(PRESS RELEASE) Everledger has partnered with JD.com, China’s largest online and offline retailer, with more than 380 million active users, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s foremost authority on certification of diamonds, to help increase trust and transparency in diamond provenance and further confidence in online diamond purchases.
Through blockchain interoperability technology, the Everledger platform syncs GIA diamond grading information to the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform, and provides customers with independently verified diamond certificates and origin information through the JD.com app, as well as on JD.com’s mobile and desktop websites.
GIA is the world leader for determining the quality of diamonds based on its universally recognised 4Cs diamond grading methodology. Through this collaboration, JD.com’s customers will be able to check the validity of a GIA diamond grading report and will have online access to valuable insights into the characteristics of their diamond before the diamond and its GIA report even arrives at their doorstep.
The application of blockchain technology in e-commerce to store verifiable grading report information on the blockchain for consumers to interact with will provide unprecedented levels of transparency into the quality and authenticity of the diamonds consumers purchase online, thereby enhancing the digital e-commerce experience and building more trust in China’s online jewellery market.
The platform will also be used to prevent grading report fraud. Algorithms will help JD.com to identify and reduce the fraudulent use of GIA reports, such as by checking that multiple diamonds aren’t being sold with the same report. This will be supplemented by livestreams and customer education initiatives to help customers learn how to avoid fraudulent activity when purchasing diamonds, all of which will provide a superior digital user experience. These improvements are of key importance in the Chinese market, where digitally-savvy millennials account for 68% of diamond sales compared to only 45% worldwide.
Junshu Fu, jewelry division general manager of fashion & home group of JD.com, said: “This cooperation has multiple meanings. On the one hand, JingZhi Alliance, the jewelry quality assurance program, has now added another important component – GIA, the world’s largest diamond certification organization, with its professional verification services. On the other hand, blockchain technology provides a more credible and assured online diamond purchase experience for consumers.”
Xinlei Zhai, head of blockchain at JD Digits, said, “The successful cross-chain collaboration is realized by the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform and international blockchain supply chain company Everledger, in order to achieve a strong technical support for diamond traceability services, which is not only a benchmark for the future cross-chain or multi-chain collaborative scenarios, but also an important step in the international cooperation of JD blockchain.”
Chris Taylor, Everledger’s COO, added, “Given the growth in e-commerce, fraud is a very real risk in the diamond market, which is why it’s so important that consumers have access to secure and trustworthy information. By bringing cutting edge blockchain technology, online luxury shopping, and GIA’s gold standard grading expertise together on JD.com, we’re empowering consumers to purchase luxury items with increased confidence.” “Everything GIA does – our research, education and of course grading millions of diamonds each year in our laboratories around the world – has the singular mission of protecting consumers,” said Pritesh Patel, GIA’s Chief Operating Officer. “The innovative and transformational integration of Everledger’s blockchain expertise and JD.com’s impressive reach and consumer relationships with GIA’s industry-leading diamond expertise and universally-accepted grading reports is a major step forward for consumer confidence.” This collaboration marks the next step in Everledger’s expansion in China, which started in 2018 when it collaborated with GIA and leading jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook to use blockchain technology to deliver secure, digital diamond grading reports to consumers for the first time. Everledger also introduced a WeChat Mini Program e-commerce solution in partnership with ALROSA (the global leader in diamond mining). Furthermore, Tencent, one of the world’s most important internet companies, led Everledger’s Series A round of investments last year.
Leanne Kemp, founder and CEO of Everledger, said: “Bringing this level of transparency into the Chinese jewellery industry marks another exciting and important milestone on our journey towards providing clarity for the supply chains that need it most. Consumers in China can now purchase diamonds safe in the knowledge that they have access to the most accurate and authentic grading information at the click of a button.”