Tiffany & Co. has just announced a detailed program on the origin of the diamonds sold, specifically down to mine origin and mining country. To demonstrate its commitment to traceability, the New York-based brand plans to share this “Machining Journey” for all new diamonds 0.18 carats and larger.
“Formed up to 3 billion years ago, diamonds are symbols of the most important moments in our lives. There is nothing shady about Tiffany diamonds. Our customers want and deserve to know where their most valuable, cherished diamond jewelry comes from and how it comes into being.” – Alessandro Bogliolo, CEO of Tiffany & Co shared.
The narrative includes information about each stage from mine to shop: where the diamond was mined, where it was cut, polished & graded, and details about its incorporation into a finished piece of jewelry.
Sustainability and awareness
Through its commitment to full traceability and sustainability initiatives, Tiffany hopes to satisfy consumers' growing demand for transparency, while also inspiring others in the metal industry. diamonds and jewelry to bring about similar positive changes.
“Overall, the diamond industry is still very vague about the jewelry supply chain. Our customers deserve to know that a Tiffany diamond has been treated to the highest standards, not only in terms of quality but also in terms of social and environmental responsibility.” – Anisa Kamadoli Costa, CSO, Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany's commitment to sustainability doesn't just apply to diamonds. The more than 70 types of colored gemstones incorporated in Tiffany & Co jewelry as well as the precious metals used in fabrication also have specific mining principles and processes for each. Coral and ivory are not used at all, and the company does not source materials from countries suspected of human rights abuses.
Romanticized
The oldest diamonds are 3 billion years old, and the youngest are about 1 billion years old. To give an idea of how old diamonds are, it can be compared if the youngest diamonds celebrate their 100th birthday today, then human history is less than a week old. And for the oldest diamonds, humans only lasted 48 hours.
Tiffany's diamonds are mainly sourced from Australia, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, Russia and South Africa. Cutting, grinding and polishing take place at Tiffany & Co.'s workshops. in Belgium, Botswana, Cambodia, Mauritius, Vietnam and the US.
In 2019, Tiffany was the first luxury jewelry brand to begin publicly disclosing origin information for each diamond sold.