JNA Awards 2020 - Jewellery Industry Best Practices

104 JNA AWARDS • 2020 Tracr Provenance, traceability and authenticity – these words inspired Tracr to develop its unique, namesake technology that aims to record every diamond’s story from its country of origin, all the way down to the end consumer. “As the only platform capable of tracing diamonds end-to-end, Tracr propagates trust in the diamond industry. In doing so, it also creates an avenue for data- driven business conversations,” says Jim Duffy, CEO of the company, which started its operations in 2018. A member of The De Beers Group, Tracr employs a widely diverse team of professionals from various backgrounds and disciplines. “A majority of our team members come from outside the diamond industry. Such diversity helps bring in the latest, most cutting- edge digital technologies from their respective fields,” shares Duffy. Novel idea Tracr’s high-performing culture of innovation is the foundation from which the company is built on. “We believe that those who adopt new tools will be able to keep their pace with innovation, while those who do not may find themselves contending with more agile competition,” reminds Duffy, tracing the company’s roots to De Beers’ novel idea of standardising records for diamonds at an industry level. Soon after, a pilot involving Alrosa, Signet Jewelers and Chow Tai Fook among others – commenced. The participants helped the team understand the requirements for achieving traceability at scale and for extending Tracr’s reach into key geographies. By late 2019, the tests expanded to include 30 participants representing all stages of the value chain – large producers, artisanal and small-scale miners, manufacturers, grading laboratories and retailers, Category: Industry Innovation of the Year – Digital Business Country / Region: United Kingdom 1