| 摘要 |
<p>A method and apparatus for marking, identifying, customizing, and tracking objects and mined materials such as gemstones and precious metals. An initial digital identifier, such as a matrix (100), is encoded with source data. The initial digital identifier is decoded, and the source data is recorded to a database (1520). The gemstone passes from between parties through one or more transactions. Transactional data is also written to the database. After a series of transactions, the rough gemstone (1600) is cut into one or more finished gemstones (1610,1620). The quality attributes of the polished gemstones are analyzed and recorded to the database. Based on the database information, a unique identifier is generated for each polished gemstone. The unique identifier and the database data are encoded into a digital identifier such as a matrix. Additionally, an owner may input data which is encoded into the same or a separate matrix. The matrix is then applied to the gemstone. With a matrix decoder, an owner may retrieve various types of information from the matrix, such as gemstone source data, the transaction history, quality attributes, and owner-specific data such as video, audio, photographs, images, and text.</p> |
