Transparent Diamond Supply Using Blockchain
Green Lake Jewelry Works is now able to offer ethically sourced, single-origin diamonds with complete transparency using blockchain technology. By partnering with Everledger, an emerging technology enterprise that tracks the provenance of high-value assets on a global digital ledger, designers and gemologists at Green Lake can tell you everything about your diamond.
This month at JCK, the world’s largest annual conference for jewelry professionals, Everledger revealed its newest application — with Green Lake as the first retailer in the U.S. to use it. Its mobile inscription viewer reads a tiny data matrix code on the diamond’s girdle. Packed with information about the diamond’s journey, anyone can pull up the original certificate from the mine, the rough crystal from which it was cut, who exactly cut it, and how it made its way into our studios.
We believe this is just the beginning of a genuine transformation in the diamond industry, enabling us to make good on our mission and better reflect the values of our clientele.
Currently, the provenance of 7,500 diamonds from Dharmanandan Diamonds has been encrypted with data matrix codes onto the blockchain, with an anticipated production scale of 10,000 diamonds monthly to meet rising consumer demand. Green Lake’s Gemstone Director Brant Kane lauded this new accessibility to supply chain information, as it’s the perfect complement to the visible celebration of craftsmanship that accompanies each ring made in the shop (see samples of the new app below). At the release he said, “we see developments with blockchain will be widely adopted in the coming years, becoming a seamless part of our day to day business practice.”
Everledger’s ability in pulling together major diamond producers, certificate houses, and jewelers from around the world has placed its service at the forefront of tracking diamond provenance. The efficacy of this initial pilot is clear, and it’s hopeful that the same blockchain-based solution can include the small-scale artisanal gold and sapphire mines which offer Green Lake clients a responsible option for wedding rings — Certified Fairmined and the Montana Collection.
Though the technology is still in development, Green Lake clients can specially request to see diamonds that have been cryptographically-certified on the blockchain by emailing gemstones@greenlakejewelry.com