Large quantities of high-quality gemstones equipped with state-of-the-art physical tracers and digital tracker are entering the market for the first time, providing the trade with a new level of transparency. 

According to Gübelin Gem Lab, the gems contain a combination of Emerald Paternity Test and Provenance Proof Blockchain.

Provenance Proof, an initiative from the Gübelin Gem Lab, and recently spun off as an independent company, has developed both the Emerald Paternity Test – deploying physical tracers based on nano-sized tags – and the Provenance Proof Blockchain. All Provenance Proof technologies are available to the entire industry. 

The Provenance Proof Blockchain is a digital, tamper-proof logbook tracking the relevant data of gemstones along the supply chain, from one owner to the next. This technology, developed with Everledger, is the only existing solution in the gemstone and jewellery industry, according to Gübelin Gem Lab.

"These traceable gems will eventually become available to jewellery brands and retailers, offering an unprecedented level of transparency into the journey of a gemstone, and opening new ways of customised storytelling to retailers," noted the gem lab.

Gübelin Gem Lab also said Gemfields had spearheaded the initiative by equipping its emeralds with the Emerald Paternity Test and putting them on the Provenance Proof Blockchain. At the recent Gemfields auction in Singapore, more than 13 kilogrammes of these top-quality gemstones were successfully sold.