Professor Yeshayahu Yarnitsky is one of the few people that made a truly decisive contribution to the basic technology of the modern diamond industry. During the 1950's, after completing his doctorate on fluid rockets, Prof. Yarnitsky sought an area that would enable him to promote the fledgling Israeli industry through Research and Development. The diamond industry at the time was a young industry that thirsted for development and the professor decided to invest all his efforts in facilitating it.
In 1964, Prof. Yarnitsky established a laboratory in the framework of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty at the Technion in Haifa as well as a laboratory in Ramat Gan. These laboratories served as the preliminary basis for the Israeli Diamond Institute, which was officially founded in 1967. Initially, he put all his energy into the development of small accessories to improve the work station. But he soon came to a far-reaching conclusion, that the machinery necessitating the transition to innovative work methods would have to be developed.
Over a period of 40 years, Prof. Yarnitsky invented a series of machines that fundamentally changed the face of the diamond industry in Israel and abroad. The first machine was an automatic polishing head which he invented in the 1950's. This was followed by the “Rondist” polishing machine. The most outstanding machine was the “dynamometer,” which enabled a deeper understanding of the diamond cutting and polishing process as well as the introduction of improvements in every stage of the process. Subsequently, Prof. Yarnitsky invented automatic bruting and sawing machines. Recently he and the staff of the Israeli Diamond Technology Center (IDT) have been working on a fully automatic polishing machine for which he has great hopes.
Prof. Yarnitsky recently celebrated his 80th birthday, but his thinking is still innovative and progressive: “At the beginning of the road all the tools were primitive. I had to invent machines for each of the diamond processing phases. But beyond that, an industry that aspires to be a leader must rejuvenate its methods and instruments every few years. It can not allow itself the luxury of marking time.”
Prof. Yarnitsky believes that the time has come to incorporate hi-tech in the diamond industry. He anticipates growing problems in two areas: raw materials and increased diamond manufacturing in the Far East due to inexpensive costs. Both of these challenges can be overcome with the help of sophisticated innovations that will make manufacture in Israel less expensive. The latter, which already exist, will enable innovative diamond processing. To achieve these goals, out-of-the-box machinery and processes must be developed.
Prof. Yarnitsky adds: “For 15 years we have not developed significant new methods or tools in the diamond industry. It is time to herald in a new era. We must build a new diamond industry in Israel by incorporating methods that have never been seen before here or abroad." He has every intention of reinventing the wheel in order to reinstate the Israeli Diamond Industry as the indisputable leader of the world diamond industry. This will be achieved within 5 years, he says. We certainly intend to stick around and check it out.