De Beers Tracks First Gems From Mine to Shop Using Blockchain
- Bitcoin technology helps guard against fakes, blood diamonds
- Virtual ledger shows transactions while keeping them anonymous
Diamond rings are displayed in a cabinet inside a De Beers SA store in Hong Kong.
Photographer: Calvin Sit/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The world’s biggest diamond producer says it’s tracked its first diamonds all the way from the mine to jewelry retailers using the technology behind bitcoin.
De Beers, which is piloting a scheme using blockchain to create a virtual ledger of diamond sales, said that 100 high-value stones were tracked through the cutting, polishing and manufacturing process to a final retailer. The company plans to roll out the platform later this year.