Blockchain Delivers De Beers Transparency
The 2006 Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond shined a spotlight on a matter that many of us do not think about in our day-to-day lives – at least not until you walk into a retail jewelry store. Aside from being a heavily corrupt industry, the diamond supply chain lacks visibility, which blockchain is beginning to provide.
This week the De Beers Group announced the blockchain-based platform Tracr will launch later in 2018 and promises to provide transparency from the mine to retail locations. De Beers reports partnerships with Diacore, Diarough, KGK Group, Rosy Blue NV and Venus Jewel, which is resulting in the successful tracking of 100 high-value diamonds at this time.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group explained, “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. This is a significant breakthrough made achievable by the close engagement of the pilot participants who share our commitment to industry progress and innovation. We look forward to sharing the platform with more partners in the coming months and capturing their insights before ultimately making this technology available to the broader industry.”
The collaborative project is leveraging blockchain to create an “immutable and secure digital trail,” delivering insight spanning the mine, cuter, polisher and finally on to the retail location. Once full systems go, the diamond value chain will attain a new level of transparency, promising consumers peace of mind in a diamond’s registration.
Amit Bhansali, Managing Director of Rosy Blue NV noted “Technology has already significantly contributed to improving transparency within the diamond industry. Initiatives that use blockchain can drive this process even further, as their implementation requires collaboration and trust creation among all industry stakeholders. We are excited to be contributing to this process through our participation in the Tracr platform.”
Questions of credibility and trust have long plagued the diamond industry. And, over the last decade or so this din is reaching fever pitch in an era of peaked corporate social responsibility and savvy shoppers. Diamonds are forever, and blockchain may be its new best friend.
Edited by Maurice Nagle
