Everledger has partnered with JD.com, China’s largest online and offline retailer, with more than380 million active users, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s foremostauthority on certification of diamonds, to help increase trust and transparency in diamondprovenance and further confidence in online diamond purchases.
Through blockchain interoperability technology, the Everledger platform syncs GIA diamondgrading information to the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform, and provides
customers with independently verified diamond certificates and origin information through theJD.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 universallyrecognised 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 tovaluable 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 storeverifiable grading reportinformation on the blockchain for consumers to interact with will provide unprecedented levels oftransparency 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 onlinejewellery market.
The platform will also be used to prevent grading report fraud. Algorithms will help JD.com toidentify and reduce the fraudulent use of GIA reports, such as by checking that multiplediamonds 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 whenpurchasing diamonds, all of which will provide a superior digital user experience. Theseimprovements are of key importance in the Chinese market, where digitally-savvy millennialsaccount for 68% of diamond sales compared to only 45% worldwide.Junshu Fu, Jewelry Division General Manager of Fashion & Home Group of JD.com, said: “Thiscooperation has multiple meanings. On the one hand, JingZhi Alliance, the jewelry qualityassurance program, has now added another important component – GIA, the world’s largestdiamond certification organization, with its professional verification services. On the other hand,blockchain technology provides a more credible and assured online diamond purchaseexperience for consumers.”
Xinlei Zhai, head of blockchain at JD Digits, said, “The successful cross-chain collaboration isrealized by the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform and international
blockchain supply chain company Everledger, in order to achieve a strong technical support fordiamond 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 Chief Operating Officer, 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 blockchaintechnology, 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 protectingconsumers,” said Pritesh Patel, GIA’s Chief Operating Officer. “The innovative andtransformational 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 in2018 when it collaborated with GIA and leading jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook to useblockchain technology to deliver secure, digital diamond grading reports to consumers for thefirst 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 investmentslast year.
Leanne Kemp, founder and CEO of Everledger, said: “Bringing this level of transparency intothe 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 nowpurchase diamonds safe in the knowledge that they have access to the most accurate andauthentic grading information at the click of a button.”