Image: Engagement ring, Pexels
A consortium of gold and diamond industry leaders and IBM are launching the TrustChain initiative[1] to trace the provenance and authenticate diamonds, precious metals and jewelry at all stages of the global supply chain, from the mine to the retailer.
TrustChain Initiative
In addition to IBM, the firms involved in the initiative include Asahi Refining, a precious metals refiner, Helzberg Diamonds, a US jewelry retailer, LeachGarner, a precious metals supplier, the Richline Group, a global jewelry manufacturer, and UL, an independent, third party verification.
The consortium has been working together since the beginning of 2017 and has completed a proof-of-concept.
“This initiative is important for our industry as we seek to raise the collective responsibility and provenance practices to new heights,” said Mark Hanna, Richline Group’s chief marketing officer.
“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.”
TrustChain is initially tracking six styles of diamond and gold engagement rings on the new blockchain network. By the end of 2018, data related to pieces of jewelry recorded on TrustChain will be accessible to consumers in participating retail stores. Initially, TrustChain verified jewelry will be sold at Helzberg Diamonds starting in Fall 2018 and only in select stores.
Built by IBM Services on open source technology and based on IBM Blockchain and the Hyperledger Project, TrustChain uses distributed ledger technology that establishes a shared, immutable record of all the transactions that take place within a network and then enables permissioned parties access to trusted data in real time.
For consumers, the system
