EDITOR’S LETTER
CONTRIBUTORS
Diamonds and blockchain
CONTRIBUTORS
DAVID PRAGER
David is the
executive vice
president of
corporate affairs.
He has worked
for the company
for 12 years and
is a member for
the diamond
empowerment fund.
ALAN
FRAMPTON
Alan spent 30
years in the flower
business supplying
companies such
as Sainsbury’s and
Waitrose before
becoming director
of ethical jewellery
retailer Cred
Jewellery
LEANNE KEMP
Leanne is the
founder and CEO
of Everledger and
has over 20 years
experience as a
software engineer
and has been
involved in the
jewellery industry
since 2007
LEONARD ZELL
Leonard has
been training fine
jewellers for 25
years. His monthly
column gives
some top tips on
sales training and
improving your
bottom line
ON THE
COVER
The way we trace diamonds is on the verge
of changing fundamentally. At least, that is
the picture being painted by a number of
international organisations whose business is
the supply chain. How will it change? Blockchain,
that’s how. Much more qualified people than
I have written books on this technological
wizardry, so I won’t attempt to play the computer
scientist just here. What’s important though is the gravitas of those
who say they are working on bringing it to the world of jewellery.
In May, De Beers Group announced that it has successfully tracked
100 high-value diamonds along the value chain during the pilot of its
industry blockchain platform, dubbed ‘Tracr’, through which digital
certificates are created for each diamond registered, storing its key
attributes and transactions. In the pilot, an “immutable and secure”
digital trail was created for a selection of rough diamonds mined by
De Beers as they moved from the mine, to cutter and polisher, then
through to a jeweller, marking what it says is the first time a diamond’s
journey has been digitally tracked from mine to retail.
Shortly afterward, Signet Jewelers – the world’s largest jewellery
retailer – announced it will be the first to join Tracr, working alongside
the latter’s team to ensure the platform meets the needs of the
jewellery manufacture and retail sectors. The partnership will initially
focus on the tracking of diamond jewellery but plans to expand the
pilot’s scope to cater for smaller-sized goods, too.
But it’s not just diamonds. Recently, IBM and a consortium of gold
and diamond industry leaders announced the first cross-industry
initiative to use blockchain to trace the provenance of finished
pieces of jewellery across the supply chain. Asahi Refining, Helzberg
Diamonds, LeachGarner, The Richline Group and UL have launched the
TrustChain Initiative (powered by the IBM Blockchain Platform, and
powered by IBM Cloud), which will initially track six styles of diamond
and gold engagement rings on the blockchain network. As the program
continues to develop, TrustChain jewellery is expected to be accessible
to consumers in participating retail stores by the end of 2018.
If you haven’t heard of any of this stuff, as always Jewellery Focus is
a good place to start. Our lead feature this month asks how blockchain
will affect the jewellery market.
I hope you enjoy the issue.
July 2018
www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk
£5.95 | ISSN 2046-7265
BLOCKCHAIN
We hear how industry
leading companies are
embracing blockchain
technology to solve the
the jewellery world’s
traceability problem
LAB-GROWN
DIAMONDS
YOUR VIEWS
What does De Beers’ new synthetic diamond
range mean for the company, the jewellery
industry overall, and consumer perceptions?
Diamonds and Blockchain
page 29
20
This month we sit down with the
owner of Maya Magal
36
41
TALKING POINT RETAIL ADVICE LEONARD ZELL
We ask: Would customers buy
synthetic diamond jewellery? Handpicked retail industry advice
from our contributors’ network The best methods and practices
for training your salespeople
July 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
MICHAEL NORTHCOTT
Editor, Jewellery Focus
[email protected]
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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