Vicenzaoro: discussing traceability

I had the pleasure to be invited by the World Jewellery Confederation - CIBJO to be part of a panel discussion on “The Technology of Traceability” at the Vicenzaoro
fair in Italy in January. It has been clear to me for decades that consumers generally have a low level of trust in the diamond industry while clients of luxury jewellery
brands display a much higher level of trust.

This might not be surprising following decades where the main narrative has been that conflict diamonds is a major issue.
Yet with the emergency of traceability technology in the natural diamond supply chain we are finally seeing our industry being in a position where we not only can regain consumer trust but perhaps as importantly start creating a dialogue based on transparency.

We can now with confidence highlight the good natural and ethically mined diamonds does for communities where they are unearthed and give consumer the choice to choose diamonds from countries like Botswana. Botswana remains the major diamond producing country in the world that most have not heard about, where over 80% of the value of each diamond is returned to the country.
 
Yet as I mentioned during the panel discussion it is imperative that retailers and brands who choose to offer the finest Botswanamark diamonds to their customers are trained and educated about the supply chain, how Kimberlite is extracted from the earth in the Jwaneng and Orapa mines, how we trace our stones and how communities are dependent on this finite resource. As the Festus Mogae former president of Botswana once said:
 

"For our people every diamond purchase represents food on the table,
better living conditions, better healthcare, potable and safe drinking water,
and more roads to connect our remote communities”

We have also known for decades that the social economical benefit and environmental footprint of stones from different countries are vastly different. Eg a Russian diamonds versus, Zimbabwe versus a diamond unearthed in Botswana. The technology of traceability will allow us to make these distinctions and importantly empower consumers to have this visibility and ultimately choice. Just like the finest Emeralds come from Brazil and the finest Sapphires from Sri Lanka so in a few years most will know what the finest diamonds come from Botswana.