USA is Fertile Ground for Large Diamond Consortia

Diamond supply chain consortia

Although diamond is the most in-demand gemstone all over the world, USA is by far the leading market for these brilliant stones. Just last year (2017), global sales from diamond exports by country reached US$118.5 billion, and United States contributed 16% of it. This means that although most of the big diamond reserves are in other continents, the U.S. exported US$19 billion worth of diamonds in one year.

The U.S. topped the list of countries that imported the highest dollar worth of diamonds as well, amounting to US$23.2 billion, or 19.8% of the global diamond imports worth US$117.3 billion.

It is no wonder that this country also houses five of the largest and most renowned diamantaires, namely Damiani, Harry Winston, Leviev Jewelry, Signet Jewelers, and Tiffany & Co. Their business operations are spread across countries and to understand the exclusivity of these brands, here is a quick overview of these companies:

1. Damiani

Diamiani of Diamond Industry

The Damiani Group was established in 1924 in Italy, and has been designing, manufacturing, distributing and selling jewelry and luxury watches since. The company set up shop in the U.S. in 2001, and went public in 2007 during which it was valued at €150.8 million (USD$215.4 million). Salvini, Alfieri & St. John, and Bliss are its most well known jewelry brands.

2    2.  Harry Winston

Harry Winston of Diamond Industry

The American luxury jeweler and producer of Swiss timepieces was acquired by The Swatch Group in January 2013 and is now its wholly owned subsidiary. Harry Winston, Inc. has retail presence in more than 20 cities worldwide. The company owns about 3% of the overall world production of diamonds in terms of value and also owns 40% of the Diavik diamond mine in Canada. According to a survey conducted in 2008, Harry Winston is regarded as the leading luxury brand among most high-end brand jewelry consumers.

3.  Leviev Jewelry

Leviev of Diamond Industry

This diamond jewelry brand established its flagship boutique in London in 2006, and then expanded business to New York, Moscow, Dubai and Singapore. In 2016, Leviev emerged as the largest buyer of rough diamonds at ALROSA's first auction in Vladivostok. The company is owned by Israeli businessman Lev Leviev, and is listed as one of the largest privately held cutter and polisher of diamonds. Its exclusive access to unique stones gives it occasion to offer some of the most remarkable assortment of large, rare and colored diamonds in the industry.

4.  Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers of Diamond Supplychain

Although based in Britain, Signet Jewelers is the largest specialty jewelry retailer in the US, UK and Canada. It was known as Ratner Group during the period 1949–1993. According to the company’s website, it conducts its business via approximately 3,600 stores under the name brands of Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared, Ernest Jones,The Galleria of Jewelry, H. Samuel, Peoples, and Piercing Pagoda. Signet makes approximately $6 billion in annual sales, mainly gleaned from the retailing of jewelry, watches and associated services. It is listed in the New York Stock Exchange as well as the London Stock Exchange.

5    5. Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. of Diamond Supplychain

  An iconic name in the diamond industry, Tiffany & Co., (better known as Tiffany or Tiffany’s) was established in 1940 and is known well beyond the elite circle of luxury jewelry buyers. The New York based specialty retailer with its flagship store at the corner of Fifth Avenue is primarily known for its diamond jewelry. After being sold to Avon Products in 1978 for over $100 million in company stock, and re-sold to a group of investors in 1984, the company went public in 1987. Currently, London, Melbourne, Honolulu and Kuala Lumpur are some of the cities Tiffany and Co. has retail outlets in.

 Need for Diamond Consortium

To consider the rank of diamonds from a trade perspective, it is 11^th top import from the United States for the last six years. It has remained rather consistent in the 12^th or 13^th position on the list of the top items exported from the United States during the same period. These positions may not sound impressive, but that changes when you consider there are more than 1,200 separate import and export categories.

To reach this volume of trade, a vast number of entities have to function in tandem and with meticulous coordination. It requires communication and transactions among mining companies, shipping units, manufacturers, certifiers and retailers. Their concentration is high in the United States, and spills into other countries all over the world.

    Diamond consortia are crucial in such a dense, multi-layered and interconnected industry. They provide the required infrastructure for a unified market where the members of the consortium can interact with the vision to grow and streamline their business.

Blockchain Diamond Consortia Provide better Security

Institutions like a jewelry blockchain consortium are intended to keep track of all the transactions that take place within members of the consortium. Decentralized distributed ledgers powered by blockchain technology are being implemented to manifest this, and that too with unparalleled security and transparency. The transactions and digital blockchain payments taking place on a blockchain platform are validated by automated smart contracts, and the data stored is encrypted with a unique hash code. This renders it immutable and permanent, increasing accountability in the supply chain – a highly desired feature in a sector that sees multiple change of hand of extremely valuable items.

    Diamond blockchain networks are already a reality with the likes of Diamante Blockchain that has made excellent use of DLT as well as the concept of cryptocurrency. Its native asset, DIAM, like any other authentic and promising cryptocoin, will be up for trade in leading cryptocurrency exchange platforms.