If you walked into a Tiffany & Co. store shortly after the new year, you might have noticed something different in the cases where the jeweler displays its engagement rings.
There’s now a map inside with 10 pins dropped on countries from Canada to Australia above a plaque that reads: “In keeping with our commitment to responsible sourcing, we now provide provenance information for every newly sourced, individually registered diamond we set, a significant step for diamond transparency.”
The plaque and the map—both with touches of Tiffany blue, of course—are part of what the jeweler is calling the “Diamond Source Initiative,” which it rolled out worldwide last month.
Now when customers come into any of Tiffany’s 300-plus stores, salespeople will be able to tell them the country of origin for most “individually registered” diamonds—diamonds that are 0.18 carats or larger and have been laser-engraved with “T&Co.” and a unique serial number.
There are, of course, a couple exceptions.
Diamonds sourced from De Beers, which does not segregate production from its various mines in southern Africa and Canada, will be labeled “Botswana sort.” Most of the stones, Tiffany said, were mined in Botswana, with some originating from mines in Namibia, South Africa and Canada.
For diamonds that pre-date the program’s rollout, Tiffany said it will provide confirmation to consumers that the diamond was sourced responsibly.
Tiffany started sharing diamond origin in its stores on Jan. 9, though it could have begun doing so years ago.
