De Beers has successfully traced the progress of 100 high-value diamonds from mine to retail using its new blockchain platform: Tracr.
“Tracr” provides diamonds with a unique “Global Diamond ID” that contains information such as carat weight, color and clarity, as well as images and provenance information, De Beers said Thursday. The system uploads further data at each step throughout the process.
“The Tracr project team has demonstrated that it can successfully track a diamond through the value chain, providing asset-traceability assurance in a way that was not possible before,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. “This is a significant breakthrough, made achievable by the close engagement of the pilot participants, who share our commitment to industry progress and innovation.”
De Beers launched the pilot in January, working with a small number of participants, including Diacore, Diarough, Rosy Blue, KGK Group and Venus Jewel, which helped test the program. The goal was to create a secure, tamper-proof ledger recording transactions along every stage of the diamond’s journey, thereby strengthening consumer confidence about stones’ origins.
“Technology has already significantly contributed to improving transparency within the diamond industry,” said Amit Bhansali, managing director of Rosy Blue. “Initiatives that use blockchain can drive this process even further, as their implementation requires collaboration and trust-creation among all industry stakeholders.”
De Beers intends to open the platform to a broader range of participants over the next few months. After gathering feedback, the miner will launch the technology in full to the entire industry later this year.
“I’m happy about this Tracr blockchain as it ensures buyers that the stones they are buying aren’t fakes or so-
called conflict diamonds”
called conflict diamonds”Sylvain Goldberg
