First gemstones with physical tracers and digital tracker are entering the market – two Provenance Proof technologies combined for more transparency

Provenance Proof, an initiative from the Gübelin Gem Lab, and recently
spun off as an independent company, has developed both the Emerald
Paternity Test – deploying physical tracers based on nano-sized tags – and
the Provenance Proof Blockchain. All Provenance Proof technologies are
available to the entire industry.

The Provenance Proof Blockchain is a digital, tamper-proof logbook
tracking the relevant data of gemstones along the supply chain, from one
owner to the next. This platform is secure, easy to use, and carefully
balances transparency and privacy, with access to the information on a
specific gemstone (or parcel) only granted to the gemstone’s current owner.
Permission-based access is granted to everyone in the entire industry, free
of charge. The Provenance Proof Blockchain, a co-production together
with the tech provider Everledger, is the only existing solution in the
gemstone and jewellery industry. Raphael Gübelin, President of the House
of Gübelin, explains: “Each technology works perfectly on its own, but a
combination of both provides even more robust transparency.”
Gemfields offers emeralds with both traceability technologies
These days, significant volumes of high-quality emeralds equipped with
tracing and tracking technologies from Provenance Proof are entering the
global supply chain. Once again, the mining company Gemfields is
spearheading the industry by equipping its high-quality emeralds with the
Emerald Paternity Test, and putting them on the Provenance Proof
Blockchain. During the latest Gemfields auctions in Singapore, more than
13 kilogrammes of these top-quality gemstones were successfully sold to
the invited buyers. 

More transparency in the trade
This was the first time that several thousand high-quality gemstones
containing both Provenance Proof traceability technologies have entered
the supply chain at once. Soon, these gemstones will become available to
jewellery brands and retailers, offering an unprecedented level of
transparency into the journey of a gemstone, and opening new ways of
customized storytelling to retailers.

This creates an entirely new level of digitally recorded, provable
transparency within the gemstone industry. The end consumer, like any
other stakeholder along the supply chain, can now read the entire story
from the mine onwards with few clicks. Adrian Banks, Managing Director
of Product & Sales at Gemfields, states: “Consumers are increasingly
interested in the origin of their gems and how they can be responsibly
mined to have a positive impact on the countries they are from.”
This supply of a large number of high-end gemstones offering true,
verifiable transparency is an important step forward towards a more
transparent supply chain. Brands, jewellery manufacturers and retailers
can now request such traceable gemstones. The webpage
www.provenanceproof.io provides a directory listing the companies
making use of Provenance Proof technologies. This billboard helps all
industry stakeholders in their search for traceable gemstones.