Greeting the guests, SSEF's Director, Dr Michael Krzemnicki, described the organisation's transformation from a compact but highly respected Swiss laboratory into one of the world's leading gemmological authorities, with a team of 25 specialists. "When I started working at SSEF more than 16 years ago, we were a team of five staff members working in a rather small apartment in the centre of Basel, "here called." The atmosphere was quite family style, but also fascinating for me as a mineralogist, as we were testing highly prestigious gems and jewellery for the trade and auction houses, due to the international reputation of our expertise." Dr Krzemnicki paid tribute to his predecessors, George Bosshart, who served as SSEF director from 1974 to 1990, and Prof. Henry A. Hänni, who was director from 1990 to 2009 and who was present at the ceremony.

In his address, Marc-Alain Christen, the President of the SSEF Board, traced the growth of the organisation from a laboratory that focussed on the local market into one operates internationally. "Over the years the range of clients became strongly globalised," he said. "Frequent on-site testing in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Paris by SSEF specialists, as well as efficient and secure transportation of valuable items from all over the world to Basel have greatly contributed to the internationalisation of SSEF's work." From its very early days, SSEF has served as touch stone for the gemmological sciences. Not long after its establishment it was charged with the responsibility of being the custodian of the CIBJO Diamond C1 master set, and it has since served as the source for colour master sets used by diamond grading laboratories around the world. Present at the inauguration ceremony was CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri.

"SSEF is a true gem in our trade, and an asset that needs to be valued and respected," he said. "What better manner to do that than the way we are doing it today. This is a facility from which not only SSEF, but also the entire the jewellery and gemstone business, will continue to draw strength for many years to come." SSEF's role as a service provider at the very highest echelons of the business was confirmed by the presence at the inauguration ceremony of representatives of the world's leading watch manufacturers, among them representatives of the Swatch group and the Richemont group, and also the auction houses, for whom SSEF has long provided expert grading services.

A highlight of the inaugural event was the public presentation of SSEF's Automated Spectral Diamond Inspection (ASDI) system, which analyses and measures large quantities of melee diamonds, smaller than 3.8 millimetres in diameter, filtering out simulants, possible synthetic diamonds and possible HPHT-treated diamonds. As the participants watched, the machine sorted through a batch of more than 1,400 small diamonds, examining each one individually and accurately separating only the suspect stones. Noting that he was long aware of ASDI's technical prowess, but this was the first time he had seen it in action, was Simon Lawson, the head of De Beers Technology. Throughout his long collaboration with SSEF, Dr Lawson said, "I have been constantly impressed with the lab's commitment to developing practical solutions for the challenges that face our industry." This commitment was summed up by Dr Krzemnicki during his address at the inauguration ceremony. "The trade is constantly challenged by new and difficult developments, and old values such a trust and confidence nowadays need a backup by an independent gemmological report," he said. "Thus it has been and will be our foremost mission to provide you with the best gemmological services, as a worldwide leader in gemstone and pearl testing, based on our three main pillars - a highly experienced team of scientifically educated gemmologists, state-of-the-art instrumentation, and continuous research to be able to answer all challenges the market is facing, today and tomorrow."