De Beers has announced that its Auction Sales business will launch a limited scope pilot service, offering certain diamond businesses an opportunity to sell specific types of rough diamonds on its online auction platform.
The service will only be available to adherents to De Beers’ Diamond Trading Standard, which requires sellers to comply with a number of ethical criteria. Each seller must accept the Registered Seller Declaration of Compliance, Integrity and Probity, which outlines requirements for auction participation, Best Practice Principles acceptance and compliance with anti-corruption laws.
Companies will also have to comply with the source of origin provenance claim, meaning that all rough diamonds must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate and invoices, which carry a World Diamond Council (WDC) Warranty Declaration to show that the rough diamonds are conflict free. They must also comply with World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) Charter stating that the rough diamonds are natural and untreated.
Additionally, companies will be asked to carry an additional provenance claim stating that the rough diamonds comply with the De Beers Auction Sales’ Source of Origin requirements. The source of origin provenance will be verified through either the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC) or Best Practice Principles (BPP) Assurance Program process.
In the final stage, all rough diamonds offered for sale on the platform must undergo a comprehensive three-level screening process to identify any lab-grown and/or treated rough diamonds.
The service will be available for single stones over 5 carats in weight or of fancy color, and will therefore, constitute a small proportion of the diamonds sold on the De Beers Auction Sales platform.
“We welcome the introduction of this selling standard and see it as a positive step,” said RJC executive director Andrew Bone. “It will not only encourage more businesses in the diamond sector to adopt more robust standards when carrying out their trading activities, but also ensure more companies provide evidence of their business integrity through third party assurance.”
