De Beers Ushers in a New Era of Transparency

De Beers has announced a major initiative to enhance transparency in the diamond supply chain, set to take effect in 2025. For the first time, its digital platform, Tracr, already used for diamond traceability, will provide detailed information about the country of origin for all diamonds over 0.5 carats.

This measure will allow consumers to trace the precise journey of each diamond from mine to market, responding to the growing demand for transparency, sustainability, and ethical sourcing.

In the past, De Beers generally indicated the origin of diamonds from its operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, or South Africa through an aggregation process that grouped diamonds by type, regardless of the country of extraction. However, thanks to new scanning technologies and advanced algorithms supported by artificial intelligence, Tracr will now be able to digitally identify and pinpoint the specific country of extraction for each diamond. This technological breakthrough marks a significant milestone for the diamond industry and De Beers' Origins strategy, which aims to strengthen consumer trust and ensure ethical sourcing practices.

The announcement was made during the "Spotlight on Diamonds" event in Paris, where De Beers also presented updates on its sustainability program, Building Forever, which focuses on areas such as livelihoods, climate change, and biodiversity protection.

Al Cook, CEO of the De Beers Group, emphasized the importance of this new technology in offering customers complete traceability, enabling them to know not only the origin but also the positive impact of the diamonds they purchase.

Antonella Reina, Editor VO+