Systems and methods for reliable authentication of jewelry and/or gemstones

1 . A system for authenticating an item, the item comprising jewelry and/or a gemstone, the system comprising:

a marking system configured to mark the jewelry and/or gemstone with indicia;

a sensor system configured to image the marked item to generate one or more images of the marked item, wherein the one or more images comprises an image of the indicia as marked on the item;

a memory; and

one or more processors that are configured to:

create a reference signature for the item based on the one or more images of the marked item, wherein the item comprises jewelry and/or a gemstone wherein the reference signature comprises optically detectable characteristics of the marked item, wherein the optically detectable characteristics comprise the indicia;

store the reference signature in the memory in association with the item; and

authenticate whether a test item is the same as the item, wherein the test item comprises purported jewelry and/or a purported gemstone, wherein the authentication includes operations that (1) create a test signature for the test item, (2) access the stored reference signature that is associated with the item, and (3) compare the test signature with the accessed reference signature to determine whether a match exists between the test signature and the accessed reference signature, wherein a determined match between the test signature and the accessed reference signature serves to authenticate the test item as being the same as the item.

2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprises a QR code that encodes a unique identifier for the item, and wherein the reference signature is based on the QR code.

3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the reference signature further comprises a plurality of feature values with respect to a set of feature characteristics derived from the one or more images of the marked item.

4 . The system of claim 3 wherein the reference signature reflects a plurality of 3D characteristics of the item.

5 . The system of claim 1 wherein the reference signature uniquely identifies the item.

6 . The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to create a digital asset for the item, wherein the digital asset links the item with the stored reference signature, and wherein the authentication further includes operations that access the stored reference signature that is associated with the item based on the digital asset.

7 . The system of claim 6 wherein the digital asset comprises a non-fungible token (NFT), and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to store the reference signature on a blockchain, wherein the NFT includes a link to the stored reference signature on the blockchain.

8 . The system of claim 7 wherein the NFT link points to NFT metadata stored on the blockchain, wherein the NFT metadata comprises the stored reference signature and additional information about the item.

9 . The system of claim 7 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to store the reference signature in the memory by distributively storing a plurality of segments of the reference signature across one or more blockchains; and

wherein the NFT includes metadata that links to the distributively stored reference signature segments.

10 . The system of claim 6 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to provide the digital asset to an owner of the item, wherein the owner is a seller of the item, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transfer the digital asset to a buyer of the item in response to the determined match.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein the digital asset comprises a non-fungible token (NFT) for the seller, wherein the NFT includes a link to the stored reference signature on a blockchain, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transfer the NFT by (1) minting a new NFT for the buyer, wherein the new NFT is for the item and includes a link to the stored reference signature on the blockchain, and wherein the new NFT serves as the transferred digital asset, and (2) burning the seller's NFT.

12 . The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors comprise a plurality of processors, wherein the processors include different processors that perform the create and authenticate operations.

13 . A system for authenticating an item, the item comprising jewelry and/or a gemstone, the system comprising:

a sensor system configured to image the item to generate one or more images of the item;

a memory; and

one or more processors that are configured to:

create a reference signature for the item based on the one or more images of the item; and

store the reference signature in the memory in association with the item;

wherein the sensor system is further configured to image a test item to generate one or more images of the test item, wherein the test item comprises purported jewelry and/or a purported gemstone; and

wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

create a test signature based on the one or more images of the test item; and

authenticate whether the test item is the same as the item, wherein the authentication includes operations that (1) access the stored reference signature that is associated with the item and (2) compare the test signature with the accessed reference signature to determine whether a match exists between the test signature and the accessed reference signature, wherein a determined match between the test signature and the accessed reference signature serves to authenticate the test item as being the same as the item.

14 . The system of claim 13 wherein sensor system comprises a camera of a mobile device, wherein the mobile device camera is configured to take the one or more images of the test item.

15 . The system of claim 13 wherein the reference signature is based on (1) electromagnetic properties of the item, (2) acoustical properties of the item, (3) scanning electron microscopy with respect to the item, and/or (4) diffractometry with respect to the item.

16 . The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a marking system configured to mark the jewelry and/or gemstone with indicia; and

wherein the one or more images of the marked item comprises an image of the indicia as marked on the marked item.

17 . The system of claim 13 wherein the sensor system comprises a first camera for imaging the item and a second camera for imaging the test item.

18 . A system for applying artificial intelligence (AI) to support authentication of jewelry and/or gemstones, the system comprising:

a sensor system configured to image an item to generate one or more images of the item, wherein the item comprises jewelry and/or a gemstone; and

one or more processors configured to:

process the one or more images to extract a plurality of feature values for a set of features about the item, wherein the extracted feature values characterize the item and serve as a reference signature for the item, the reference signature for use in a subsequent authentication of the item;

store the reference signature in a memory; and

create a digital asset for the item that is linked to the stored reference signature;

wherein the sensor system is further configured to image a test item to generate one or more images of the test item, wherein the test item comprises purported jewelry and/or a purported gemstone; and

wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

create a test signature based on the one or more images of the test item; and

authenticate whether the test item is the same as the item, wherein the authentication includes operations that (1) access the stored reference signature that is associated with the item via the digital asset and (2) compare the test signature with the accessed reference signature to determine whether a match exists between the test signature and the accessed reference signature, wherein a determined match between the test signature and the accessed reference signature serves to authenticate the test item as being the same as the item.

19 . The system of claim 18 wherein the sensor system comprises a first camera for imaging the item and a second camera for imaging the test item.

20 . A method for applying artificial intelligence (AI) to support authentication of an item, the item comprising jewelry and/or a gemstone, the method comprising:

marking the jewelry and/or gemstone with indicia;

imaging the marked item to generate one or more images of the item, wherein the item comprises jewelry and/or a gemstone wherein the one or more images comprises an image of the indicia as marked on the marked item;

processing the one or more images to extract a plurality of feature values for a set of features about the marked item, wherein the extracted feature values characterize the marked item and serve as a reference signature for the marked item, the reference signature for use in a subsequent authentication of the marked item, wherein the reference signature is based at least in part on optically detectable characteristics of the marked item, wherein the optically detectable characteristics comprise the indicia;

storing the reference signature in a memory; and

creating a digital asset for the marked item that is linked to the stored reference signature; and

wherein the processing, storing, and creating steps are performed by one or more processors.