Retail giant Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd has teamed up with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to use blockchain technology in delivering secure digital diamond grading reports to consumers.
Clients of Chow Tai Fook’s diamond brand, Chow Tai Fook T Mark, will receive a “permanent and immutable” blockchain record of their diamond’s GIA grading information, according to the institute.
This innovative service will first be piloted in selected Chow Tai Fook stores in Hong Kong before expanding to other locations at the end of 2018.
Kent Wong, Chow Tai Fook managing director, said “We are very proud of our cooperation with GIA which gives our customers additional assurance and transparency, and the opportunity to have both diamond grading and diamond traceability information at their fingertips. This is an important industry breakthrough and adds a new chapter to customer experience.”
Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, commented, “Securely linking T MARK customers to their diamond’s grading information through the use of blockchain is an important step to enhance consumer trust.”
GIA diamond grading information for T MARK diamonds will be written directly to a blockchain ledger shared between Chow Tai Fook and GIA. The unique record of the diamond’s information is transferred via the T MARK app to the final customer.
According to GIA, this is among the first consumer-facing initiatives to use the blockchain to deliver diamond grading information directly into the hands of the consumer. This is an important milestone as blockchain moves from business-to-business, to business-to-consumer.
The initiative was developed with leading blockchain solutions provider Everledger and is secured by the IBM Blockchain Platform.
Leanne Kemp, Everledger CEO, remarked, “We are delighted to be working with two industry giants to provide assurance for customers through our pioneering work with blockchain technology for the diamond industry. This is a great result of more than two years of work and we look forward to continue delivering business and customer benefits for the entire industry.”
“Bringing data on quality and provenance to the consumer through the use of blockchain is an important shift in creating a more transparent marketplace where buyers have better insight on purchasing decisions,” said Marie Wieck, general manager at IBM Blockchain. “IBM’s highly secure blockchain platform, delivered on the IBM Cloud, makes it possible for Chow Tai Fook and GIA to bring this innovation to consumers.”
News Source : jewellerynet.com
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