IBM has announced a new blockchain initiative focused on tracking and authenticating diamonds and precious metals throughout their supply-chain journey.
Dubbed ‘TrustChain’, the initiative is backed by a consortium of gold and diamond industry leaders including Asahi Refining, Helzberg Diamonds, LeachGarner, The Richline Group, and UL. It marks the first cross-industry initiative that will use blockchain to trace the provenance of finished pieces of jewelry to instill trust their origin and ethical sourcing, thereby boosting transparency.
“Consumers care deeply about the quality and source of the jewelry they purchase,” said Bridget van Kralingen, IBM Senior Vice President, Global Industries, Platforms and Blockchain. “TrustChain is an example of how blockchain is transforming industries through transparency and viable new business models that specifically benefit the consumer.”
Based on the IBM Blockchain Platform and the Hyperledger Project, TrustChain will provide digital verification, physical product and process verification, and third-party oversight. It would create a shared, immutable record of transactions taking place within a network and allow permissioned parties to access trusted data in real time. Network participants would be able to create “a single shared view of information without compromising details, privacy or confidentiality.”
From the consumers’ perspective, TrustChain would help establish a product backed by documented provenance, along with quality assurance, social and environmental responsibility, and authenticity spanning the entire jewelry ecosystem.
“This initiative is important for our industry as we seek to raise the collective responsibility and provenance practices to new heights. TrustChain is the first blockchain of its kind within our industry, designed as a solution that marries IBM’s leading blockchain technology with responsible sourcing, verification and governance by third party organizations, led by UL as the administrator,” said Mark Hanna, Richline Group’s Chief Marketing Officer.
Initially, the project is tracking six styles of diamond and gold engagement rings on the blockchain network. According to the official release, TrustChain™ jewelry is expected to be accessible to consumers in participating retail stores by the end of 2018.
