Jeweller: The Great Diamond Debate - Round II

FEATURING THE
DELICATE PINK TONE OF
ARGYLE PINK DIAMONDS
of diamond mining on regional economies.
The report shows the exact opposite of what
many people have been told.
Not every mining industry can boast of a netpositive
social, economic and environmental
impact of $US16 billion annually.
We suggest that the promotion of the
‘Diamonds do good’ story should also be a
joint diamond industry effort, not limited to its
mining community.
We need united efforts to successfully
implement industry initiatives on responsible
business practices, protection of diamond
equity, and consumer rights.
Here, the reform of industry regulation
and self-regulation systems is vital for our
product to continue to build a relationship
with new consumers.
The success of the current Kimberley Process
review cycle, the universal implementation of
a renewed system of warranties of the World
Diamond Council, and promotion of the
updated Code of Practices of the Responsible
Jewellery Council are not ‘nice to have’ but
’must have’ issues.
We must embrace this change together.
Consumers want to know more about the
diamonds in their jewellery so they can be sure
they are of a non-conflict origin, responsibly
sourced and benefit the communities where
they are mined; that human rights, at every
stage of the pipeline, were duly respected and
the environment was protected.
And this applies to all sectors of the pipeline –
again, not merely being a ‘mining issue’.
THE TRACEABILITY OPPORTUNITY
Traceability programs are also very important
to show consumers the whole journey of
the diamond.
For example, our in-house Alrosa Diamond
Digital Passport and Digital Certificates
allow our customers to get a 100 per cent
guaranteed assurance of the origin of the
stone – the mine where it was extracted, and
where it was polished.
With this in mind I assume that the next main
disruption in the industry will occur because
diamonds will no longer be, if I may put it, a
‘faceless, unknown mass of stones’, but rather
each stone will be a unique product, with
its own characteristics that were inherently
attributed to it by nature.
Previously, only exclusive, special stones were
considered to be unique but this concept has
now entered the mass segment as well.
You see it every day: everyone wants to
know the ‘story’ behind each diamond,
not just to buy a single piece of rough or
polished diamond.
The diamond industry needs to adapt to this.
Imagine, for example, Alrosa production
reports saying that we haven’t just produced
39 million carats of diamonds, but we
produced 25 million different stones with
25 million different ‘stories’!
The diamond industry is facing disruption in
almost every aspect of the business – but that
is both a challenge and an opportunity for
all of us.
In order to grasp this opportunity, the industry
needs to embrace new realities and accept
them rather than trying to walk away from
them in the hope that someone else will come
and fix the problem.
“If you always do what you always did, you will
always get what you always got.”
That’s Albert Einstein’s quote, and this clearly
depicts the situation the diamond industry
must avoid now, more than ever before. i
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sergey Ivanov is CEO of Alrosa, a
Russian group of companies specialising
in the exploration, mining, manufacture,
and sale of diamonds. It is the world’s
largest diamond producer by volume.
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AUSTRALIA
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