Tiffany and Co Adopting Blockchain for Diamond Tracking

6 min readFeb 13, 2019

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Nearly 4% of the world’s diamonds and jewels are conflict diamonds, the ones used to fund military escapades in regions that are prone to economic and social instability. These conflict diamonds result in three to four million deaths per year. Given the alarming role conflict diamonds play in destabilizing countries, only 27% of diamond retailers are able to ensure their diamonds are conflict-free. Some solution is needed to reduce if not rid the Earth of conflict diamonds altogether.

Blockchain technology is used throughout various industries, such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare and retail, globally for collaborative supply chain management. This provides companies with the ability to track an item from the moment it is created until the moment it is sold, while the data stays immutable throughout an asset’s path.

The pharmaceutical industry uses blockchain to track medicines from one point to the other. Healthcare providers are applying blockchain to securely store and collaborate on patient data. Walmart is using blockchain technology to track their leafy greens from farm to table, so why not diamonds? Tiffany and Co, one of the largest and greatest diamond distributors in the world, is stepping up their efforts to ensure they are selling conflict- as well as blood-free diamonds to their consumers.

What is Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain is a rapidly developing technology introduced in 2008, stemming from its use as the operating foundation for cryptocurrencies. Originally conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto to ensure the security of bitcoin trades and transactions, the technology has gone on to find various uses.

Medical, pharmaceutical, financial, fintech, food, and a variety of other industries have begun using the technology to provide more efficient supply chain management and logistics. The technology depends on the use of a digital decentralized distributed ledger. Each blockchain is composed of multiple nodes which need to reach a majority consensus in order for new information to be added. Due to the fact that the ledger is shared, it makes blockchain almost impossible to breach. Old information can be changed only with the general consensus of the majority of those on the chain.

Tiffany’s Diamond Sourcing Policy

Founded almost 200 years ago in 1837, Tiffany and Co has become the leader in all things luxury jewelry. They create a variety of jewelry ranging from bracelets to wedding bands.

From their very beginnings, Tiffany has prided itself on its ability to avoid blood diamonds. According to The Eye of Jewelry, an online luxury magazine, “Tiffany has very high standards with their own process for tracking, starting with the rough diamond, to cutting, polishing, grading and setting.”

Tiffany is one of many companies working with the Kimberley Process, a certification system that aims to target conflict diamonds before they enter the market illegally. There are over 54 countries that adhere to the Kimberley Process today, yet illegal diamonds still tend to flood the market. With conflict diamonds still a prevalent and pressing problem, Tiffany has turned to blockchain technology to ensure their customers are receiving the highest-quality diamonds that are also sourced ethically.

Using Blockchain Technology to Provide Blood-Free Diamonds

On January 9, Tiffany and Co. announced that they would start detailing to consumers the origin of their products along with diamonds’ specific qualities, starting in the first quarter of 2019. Titled the Diamond Source Initiative, the new tracing program will be tracking individual diamonds from the time they are collected until the time they are sold. At each point in the supply chain, the diamonds will be graded, cut, and shined, with each step being uploaded to the shared supply chain platform.

Tiffany continues to lead the industry in terms of diamond provenance. In 2020, the brand plans to expand the program to include the finer details of craftsmanship, including polishing and cutting, as well as the location of where these works are performed.

Meanwhile, other jewelry production companies are picking up this thread and building their own blockchain systems to ensure the ethics of their diamond sourcing.

De Beers Diamond Tracking

Through its program Tracr, De Beers has been able to track nearly 100 diamonds and jewels from mine to polisher and cutter, then on to jeweller and eventually retailer. Photos of a diamond’s journey as well as progress can be uploaded to the blockchain, along with the information concerning colour, location, and quality. Tracr not only gives customers peace of mind but, if applied to all diamonds, could stop the production of blood diamonds altogether.

Fura Gems Blockchain Technology

Fura Gems, a leading player in the emerald and ruby industry, has also begun building their own blockchain marketed for jewel supply chain management. Vikram Pathak, Head of Fura Gem’s Investor Relations, spoke to Forbes detailing the specifics of the blockchain.

Fura Gems’ blockchain technology will be used to track Mozambican rubies and Colombian emeralds from the moment they leave the mine all the way until they reach the customer. Their system will allow anyone to view all aspects of any gem they sell. These details include what alterations are made to the stone, as well as whose hands it has crossed into, where it has been shipped, and where it has been sold prior to purchase.

The conflict diamonds result in three to four million deaths per year.

TrustChain: IBM’s Global Jewel Tracker

TrustChain is a collaboration of various jewel distributors working with a blockchain powered by IBM. It follows the same ideas as the previous blockchain platforms mentioned. It tracks gems from mine to pocket, logging each alteration as it is made.

TrustChain is a consortium so it is made up of multiple companies rather than just one, as compared to Tiffany or Fura Gems. This gives TrustChain more access to other gems and distributors. Given that IBM is a global leader in developing cutting-edge technology, some companies are turning to IBM’s blockchain expertise rather than for the system developed by a jewelry company.

What This Means for Consumers

As blockchain technology is a booming industry at the moment, many companies are utilizing it in order to optimize their existing processes and increase their revenue. Kodak’s stock rose dramatically after they introduced their own cryptocurrency in 2017. Similar stock trends have occurred with other businesses that are now beginning to apply blockchain to their operations.

Many experts have estimated that blockchain technology will be widely adopted by 2025. With that being said, some experts think that while Tiffany’s technology is a step in the right direction toward reducing the sale and distribution of conflict diamonds, at this moment in time it does not have a significant effect on consumers other than a likely increase in jewel prices.

However, as it aims to decrease blood diamonds, ultimately it means fewer lives lost, and therefore a benefit to humanity as a whole. According to Forbes, what Tiffany’s customers seem to want is lab-grown diamonds. Tiffany and Co. said they prefer the real thing and do not consider lab-grown diamonds as luxury items.

Consequences Throughout the Diamond Distribution Industry

Tiffany’s Diamond Source Initiative is likely to affect the business of many diamond distributors. Now that Tiffany has adopted blockchain technology, others in the industry will need to follow. As IBM is already developing their own gem tracing blockchain solution, we can most likely expect theirs to find the most common usage, and others’ to be phased out.

Although developing lab-grown diamonds would be an option for Tiffany to take, it is understandable that they have instead decided to develop a blockchain in order to guarantee their diamonds were sourced ethically with no conflicts associated with their provenance.