Diamonds are not Surat diamantaires’ best friend

Surat :  The world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing center in Surat, India, is preparing for tough times ahead as a collaboration between De Beers, the world’s leading diamond mining company, and Sarine Technologies, a diamond technology leader, introduces a scalable and cost-effective solution for tracking diamonds from their source to the point of entry into G7 countries.

This development comes in response to the G7 bloc’s decision to restrict the entry of Russian diamonds, including those processed by the Indian diamond industry, into the US and European markets, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 bloc, comprising Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, is set to implement a ban on diamonds mined in Russia, which is the world’s largest diamond producer. This move underscores the global impact of the conflict in Ukraine and aims to prevent the flow of revenue to Russia’s diamond industry.

The newly formed Tracr-Sarine solution is designed to facilitate the source verification and traceability of diamonds upon entry into the G7 and other countries, utilizing a dedicated digital portal. Tracr, known as the world’s first fully distributed diamond blockchain platform, enables the registration of rough diamonds at their source, while Sarine, a worldwide leader in precision diamond technologies, specializes in tracking diamonds throughout the entire diamond pipeline.

Sarine’s capability to provide objective verification of a diamond’s journey from rough to polished, through verifiable data uploaded onto the Tracr platform, will play a crucial role in ensuring transparency and authenticity. The digital platform will also host a dedicated customs portal for use by government officials from G7 and other countries.

With Sarine and Tracr’s extensive networks, including over 100 million diamonds utilizing Sarine’s systems annually and more than 1.5 million rough diamonds currently registered on Tracr at the source, this collaborative solution is expected to have minimal impact on the diamond supply chain. Both companies have a strong presence in the diamond industry, making this a scalable and effective solution.

Wes Tucker, CEO of Tracr, emphasized the importance of diamond provenance assurance in light of the G7 nations’ import restrictions. He stated, “The collaboration between Tracr and Sarine will bring together the best of both of our propositions to deliver a highly effective, scalable, and cost-effective digital diamond traceability solution.”

David Block, CEO of Sarine Technologies, expressed excitement about the initiative’s potential to accelerate the volume of diamonds undergoing data-based verifiable traceability, emphasizing the need for transparency in the diamond industry.

“Both parties plan to engage with industry bodies and stakeholders to discuss the collaborative proposal and its alignment with the G7 Diamond Protocol, facilitated by the World Diamond Council. As the diamond industry faces evolving challenges, this collaboration aims to provide a vital solution for maintaining integrity and trust in the global diamond trade” said Block.