Dmitry Fedorov: I want our jewelry to be displayed at a museum in the future

Dmitry Fedorov is the founder of the eponymous jewelry house. His main focus is the creation of Orthodox-inspired premium luxury jewelry of high artistic merit. He told Rough&Polished about his journey in the jewelry industry, about choosing the ‘Orthodox...

28 october 2024

Responsible business practices ‘no longer optional’, says WDC President Feriel Zerouki

The president of the World Diamond Council takes time out of her busy schedule to tell Rough&Polished readers about the critical work of the WDC. Zerouki, the first female present of the body, which includes all the important industry organizations among...

14 october 2024

James Campbell: Botswana Diamonds optimistic as it enters uncharted territory of using AI for mineral exploration

London-listed Botswana Diamonds has expressed optimism about the company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the exploration database in Botswana to look for new mineralised deposits. Company managing director James Campbell told Rough...

07 october 2024

Artur Salyakayev: For me, happiness is freedom to make my ideas happen and create valuable products

Artur Salyakayev is an art entrepreneur, founder of the International Jewelry Academy (IJA) and the INCRUA jewelry company. He has initiated and developed successful projects in jewelry industry and services sector. He is also a leading expert...

30 september 2024

Paul Zimnisky: China key for sustained recovery in demand for natural diamonds, prices

The curtailing of upstream and midstream natural diamond production in the past months is starting to have an effect on prices, according to the New-York-based independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant, Paul Zimnisky. He told Rough & Polished’s...

23 september 2024

De Beers to bring Tracr to Angola at zero profit

24 october 2024

De Beers, which is currently conducting diamond exploration in Angola, has pledged to offer the southern African country its Tracr technology at zero profit.

This was revealed by the group chief executive, Al Cook, at the second Angola International Diamond Conference in Saurimo on Wednesday.

Tracr is a cutting-edge diamond traceability platform that makes it possible to track a diamond's journey from source to store.

De Beers launched Tracr in 2018, and it was named by Forbes as one of the world’s 50 leading blockchain solutions in both 2020 and 2022.

It was opened up to the wider diamond industry in 2023 to support the industry’s ability to provide source assurance for natural diamonds at scale.

De Beers is now registering more than two-thirds of its diamond production by value on Tracr at the point of source, and a growing number of leading businesses have also joined the platform as Tracr continues to develop a solution that enables participants to provide consumers with enhanced confidence in their diamond’s journey.

The group recently said that it will provide data on the country of origin for all De Beers-sourced rough diamonds above 1.25 carats that are newly registered on the Tracr platform.

It said this will be extended to rough diamonds above 1 carat in size (equivalent to approximately 0.5 carats and above in polished form) from the start of 2025, thereby aligning with the size threshold for new diamond import requirements for G7 countries.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished from Saurimo, Angola