JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diamond conglomerate De Beers Group has successfully tracked 100 high-value diamonds along the value chain during the pilot phase of its new industry blockchain platform.
A selection of rough diamonds, mined by De Beers, were tracked through an immutable and secure digital trail that was created by the platform called Tracr as they moved from the mine to cutter and polisher, before heading to a jeweller.
The pilot was announced in January, following months of research and industry consultation, with De Beers working with BCG Digital Ventures to build the platform and the underlying technology.
Five diamond manufacturers, namely Diacore, Diarough, KGK Group, Rosy Blue NV and Venus Jewel, had also worked with De Beers on Tracr’s development.
Tracr, which is expected to be launched later this year, provides asset-traceability assurance in a way that was not possible before, said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.
“When fully operational, Tracr will provide consumers with confidence that registered diamonds are natural and conflict-free, improve visibility and trust within the industry, and enhance efficiencies across the diamond value chain,” he said.
Tracr automatically creates a unique global identity for each diamond, storing information such as carat, colour and clarity through integration with the participants’ existing record-keeping systems.
“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,” said Cleaver.