Blockchain tech is making diamond sourcing more accountable, and major players from the GIA to luxury brands are hopping on the chain

Jul 13 , 2024

Radical transparency? Blockchain tech is making diamond sourcing more accountable – and major players from the Gemological Institute of America, to Chow Tai Fook and De Beers are getting involved. Photo: Reuters

The Gemological Institute of America partnered with blockchain platform Tracr and digital registry Everledger – the latter also partnered with Chow Tai Fook

Tiffany & Co. launched limited edition digital and physical CryptoPunk pendants, incorporating elements of transparency, authenticity and gamification afforded by the blockchain

In May 2015, Leanne Kemp founded Everledger, a global digital registry designed to increase transparency in global supply chains, including when it comes to diamonds. In the nine years since, the jewellery industry has increasingly come around to blockchain’s potential to strengthen provenance and build customer trust. This includes major brands incorporating the technology to raise accountability in how diamonds are sourced and produced.

Launched at scale in May 2022, the decentralised Tracr blockchain platform has registered more than a million rough diamonds at source and 110,000 diamonds at the manufacturer level, according to De Beers Group, the company behind the initiative.

Tracr CEO Wesley Tucker said the private Ethereum platform leverages distributed ledger technology to provide an automated, permanent record of each diamond’s provenance journey from mine to retail.

Tiffany & Co. NFTiff pendant featuring one of the 10,000 CryptoPunk characters. Photo: @TiffanyAndCo/X

“Scalability is supported by each user having their own ‘instance’ of the platform, which can be customised to their individual needs,” said Tucker.

“Our cloud infrastructure and API technology make integration seamless, and allow the platform to scale by automating data capture.”

Tracr has since onboarded key industry players – including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Sarine Tech (which develops technologies for the diamond industry) and RapNet (which markets itself as the No 1 online trading network for diamonds and jewellery) – to its growing ecosystem. The platform assigns each diamond a unique digital ID, allowing retailers and consumers to access the stone’s provenance details.

Blockchain has the unrivalled potential to strengthen provenance and build customer trust – important factors when it comes to ultra-rare and extremely valuable gems, such as this 14.83-carat fancy vivid purple-pink diamond. Photo: Sam Tsang

As one of the world’s largest diamond producers, De Beers sources gems from operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As of February, Tracr had registered more than two thirds of the total value of De Beers’ global diamond production.

According to a 2023 Delta Global study of over 2,000 Asia-Pacific luxury consumers, 93 per cent are willing to support or spend more on luxury brands that actively promote sustainability initiatives.