World famous jeweller Tiffany & Company has about the origins of its diamonds to customers, from miners to retailers.
Following in the footsteps of the world鈥檚 No. 1 diamond miner, De Beers, which is testing a aimed at clearing the supply chain of imposters and conflict diamonds, Tiffany has begun tracing each of its individually registered diamonds (0.18 carats and larger) by a unique serial number.
The 鈥淒iamond Source Initiative鈥澛爄dentifies for customers the country where diamonds were mined, and, eventually, will also include information on where they were cut, polished and set.
The digits, etched by laser and invisible to the naked eye, provide consumers with the exact provenance and country of origin for the diamonds they are acquiring.
By 2020, the New York-based jeweller plans to add further information about the 鈥渃raftsmanship鈥� journey of its precious gems, such as the cutting and polishing workshop location.
The program, known as the 鈥淒iamond Source Initiative鈥�, is part of jewellers鈥� efforts to attract younger shoppers, for whom the issue of sourcing is聽a key factor in decision making.
鈥淒iamonds, formed up to three billion years ago and brought to the earth鈥檚 surface by a miracle of nature, are symbols of the most important moments in our lives,鈥� Tiffany CEO Alessandro Bogliolo . 鈥淭here should be nothing opaque about Tiffany diamonds.鈥�
Despite the establishment of the Kimberley Process in 2003, aimed at removing conflict diamonds from the supply chain, experts say聽.
While Tiffany controls most of the process that readies its diamonds for display cases, it buys its roughs from suppliers with various mines. The country-of-origin information comes from those companies and does not link diamonds to specific mining operations.
That鈥檚 why, in cases where a precious stone鈥檚 provenance is unknown, such as with those that pre-date initiative, Tiffany will be able to certify they were mined in countries known for having ethical practices, such as Canada, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
Going forward, polished diamonds will be required to comply with Tiffany鈥檚 鈥淒iamond Source Warranty Protocol鈥�, which restricts sourcing to countries that do not present diamond-related human rights concerns.
鈥淭iffany & Co has long been committed to diamond traceability and going above and beyond industry norms to promote the protection of the environment and human rights,鈥� said chief sustainability officer Anisa Kamadoli Costa. 鈥淎 transparent journey of responsible sourcing reflects the many positive and far-reaching benefits along every step of the diamond supply chain.鈥�
In 2017, Tiffany & Co. sold more than $500 million worth of diamond engagement rings.