Successful pilot for De Beers' diamond blockchain initiative
De Beers has successfully digitally tracked 100 high-value diamonds throughout the value chain from mine to retail during the pilot of its diamond industry platform.
Staff reporter
De Beers has successfully tracked rough diamonds throughout the value chain
10 MAY 201810/05/2018commentsshareIt said an "immutable and secure digital trail" had been created using the developed Tracr platform for a selection of rough diamonds moving from a De Beers mine to a cutter and polisher to a jeweller.
The platform should be launched later this year for all in the industry to use with the aim of improving visibility and trust within the industry, enhancing efficiencies across the value chain and ensuring customers that registered diamonds are natural and conflict-free.
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Tracr uses its integration with the participants' existing record-keeping system to create a unique global diamond identity for each diamond in the value chain, which stores its attributes such as carat, colour and clarity.
The platform also uses images of the stone, planned outcome images and the diamond's physical properties to verify authenticity through data science and physical identification techniques.
The data is then consolidated into a digital trail for each diamond, assuring its source and traceability from rough to polished as the data is verified at each key milestone of the diamond's passage.
De Beers is working with BCG Digital Ventures to build the Tracr platform and the underlying technology and has also worked with diamond manufacturers Diacore, Diarough, KGK Group, Rosy Blue NV and Venus Jewel, as they have experience processing large stones and broad coverage across the midstream of the industry's value chain.
De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said the successful pilot was 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," he said.
Rosy Blue managing director Amit Bhansali said technology had 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," he said.