In Vegas, Alrosa Announces Its Approach to Traceability

Las Vegas—Alrosa announced its approach to diamond traceability in Las Vegas, offering customers an in-depth look into the origin of their diamonds via a personalized video.

At a press briefing held Friday at the Sands during the JCK show, the mining company said it will begin offering diamonds with an “electronic passport,” which will include information about the characteristics of the diamond as well as its age, the place and date of extraction, when and where it was cut, and the name and background of the craftsperson behind it.

The video will show the visual history of the diamond, automatically compiling information from internal databases.

“Provenance is the success of our industry, and its future,” Alrosa Director of Sales Evgeny Agureev said during the press conference.

The company said it is looking to appeal to a younger generation by emphasizing its “non-conflict” status and corporate social responsibility.

Alrosa is the latest in a line of companies to announce a traceability program that, ultimately, is designed to bolster end-consumer confidence in diamonds.

There are a few blockchain platforms—which keep track of diamonds from mine to market—in the works, including De Beers’ Tracr, which is now open to the entire industry. (Alrosa joined Tracr in October.)

The Gemological Institute of America announced earlier this spring that it is now offering a Diamond Origin Report for white diamonds, and then said Thursday that it will also offer the service for natural colored diamonds.

And solitaire specialist Venus Jewel, which also is part of Tracr and has been developing its mine-to-market traceability program for the last five years, announced that its Responsible Jewellery Council certification includes the first audited provenance claim on rough diamond origin and traceability for each polished diamond the company sells.

The videos accompanying Alrosa diamonds will be accessible on all devices and will also be shareable on social media.

Currently, 2,000 diamonds have been issued one of these electronic passports, with more expected to be added going forward.

Dealers will receive information on how to access the videos accompanying the diamonds they’ve purchased and instructions on how to pass that information along to the customer, Alrosa said.

In the near future, end consumers will be able to access the videos through an online portal as well.