted label identification code according to the label identification code; Check the decrypted package identification code against a registered package identification code retrieved from a label identification code database. The registered package device code is stored in association with the label identification code, and the registered package identification code is The gem packaging is associated; and If the decrypted label identification code matches the label identification code, and if the decrypted package identification code matches the registered package identification code, the gem package is successfully verified.

In one embodiment, after successfully verifying the gem packaging, the method further includes: Retrieve the data of the gem package from an inventory database, where the data of the gem package includes at least one basket code contained in the gem package; Based on the decrypted package identification code and at least one basket code, retrieve the spot price of gem packages and/or at least one basket code from a price database; and The spot price is transmitted to the NFC-enabled device.

In one embodiment, receiving encrypted data, a key identification code, and a tag identification code from the NFC-enabled device includes: receiving geographic location information of a gem package, and the method further includes: storing the geographic location information in the Tag identification code database, and associated with the tag identification code.

In an embodiment, the method further includes: if the decrypted label identification code and the label identification code are different or if the decrypted package identification code is different from the registered package identification code, generating a verification failure message and sending the verification failure Message to the device with NFC function.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for verifying an alternative gem packaging, the system comprising: A verification server and a tag identification code database communicably coupled to it; A key management server and a key database communicably coupled to the key management server, wherein the key management server is communicatively coupled to the verification server; Among them, the verification server is configured as: Receive an encrypted data, a key identification code, and a tag identification code detected from the gem package from a device with near field communication (NFC) function, wherein the tag identification code is the same as the one arranged in the gem packaging NFC tag association; The key management server is configured as: Retrieve a key associated with the key identification code from the key database; The verification server is configured as: Use the key to decrypt the encrypted data to generate a decrypted label identification code and a decrypted package identification code; Check the decrypted label identification code according to the label identification code; Check the decrypted package identification code against a registered package identification code retrieved from the label identification code database. The registered package identification code is stored in association with the label identification code, and the registered package identification code is associated with the label identification code. Associated with gem packaging; and If the decrypted label identification code matches the label identification code, and if the decrypted package identification code matches the registered package identification code, the gem package is successfully verified.

In an embodiment, the system further includes: An inventory server and an inventory database communicably coupled with it; and A price server and a price database communicably coupled with it, The inventory server is configured as: After successfully verifying the gem packaging, retrieve the gem packaging information from the inventory database, where the gem packaging information includes at least one basket code of the gems contained in the gem packaging; The inventory server is configured as: Based on the decrypted package identification code and/or at least one basket code, retrieve the spot price of the gem package and/or at least one basket code from the price database; and The verification server is configured as: The received spot price is transmitted from the inventory server to the NFC-enabled device.

In one embodiment, the verification server is configured to: receive the geographic location data of the gem package from the NFC-enabled device; and store the geographic location data in the tag identification code database and be related to the tag identification code United.

In one embodiment, the verification server is configured to generate a verification failure message if the decrypted label identification code is different from the label identification code, or if the decrypted package identification code is different from the registered package identification code, and The verification failure message is transmitted to the device with NFC function.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an alternative gemstone packaging includes: A shell A gem bag and a near field communication (NFC) tag, both of which are arranged in the housing; and Multiple gems are arranged in the gem bag; The NFC tag includes a microchip and an antenna communicably coupled with the microchip, wherein the microchip includes a first storage area that is hard-coded into a tag identification code associated with the NFC tag; and a The second storage area, which stores both the label identification code and a package identification code as encrypted data and stores a key identification code, The gem package is configured to be verified by using a key to decrypt and encrypt data, the key is stored outside the gem package and is associated with the key identification code, and is stored in the first memory area according to The label identification code is used to verify a decrypted label identification code, and the decrypted package identification code is verified by a registered package identification code stored outside the gem package and associated with the label identification code to generate the decrypted package identification Code and the decryption tag identification code.

In one embodiment, the housing includes a metal material to prevent the NFC tag from being detected by a device with NFC function, and an opening is formed in the metal material to allow the NFC tag to be detected through it.

In one embodiment, the gemstone package further includes: a cover movably coupled to the housing, wherein the cover can be at least in a first position where the opening is exposed and a second position where the opening is hidden Move between.

In an embodiment, one of the housing and the cover has a protrusion, and the other of the housing and the cover has a complementary groove, wherein the protrusion and the The groove part is arranged in a sliding engagement manner.

In one embodiment, the gemstone bag includes a bag support member and a gemstone holder arranged in the bag support member and holding the gemstone, wherein the NFC tag is firmly inserted between the bag support member and the gemstone holder , And easily cause damage to the antenna when the NFC tag is separated from the bag support.

In one embodiment, the NFC tag includes a ferrite material to increase the readability of the NFC tag.

In one embodiment, the metal material includes gold, silver, platinum or any combination thereof.

In an embodiment, a spot price of the gemstone package is determined by a spot price of at least one basket of gemstones corresponding to the gemstones arranged in the gemstone bag or gemstone package and the spot price of the metal material.

In one embodiment, the gemstone includes diamond.

In the following description, many specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various illustrative embodiments of the present invention. However, a person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention will understand that the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented without some or all of these specific details. It should be understood that the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In the drawings, similar component symbols refer to the same or similar functions or features throughout the several views.

The embodiments described in the context of one of the devices or methods are similarly valid for the other devices or methods. Similarly, the embodiments described in the context of the device are similarly valid for the method and vice versa.

Features described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be the same or similar features used in other embodiments. Even if there is no explicit description in these other embodiments, the features described in the context of the embodiment can also be applied to other embodiments accordingly. In addition, additions and/or combinations and/or substitutions described for features in the context of an embodiment may be correspondingly applied to the same or similar features in other embodiments.

It should be understood that the articles "a," "an," and "the" used in relation to features or elements include references to one or more features or elements. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more associated features or elements. The terms "comprising", "including", and "having" are intended to be open-ended and mean that there may be other features or elements in addition to the listed features or elements. Recognitions such as "first", "second" and "third" are only used as markers and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects, nor should they impose any relative position or chronological order between restrictions Way to explain. In addition, the terms such as "front", "back", "top", "bottom", "side", "below", and "above" as used herein are only for ease of description and can refer to the features as shown in the figure. Or the orientation of the elements. It should be understood that any orientation of the features described herein is within the scope of the present invention.

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, an alternative, standardized and portable gem packaging is provided for investment in high-value financial instruments and/or commercial transactions, such as commodity exchanges and/or counter transactions . Each gem package is standardized according to a predetermined specification, such as nominal value, gem characteristics, optical characteristics, etc., or any combination thereof.

FIG. 1A shows a gemstone package 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the gemstone package 10 may be provided with a cover 1 that can be displaced relative to a metal casing 8. The cover 1 is configured to expose (see FIG. 1A) or hide (see FIG. 1B) the gemstone 11 to allow or prevent detection and/or visual inspection by an NFC-enabled device, respectively. Other open and/or closed positions not shown in the drawings are also possible. FIG. 1C shows that the cover 1 of the gemstone package 10 of FIG. 1A is removed or separated from the metal casing 8. Figure ID shows an exploded side view of the package of Figure IB.

1A, 1B and 1D, the gem package 10 may include a metal shell 8, a metal plate 4, a glass plate 3, such as sapphire glass, a gem bag 50, a plurality of gems 11 and a near field communication (NFC) Label 6. The metal casing 8 may be fixed to the metal plate 4 to provide a casing or body for the gemstone package 10. The glass plate 3 covers the metal plate 4 and can be fixed to the metal plate 4 and/or the metal casing 8 to wrap the gem bag 50 and its contents. 1E shows an exploded view of the gem bag 50, the gem bag 50 may include a bag support 7 that can be attached to the metal shell 8 and/or the metal plate 4; a gem holder 5, which is configured on the gem In the bag 7; and a plurality of gems 11, which are held by the gem holder 5 or supported in the gem holder 5. The gem holder 5 may include a non-rigid material, such as a soft sponge-like material, which may be provided with a plurality of openings to arrange or embed the gems 11 therein.

The metal casing 8 and the metal plate 4 can basically form most of the package body to prevent the NFC tag 6 from being read or detected by an NFC-enabled device. However, the metal plate 4 is provided with at least one opening 41 or window located above the jewel bag 50; the glass plate 3 covers the metal plate 4 so that the jewel 11 can pass through the front surface of the metal casing 8, that is, through the opening 41 of the metal plate 4. And the glass plate 3 covering the opening 41 is visible. Therefore, an NFC tag 6 arranged in the metal housing 8 can be read or detected through the opening 41. The inscription on the gemstone can be read and visually verified through the opening 41. For example, a thin-film nanotechnology marking process can be used to provide inscriptions on the mesa of each gemstone. These marks are visible through an optical reader, for example, and do not affect the clarity of the gemstone 11.

1D and 1E, the NFC tag 6 can be firmly inserted, for example, adhered between the gem holder 5 and the gem bag 7. The NFC tag 6 includes a microchip; and an antenna 13, which is communicably coupled to the microchip. The microchip may include a processor; and at least one memory 12, which is communicably coupled to the processor. The antenna 13 can be communicatively coupled to the processor. The at least one memory body 12 may include a plurality of storage areas, such as M1, M2, M3, M4, etc., for storing various data related to the gem package 10, which will be discussed more fully in the following paragraphs. The NFC tag 6 may be provided with a layer of soft ferrite material 61 to increase the readability or detectability of the NFC tag 6. The layer of soft ferrite material 61 can be arranged between the NFC tag and the metal casing 8 and/or the bag support 7. The NFC tag 6 is firmly inserted, for example adhered between the jewel holder 5 and/or the bag support 7, when the NFC tag 6 is removed or separated from the bag support 7 and/or the NFC tag 6 from the jewel holder 5 It is easy to cause damage to the antenna 13 at times. The damaged antenna 13 makes the NFC tag 6 unreadable or undetectable through an NFC-enabled device.

The cover 1 may be movably coupled to the metal housing 8, for example through a sliding mechanism. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1F, the metal casing 8 may provide a groove 21 on the packaging body, such as the metal casing 8, and the cover 1 is provided with a complementary protrusion 22. The cover 1 can be placed on the metal casing 8. The protrusions 22 and the grooves 21 of the cover 1 are arranged in a sliding engagement manner, so that the cover 1 is movable relative to the metal casing 8, in at least a first position or an open position ( See Figure 1A) where the gemstone 11 is exposed (for example visible) for manual inspection or detection through a device with NFC function, and in a second or closed position (see Figure 1B) the gemstone 11 is hidden (for example not visible) , In order to prohibit between the visual inspection of the gemstone and/or the detection of the NFC tag 6. In the closed position, the gem package 10 can be a contour palm-sized package, which cannot be detected by a device with NFC function. In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 1D and 1F, a metal plate 2, such as a metal plate, can be fixed to the cover and provide product information, such as the logo of the issuing exchange and/or the logo of the grading laboratory, the packaging identification code and / Or any combination thereof. The metal plate 2 can be inserted between the cover 1 and the glass plate 3.

In some other embodiments, it is possible to conceive and implement a deformation of the gem package 10.

In some embodiments, the cover may be movably coupled to the housing through a hinge mechanism, so that the cover can pivotally move the cover around the hinge to be displaced relative to the metal housing 8. An example of such an embodiment is a clamshell container. In some embodiments, the hinge mechanism may be replaced by other fixing mechanisms. In some embodiments, the cover can be configured as a rigid or flexible sleeve, so that the gemstone package 10 can be removably inserted into and held in the sleeve. In some embodiments, the gemstone package 10 may not include a cover, for example, refer to FIG. 1C.

In various embodiments, the gemstone package 10 may be provided in a variety of sizes, such as credit card size, palm size, and/or shapes, such as coins or circles, rectangles, squares, outline rectangles, and any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the metal shell 8 and/or the metal plate 4 may include precious metals such as but not limited to gold, silver, and platinum. In some embodiments, the metal housing 8 may include and be at least partially formed of a ceramic material. In some embodiments, the cover 1 may include precious metals, such as but not limited to gold, silver, and platinum.

In some embodiments, the layer of soft ferrite material can be omitted or replaced by other materials, which increases the readability or detectability of the NFC tag.

In some embodiments, the NFC tag can be firmly inserted between the gem holder and the housing or metal plate. In some embodiments, the NFC tag may be fixed to other parts of the gem package and/or arranged in other locations within the gem package.

In some embodiments, the gemstone bag may be provided by other configurations or arrangements. In one example, a gemstone bag may include a block in which gemstones are arranged, wherein an NFC tag may be adhered to the bottom surface of the block, and the top surface of the block allows visual inspection of the gemstone tables. Blocks can be manufactured through injection molding. The blocks can include transparent, translucent and/or opaque materials. The gemstone may be encapsulated in the block or at least partially embedded in the block.

It should be understood that any of the above-described embodiments and/or modifications is only exemplary, and as described in this disclosure, can be combined with one or more aspects of the present invention.

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, a system and method for developing and/or packaging gem packaging is provided, and is described more fully below.

According to the product specifications defined by the exchange, gems 11 to be assembled into various gem packages 10 can be selected from one or more baskets defined by the exchange. The gems included in the basket defined by the same exchange have one or more similar characteristics and/or have similar or equivalent prices. The source and/or price of the gems in the basket defined by the exchange will be recorded or tracked. Therefore, the source and/or price information of the gems 11 that are finally selected to be assembled into the gem bag 10 are traceable, and the gem packaging 10 The parties involved are transparent, such as owners and quasi-owners. Each gemstone to be assembled into the gemstone packaging 10 can be engraved with a unique gemstone identification code, such as the Gemological Institute of America (Gemological Institute of America, GIA) report or certificate number, or any other on its table (see Figure 1G ) Unique number. After the gems are verified, they can be written at the moment in the grading laboratory.

The selected gems can be fixed to the gem holder 5. The jewel holder 5 and the fixed jewel may be arranged in the bag support 7. The NFC tag 6 and the ferrite soft material 61 can be inserted and fixed between the jewel holder 5 and the bag support 7. The jewel bag 50 is appropriately arranged at a predetermined position in the metal casing 8. The metal plate 4 may be arranged above the gemstone bag 50 such that the opening 41 in the metal plate 4 is aligned with the gemstone 11. The glass plate 3 may be arranged above the metal plate 4. The glass plate 3 and/or the metal plate 4 may be fixed to the metal casing 8 to encapsulate the gem bag 50 and the gems 11 therein in the gem package 10. The assembly of the gem packaging 10 may further include providing a unique packaging identification code, such as the serial number and other information on the gem packaging such as the metal casing 8, the metal plates 2, 4, or cover 1. Various information (such as the unique gem identification code of the packaged gemstone) can be registered through a registration server 14 and stored in the inventory database 17 in association with each packaging identification code. It should be understood that the foregoing steps can be modified and/or interchanged as known to those with ordinary knowledge in the art.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a system and method for configuring, registering, and/or tracking gem packaging 10 is provided, and is described more fully below.

The NFC tag 6 to be arranged in the gem packaging 10 is pre-configured to facilitate subsequent verification of the gem packaging 10. In particular, the tag identification code and predetermined gem packaging information (eg, packaging identification code) are stored and/or hard-coded or embedded in different storage areas or sections 12 of the microchip in the NFC tag 6. This can be performed during the manufacturing of the NFC tag. Each NFC tag 6 is assigned a unique tag ID (tag ID), which can be determined by the manufacturer of the NFC tag. Each gem package 10 is assigned a unique package identification code, such as a serial number; and an exchange-defined code, which can be determined by a commodity exchange, such as a diamond exchange. The tag identification code can be hard-coded into the first storage area M1. The package identification code and a key identification code can be written in the second storage area M2. A code defined by an exchange can be written into the third storage area M3. Do not grant write access to these storage areas to prevent overwriting. These storage areas can be granted different read access permissions. For example, the first storage area M1 can be read by any NFC-enabled device; the data in the second storage area M2 can be encrypted, and therefore can only be accessed through certain NFC-enabled devices installed with predetermined applications (such as authentication procedures). Functional device reading; the data in the third storage area M3 can be encrypted, and therefore only through the installation of another predetermined application (for example, an exchange escrow application, which contains the appropriate key to unlock the data) Some NFC-enabled devices read. In addition, for example, the data in the third storage area M3 cannot be copied or rewritten. Therefore, a counterfeit product can be detected by reading the data stored in the third storage area M3 through an exchange hosting application. If the gem packaging 10 does not display the code defined by the exchange, it can be determined that the gem packaging 10 is a counterfeit.

Figure 3 shows a registration server 14, which is communicatively coupled to a tag identification code database 15, such as a UID register, and is configured to read and write tag identifications from the tag identification code database 15. Code database 15. The tag identification code database 15 is configured to store the tag identification code and other gem packaging data in association with each tag identification code. Such gem packaging information may include a unique packaging identification code (such as serial number), the status of the label identification code (such as activated or not), and the geographic location of the gem packaging 10 (such as one or more previously detected geographic locations) )Wait.

FIG. 4 shows a gem packaging inventory server 16 which is communicatively coupled to the inventory database 17 and is configured to read from and write to the inventory database 17. The inventory database 17 is configured to store gem packaging identification codes (such as serial numbers) and other information associated with each packaging identification code. This information can include the gem identification codes of the various gems selected for each gem package (such as the GIA certificate number, the identification number engraved on the countertop of each gem), and the exchange-defined basket code of the various gems contained in the package .

FIG. 5 shows a registration server 14, which is communicatively coupled to a tag identification code database 15; an inventory server 16, which is communicatively coupled to an inventory database 17; and a key management The server 18 is communicatively coupled to a key database 19 containing private keys.

Each gem package 10 is assigned a package identification code (such as a serial number) and an NFC tag 6 is assigned a tag identification code. The registration server 14 retrieves it from the key database 19 through the key management server 18 Obtain the key, and use the key to encrypt the label identification code and the package identification code to generate encrypted data. The access authority to the key database 19 can be provided through the key management server 18 to prevent the data in the key database 19 from being directly manipulated. The registration server 14 writes the encrypted data and the key identification code associated with the key into the second storage area M2 in the NFC tag 6. The data in the second storage area is "locked" and protected from overwriting. This "lock" feature ensures that the encrypted data in the second storage area M2 is permanently encoded. Even if the encrypted data can be copied or written to other NFC tags, the tag identification code of another NFC tag 6 will be different from the tag identification code contained in the encrypted data, and this difference will be detected during verification. This will be discussed more fully in later paragraphs.

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, systems and methods for verifying and/or tracking gem packaging are provided, and are described more fully below.

6A shows a verification server 20 (or verification and information server), which is communicatively coupled to a tag identification code database 15; an inventory server 16, which is communicatively coupled to an inventory data Database 17; a key management server 18, which can be communicatively coupled to a key database 19; and a price server 21, which can be communicatively coupled to a historical price database 22 and/or provide real-time An exchange server 23 for price information. Fig. 6B shows a flowchart of a method of packaging with gemstones, which will be described with reference to Fig. 6A.

In order to verify the authenticity of the gem package 10, devices 30 with NFC functions such as mobile devices, phones, tablets, computers, and terminals are provided, which are installed with predetermined applications or software (verification programs). In one embodiment, the device 30 with NFC function is a mobile communication device installed with a predetermined verification mobile application. Any NFC software or device can read the NFC tag 6 but cannot decode the data.

In block 601, the NFC-enabled device 30 reads the NFC tag 6 of the gem package 10 to be verified. In particular, the NFC-enabled device 30 detects the content in the NFC tag 6, that is, the tag identification code stored in the first storage area M1 of the NFC tag 6; and the content stored in the second storage area M2 of the NFC tag 6 Encrypted data and key identification code. The tag identification code is associated with the NFC tag 6 arranged in the specific gemstone package 10. In some embodiments, the NFC-enabled device 30 may also determine the geographic location of the gem package 10 as the current geographic location of the device 30.

In block 602, the NFC-enabled device 30 sends a verification request to the verification server 20, where the verification request includes the detected tag identification code, encrypted data, and key identification code. In some embodiments, the verification request may include the geographic location of the gem package 10.

In block 603, the verification server 20 receives the verification request. The verification server 20 extracts the key identification code from the request to generate a key retrieval request, and sends the key retrieval request including the key identification code to the key management server 18.

In block 604, the key management server 18 receives the key retrieval request. Based on the key identification code contained in the request, the key management server 18 retrieves the key corresponding to the key identification code from the key database 19. Then the key management server 18 sends the corresponding key to the verification server 20.

In block 605, the verification server 20 receives the corresponding key, and uses the key to decrypt the encrypted data received from the NFC-enabled device 30 in block 603 to generate a decrypted label identification code and a decrypted package identification code.

In block 606, the verification server 20 checks the decrypted tag identification code against the tag identification code received from the NFC-enabled device 30 in block 603. If the tag identification code received in block 603 and the decrypted tag identification code match, then the verification at block 606 is successful, and block 606 will proceed to block 607. If the tag identification code and the decrypted tag identification code received in block 602 are different, that is, do not match, the verification at block 606 is not successful, and block 606 will proceed to block 606A.

In block 606A, the verification server 20 generates a verification failure message, and in block 602, sends the message to the NFC-enabled device 30 in response to its verification request. The verification failure message may provide an alert or warning about the inauthenticity of the specific gem package 10. Then, the verification application can be closed in the NFC-enabled device 30.

In block 607, based on the decrypted label identification code, the verification server 20 retrieves from the label identification code database 15 a registered package identification code stored therein in association with the decrypted label identification code. Then the verification server 20 checks the decrypted package identification code according to the registered package identification code. If the decrypted package identification code and the registered package identification code match, the verification is successful at block 607, and block 607 will proceed to block 608. If the decrypted package identification code and the registered package identification code are different, that is, do not match, the verification at block 607 is unsuccessful, and block 607 will proceed to block 607A.

In block 607A, the verification server 20 generates a verification failure message, and in block 602, sends the message to the NFC-enabled device 30 in response to its verification request. The verification failure message may provide an alert or warning about the inauthenticity of the specific gem package 10. Then, the verification application in the NFC-enabled device 30 can be closed.

If the two inspection processes in block 606 and block 607 are successful, the verification of the specific gemstone package 10 is successful, that is, the authenticity of the gemstone package is established, and the flowchart proceeds to block 608. In block 608, the geographic location data of the gem package 10 is available, and can be written or stored in the tag identification code database 15. In block 603, the geographic location data may have been received at the verification server 20.

In block 609, the verification server 20 retrieves various data associated with the package identification code from the inventory database 17, such as the gem identification code; the exchange-defined basket code of the gem contained in the package; or any of them One or a combination. Based on these retrieved basket codes and/or package identification codes, the verification server 20 retrieves the identified exchange-defined baskets from the historical price database 22 and/or the exchange transaction server 23 through the price server 21 The code and/or the spot price or market price of the specific gem package 10. The exchange trading server 23 can provide effective price information or real-time price information of the gems in the gem basket identified by the retrieved basket code and/or gem package. In some embodiments, the spot price of the gem package may be determined by the sum of the spot price of a basket of gems contained in the gem package and, optionally, the spot price of precious metals forming the gem package.

In block 610, the verification server 20 generates an information message including at least some of the retrieved data, for example, the spot price or market price of the gem basket contained in the gem package and/or the gem package, and sends the message to The NFC-enabled device 30 is displayed on it.

It should be understood that the foregoing steps can be modified and/or interchanged as known to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. For example, block 609 and block 610 may take precedence over block 608; block 606 and block 607 may be interchanged; block 608 may be omitted; and/or block 610 may be omitted.

The gem packaging can be separated and/or further verified by the commodity exchange. In particular, the NFC-enabled device can detect the content in the NFC tag 6, that is, the exchange-defined code stored in the third storage area M3 of the NFC tag 6. The device with NFC function may be installed with another predetermined application, for example, an exchange-custodial application with a private key to read or detect encrypted data in the third storage area M3. The device with the NFC function can send the detected data to the verification server 20 or another verification server for verification. If the detected data meets or matches the data and/or data format or code predetermined by the commodity exchange, the gem packaging is successfully verified. If the detected data is different from the data and/or data format or code predetermined by the commodity exchange, the verification of the gem packaging is unsuccessful.

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, a method and system are provided for obtaining and/or determining the market price of gem packaging and gem baskets at any time.

The prices available from Rapaport are calculated prices, not actual transaction prices. Therefore, these calculated prices can be used as reference prices but not as spot prices. In order to determine the market price of a gemstone, it must be listed in a commodity exchange, where an order is placed and anonymously executed, and the price is published. In this way, by listing gem packaging on the commodity exchange, it is possible to retrieve the spot price of the gem packaging and the basket of gems forming the packaging from the historical price database and/or the exchange server providing real-time prices.

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, a system and method for tracking the ownership of gem packaging are provided.

Every gem package received directly from an approved grading laboratory will be registered in a commodity exchange custody asset database. The registration process includes recording the member of the exchange and whether the gem packaging belongs to the member or its customer. The member or its customer will have successfully performed Know Your Client (KYC) or Anti-Money Laundering (AML) (This may be the obligation of members of the commodity exchange as stipulated by the rules of the commodity exchange).

The custodial asset database records the owner identified by the custodian account. When gem packages are traded on the exchange, the seller’s holdings in the exchange’s custody asset database will reduce the number of gem packages sold, and the buyer’s holdings in the exchange’s custody asset database will be correspondingly increase. The exchange settlement system can randomly select a packaging identification code (such as a serial number) from the seller's gem packaging assets to deliver to the buyer. The custody asset database records the ownership changes of gem packages purchased and sold on the exchange until it is removed from the custody of the exchange.

In view of the security and verification function of the gem packaging, after taking it out, the purchaser of the gem packaging in the Over the Counter (OTC) market can choose to go through the exchange after going through the complete KYC/AML process Brokers of the exchange escrow registered gem packaging. The same process of continuing to track ownership and assets will be in the exchange's custody asset database. This process will resolve current KYC/AML issues related to gems (such as diamonds), and resolve long-term diamond-related KYC/AML issues related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and relevant authorities of member states.

For the purpose of any investigation into the trading of a specific gem package on the OTC market, the specific gem package can be tracked through the records in the exchange's custody asset database. In the worst case, it can be traced back to the last owner registered in the transaction custodial asset database.

The embodiments of the present invention provide several advantages, including but not limited to the following advantages: Gem packaging wraps the gems in a durable, strong and beautiful shell, which can be visually inspected and tamper-proof. The gem packaging is embedded with an NFC tag with a microchip. The NFC tag has a memory, and the memory is encoded with various information related to the gem packaging and its constituent gems. Different access permissions can be granted to the memory. For example, at least a part of the memory can be hard-coded to permanently encode information to prevent data loss; at least a part of the memory can be locked to prevent overwriting; at least a part of the memory can be When the encrypted data is written, the encrypted data can be decrypted with an appropriate key; and/or at least a part of the memory can be blocked by non-specified applications to prevent data overwriting. Using the NFC tag, the gem package device is configured to wirelessly communicate with the NFC-enabled device when it is brought into the detection range of an NFC-enabled device, so the gem package does not require power to enable communication. The various information of the gem packaging and its constituent gems can be stored or registered in an appropriate database outside the gem packaging before its issuance or first sale. Using NFC tags, gem packaging can be written or embedded with encrypted data to facilitate subsequent verification of gem packaging. During the verification process, for example, since it may happen before the expected resale, the data detected by the NFC tag of the specific gemstone package is checked based on the data stored or registered in the appropriate database. If the verification is successful, it will retrieve various data of the specific gem, such as the spot price or market price, and send the information to the transaction party that requires the verification process, such as an NFC-enabled device; similarly, the geographic location where the specific gem is packaged Update to the appropriate database for recording and tracking purposes. The gem packaging can be mainly formed of metal materials to prevent data theft, such as collecting or browsing data from NFC tags by nearby NFC-enabled devices. In addition, the gem package may be provided with a cover configured to expose or hide the gem through the opening in the gem package to allow or prevent detection by a device with NFC function, respectively. The cover provides privacy and protection for the gem packaging, because when the gem is hidden, the NFC-enabled device cannot detect the gem packaging. The gemstones packed in the gemstone packaging can be engraved with unique gemstone identification codes on the gemstone watch. These gemstone identification codes can be visually inspected through the opening, and can be visually detected and inspected by an optical reader. Gem packaging can be made of one or more precious metals, which will increase the reputation of the product and provide a hybrid product for hedging because precious metals have their inherent market value. In this way, the price of a gem package can be determined by the total spot price of the corresponding gem basket of the gems arranged in the package or bag and optionally the spot price of precious metals. The gems come from commodity exchanges and their basket codes are recorded in the inventory database. Therefore, the price of gems or baskets is open and transparent, so it can be checked or traced. Geographical location and/or ownership data can be recorded or registered in the database to allow tracking of location and/or ownership data, and/or to perform inspection checks to comply with KYC/AML rules specified by the commodity exchange. The current process of shipping diamonds or baskets to commodity exchanges for trading is time-consuming and expensive. On the contrary, the use of NFC tags and verification procedures in the packaging of each gemstone and the engraving of text on the surface of the gemstone can enable products to be delivered quickly and reliably.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned embodiments and features should be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive. By considering the description and practice of the present invention, many other embodiments will be obvious to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention. In addition, for the purpose of clarity of description, certain terms have been used and are not to limit the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.

1: cover 2: board 21: Groove 22: raised 3: glass plate 4: metal plate 41: opening 5: gem holder 6: NFC tag 61: Ferrite material 7: Bag support 8: Metal shell 10: gem packaging 11: Gems 12: Memory 13: Antenna 14: Register the server 15: Label identification code database 16: gem packaging inventory server 17: Inventory database 18: Key Management Server 19: Key repository 20: Verify server 21: Price server 22: Historical price database 23: Exchange server 50: gem bag M1: The first storage area M2: second storage area M3: The third storage area 601~610: box 606A: Box 607A: Box

The content of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A shows a gemstone package according to an embodiment, the gemstone package having a cover arranged at an opening position; Figure 1B shows the gemstone package as shown in Figure 1A, with the cover arranged in a closed position; Figure 1C shows that the cover of the gem package shown in Figure 1A is removed; Figure 1D shows an exploded side view of the gem packaging of Figure 1A; Fig. 1E shows an exploded view of the gem bag contained in the gem package of Fig. 1A; Figure 1F shows the casing and cover of the gemstone package, wherein, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the casing and the cover are configured to be arranged in a sliding engagement manner; Figure 1G shows a gemstone with a gemstone identification code engraved on it; Figure 2 shows the memory contained in the NFC tag; Figure 3 shows the registration server, which is communicatively coupled to a tag identification code database; Figure 4 shows a gem packaging inventory server, which is communicatively coupled to an inventory database; Figure 5 shows the registration server, which is communicatively coupled to the tag identification code database; the inventory server, which is communicatively coupled to the inventory database; the key management server, which is communicatively coupled to Key repository Figure 6A shows a verification server, which is communicatively coupled to the tag identification code database; an inventory server, which is communicatively coupled to the inventory database; a key management server, which is communicatively coupled to Key database; price server, which can be communicatively coupled to historical price database and/or exchange transaction server that provides real-time price data or effective price data; and Figure 6B shows a flow chart related to the method of verifying gem packaging.

1: cover

8: shell

10: gem packaging

11: Gems

41: opening

Claims (17)

A method of verifying alternative gemstone packaging, the method includes: A verification server receives an encrypted data, a key identification code and a tag identification code detected from a gem package from a device with near field communication (NFC) function, wherein the tag identification code is arranged on the gemstone An NFC tag in the package is associated; Through a key management server communicatively coupled to the verification server, a key is retrieved from a key database communicatively coupled to the key management server, wherein the key and The key identification code is associated; Use the key to decrypt the encrypted data through the verification server to generate a decrypted label identification code and a decrypted package identification code; Verify the decrypted label identification code according to the label identification code through the verification server; The verification server verifies the decrypted package identification code according to a registered package identification code retrieved from a label identification code database, wherein the registered package identification code is stored in association with the label identification code, wherein the registered package identification code The packaging identification code is associated with the gem packaging; and If the decrypted label identification code matches the label identification code, and if the decrypted package identification code matches the registered package identification code, the verification server successfully verifies the gem package. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the verification server successfully verifies the gem package, the method further includes: The data of the gem package is retrieved from an inventory database communicatively coupled to the inventory server through an inventory server communicatively coupled to the verification server, wherein the data of the gem package includes At least one basket code of the gems contained in the gem package; Based on the decrypted package identification code and/or the at least one basket code, retrieved by the verification server through a price server communicatively coupled to the verification server, and then communicably coupled to the price server Retrieve the spot price of the gem package and/or the at least one basket of codes from a price database and/or an exchange trading server of. The verification server sends the spot price to the NFC-enabled device. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of receiving a secret data, a key identification code and a tag identification code from a device with a near field communication (NFC) function by a verification server includes receiving the Geographic location information of gem packaging, the method further includes: The geographic location data is stored in the tag identification code database by the verification server and is associated with the tag identification code. The method described in claim 1, further comprising: If the decrypted label identification code is different from the label identification code or if the decrypted package identification code is different from the registered package identification code, the verification server generates a verification failure message and sends the verification failure message to the NFC-enabled installation. A system for verifying replaceable gem packaging, the system includes: A verification server and a tag identification code database communicably coupled to it; A key management server and a key database communicably coupled to the key management server, wherein the key management server is communicatively coupled to the verification server; The verification server is configured as: Receive an encrypted data, a key identification code and a tag identification code detected from the gem packaging from a device with near field communication (NFC) function, wherein the tag identification code is connected to an NFC arranged in the gem packaging Label associated The key management server is configured as: Retrieve a key associated with the key identification code from the key database; The verification server is configured as: Use the key to decrypt the encrypted data to generate a decrypted label identification code and a decrypted package identification code; Check the decrypted label identification code according to the label identification code; Check the decrypted package identification code against a registered package identification code retrieved from the label identification code database, wherein the registered package identification code is stored in association with the label identification code, and the registered package identification code is associated with the gemstone Packaging related; and If the decrypted label identification code matches the label identification code and if the decrypted package identification code matches the registered package identification code, the gem package is successfully verified. The system according to claim 5, further comprising: An inventory server and an inventory database communicably coupled to it; and A price server and a price database communicably coupled to the price database, wherein the inventory server and the price server are communicatively coupled to the verification server, Among them, the inventory server is configured as: After successfully verifying the gem packaging, retrieve the gem packaging information from the inventory database, where the gem packaging information includes at least one basket code of the gems contained in the gem packaging; The verification server is configured as: Based on the decrypted package identification code and/or at least one basket code, retrieve the gem package from the price database and/or an exchange transaction server communicatively coupled to the price server through the price server And/or the spot price of at least one basket of codes; and Send the spot price received from the price server to the NFC-enabled device. The system according to claim 6, wherein the verification server is configured as: Receive a geographic location data of the gem package from the NFC-enabled device; and The geographic location data is stored in the tag identification code database and is associated with the tag identification code. The system according to claim 5, wherein the verification server is configured as: If the decrypted tag identification code is different from the tag identification code or if the decrypted package identification code is different from the registered package identification code, a verification failure message is generated, and the verification failure message is sent to the NFC-enabled device. An alternative gem packaging, including: A shell A gem bag and a near field communication (NFC) tag, both of which are arranged in the housing; and Multiple gems are arranged in the gem bag; The NFC tag includes a microchip and an antenna communicably coupled to the microchip, wherein the microchip includes a first storage area that is hard-coded into a tag identification code associated with the NFC tag; and a second 2. A storage area, which stores both the label identification code and a package identification code as an encrypted data and stores a key identification code, The gem package is configured to verify by making a verification server perform the following steps: Receive the encrypted data, the key identification code and the tag identification code from a device with near field communication (NFC) function, Use a key to decrypt the encrypted data, the key is stored outside the gem package and is associated with the key identification code to generate a decryption package identification code and a decryption label identification code, Check the decrypted label identification code according to the label identification code, and The decrypted package identification code is verified according to a registered package identification code stored on the outside of the gem packaging and associated with the label identification code. The gem package according to claim 9, wherein the casing includes a metal material to prevent the NFC tag from being detected through a device with NFC function, and wherein an opening is formed in the metal material to allow the NFC tag to be detected through it . The gem packaging described in claim 10 further includes: A cover is movably coupled to the casing, wherein the cover can move at least between a first position where the opening is exposed and a second position where the opening is hidden. The gem package according to claim 11, wherein one of the casing and the cover is provided with a protrusion, and the other of the casing and the cover is provided with a complementary groove, wherein The protrusion and the groove are arranged in a sliding engagement manner. The gem package according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the gem bag comprises a bag support and a gem holder arranged in the bag support and holding the gem, wherein the NFC tag is firmly inserted in Between the bag support and the jewel holder, and easily cause damage to the antenna when the NFC tag is separated from the bag support. The gem packaging according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the NFC tag includes ferrite material to increase the readability of the NFC tag. The gem package according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the metal material includes gold, silver, platinum or any combination thereof. The gem packaging of claim 15, wherein a spot price of the gem packaging is determined by a spot price of at least one basket of gems corresponding to the gems arranged in the gem bag and a spot price of metal materials. The gem packaging according to any one of claims 9 to 16, wherein the gems include diamonds.

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