ncreasingly, end consumers and jewellery brands are demanding sustainability and transparency in sourcing and manufacturing of raw gem materials used in finished pieces of jewellery. In parallel, transparently traded gems are growing in demand. The search for the right gem to complete a jewellery piece can prove challenging, let alone the search for transparently traded or responsibly sourced gems. To make access to traceable gems easier and more convenient Provenance Proof, with platform partner Everledger, has launched, an online marketplace to offer its blockchain users the opportunity to connect directly with each other to offer or search for transparently traded gems.
Both sellers and buyers can benefit significantly from Provenance Proof Marketplace. For example, jewellers can conveniently search for transparently traded gemstones or pearls and directly contact the seller on the Provenance Proof platform, right at their fingertips. In addition, the marketplace offers traders in the gem industry a tool to expand their market reach globally by simply listing gems from their Provenance Proof inventory on the online marketplace. Meanwhile, prospective buyers can facilitate their hunt for the perfect transparently traded gem through easy to use search filters.
Klemens Link, Director of Provenance Proof, explains: “We believe that provable transparency enables trust, sustainability and fairness in our industry. To make it easier for stakeholders to offer or search for matching traceable gems, we launched the Provenance Proof Marketplace, the first online marketplace for fully traceable gemstones powered by blockchain technology.”
Raphael Gübelin, President of the House of Gübelin, expounds: “The Provenance Proof Marketplace is a further milestone, allowing more transparency in the jewellery and gemstone industry. The online marketplace simplifies both access as well as sales of transparently traded gemstones.”
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- Raphael Gübelin, President of the House of Gübelin
Thanks to this pioneering achievement, access to gemstones with a traceable value chain will be highly facilitated. This innovation will benefit gemstone traders, jewellery brands, jewellers as well as customers who wish to procure transparently traded gemstones and find it important to know about the origin of the gemstones. Provenance Proof makes the online marketplace available for the trade, but is not itself involved in the sales or purchase, and neither does it profit from any of the proceeds.
Everledger CEO Leanne Kemp added: “By making it easier for retailers and consumers to access and trade sustainably sourced gemstones and pearls, Provenance Proof continues to shine a light on the importance of fair work practices and environmental responsibility across the industry. Everledger is proud to contribute to such a worthwhile initiative.”
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- Klemens Link, Director of Provenance Proof
One of the Provenance Proof Marketplace users is Pearls of Australia. James Brown, Managing Director, says: “We needed a way to make the value of pearls more visible and enduring beyond the dialogue we have with customers at a single point of time. We see the marketplace as a great opportunity to engage with brands and retailers at a deeper level and share what makes each pearl unique, from ocean to jewellery.”
The online marketplace is a new feature of the Provenance Proof Blockchain. With the marketplace, Provenance Proof extends the possibilities offered by the world’s first blockchain for gems. To date, around four million gems and jewellery items have been uploaded to the blockchain and over 500 professional users have joined, including more than 120 jewellers and manufacturers.
The Provenance Proof Blockchain is a digital logbook that cannot be subsequently modified, and records relevant gem data along the supply chain from one stakeholder to the next. The secure and user-friendly platform carefully balances interests in transparency and data protection. Only the current owner gains visibility into the upstream supply chain data of a particular gem. Users can create a digital twin that can be passed on along with the physical asset through the supply chain. Key stakeholders along the supply chain of a gem are allowed to transparently add their stories and information to the digital twin.
Moreover, the immutability of the data entered thanks to blockchain technology also enables these stories and information to be recorded in a highly credible manner. Ultimately a comprehensive digital twin is created that that enables an end consumer to visualise the entire journey of a gem from rough to the finished product. All industry stakeholders can sign up to access the blockchain platform free of charge and use the platform to manage their supply chain transparently while benefiting from the marketing potential it enables.
