Diamond giant De Beers is investing in a new digital platform service that provides a single, immutable record to trace a diamond’s individual journey through the value chain.

This diamond traceability platform is underpinned by blockchain technology, which allows for a highly secure digital register that creates a tamperproof and permanent record of interactions, such as a diamond’s path through the value chain.

“Consumers expect to know more about their luxury goods, the route they have travelled, their authenticity, and whether they have been a force for good in the world,” said CEO Bruce Cleaver in a note in early December.

He added that commercial players in the industry expected a modernised trading environment where goods can be bought, sold and shipped with increased trust and decreased cost.

In a blockchain, each event or transaction is registered in a database backed by advanced information security technology.

This chain maintains a record of the activities that have taken place, the order in which they occur, who they occur between and what they involve.

“The system is able to verify activity on the chain without needing to reveal sensitive details to the wider community. As a result, participants can be confident that a transaction occurred, but are safe in the knowledge that the sensitive data remains between them and their counterparty,” he said.

Once established, the blockchain will operate as a shared platform, on which a range of solutions could be built.

“It can be thought of as akin to a smartphone and a range of apps – once the base blockchain technology is established, participants in the ecosystem can build applications for various uses, whether that’s as a trading platform, a financial assurance tool or a consumer-facing solution,” he noted.

As the first traceability platform to span the entire diamond value chain, the solution aims to provide unprecedented levels of confidence and assurance for all stakeholders.

“In the months ahead, we will continue to work with leaders from across the industry and share our progress,” he said.