Sourcing

Gübelin Working to Create Blockchain for Colored Stones

SourcingJan 10, 2018

Gübelin Working to Create Blockchain for Colored Stones

The lab is partnering with Everledger to develop technology to trace stones from mine to market.

20180110_Gubelin.jpg
Gübelin Gem Lab is partnering with Everledger to create a blockchain technology that can track any and all gemstones from mine to market.

Lucerne, Switzerland--In an effort to create more transparency, Gübelin Gem Lab is partnering with a technology company to create a blockchain for colored stones.

The lab announced Tuesday it is working with emerging tech company Everledger to develop the program that will trace gemstones from mine to market, which it calls the first in the world of its kind.

The project comes as part of the lab’s Provenance Proof initiative, a long-term program designed to develop and provide technologies to the gemstone industry to make it more transparent.

“We have a deep belief that the level of transparency we have in the gemstone industry is not fit to fulfill the requirements that today’s critical consumers have,” Gübelin Gem Lab Managing Director Daniel Nyfeler told National Jeweler Tuesday.

“We as a gem lab believe that we have a certain credibility or at least some kind of tech savviness that puts us in quite a good position to develop technologies that can help achieve the goal of transparency.”

That already includes its “Emerald Paternity Test” and now, the creation of the blockchain. 

A blockchain is a digital, decentralized ledger of transactions, which constantly grows as completed “blocks” are recorded.

Blockchain technology is secured using cryptography, which means that no one can tamper with the data once it has been recorded, and because the data is stored across its network, it eliminates the risk that comes with holding data centrally.

Everledger--which has experience building blockchain technologies for high-value goods, including diamonds--will design and build the required technical backbone for Gübelin’s Provenance Proof Blockchain.

The technology will engage any and all parties involved in the lifecycle of a gemstone. It can be applied to every colored stone.

The blockchain Everledger is building, expected to launch within the next six months, is a “digital look book,” Nyfeler said, with each gemstone having its own log of information.

RELATED CONTENT: Analysis: The State of the Colored Stone Market
It will aim to track a stone as early in the supply chain as possible and will build a record of each individual rough gemstone. The owner or custodian of the stone is then entitled to contribute certain information to the “look book”--as well as see certain formation--through to, and including, the end consumer.

“Overall, you get a kind of complete history of that stone,” Nyfeler said.

They are designing it to be easy to use on the front end.

Nyfeler said
they are building their technology based on smartphones (as they’re early in the development process, they are still working to figure out, beyond that, what form the tech will take). A blockchain for a gemstone will be started by entering simple data, such as its weight or a picture of the stone.

When asked about possible barriers for use for artisanal miners, he said the cost to use the blockchain technology is very small: “It’s indeed something that should function with the guy who is sitting in the small-scale mining, as long as he has a smartphone and is willing to give transparency on what he’s doing.”

While it is designed to give supply chain transparency, it wouldn’t be able to stop someone from swapping a mined stone for a synthetic or treated stone somewhere along the way. 

“But the good thing is that once it gets detected, you can basically trace it back and most likely find the place where something went wrong,” Nyfeler said. “That’s due to the fact that the blocks are immutable.”

This is also why the lab believes that the blockchain paired with the emerald paternity test provides an “extremely powerful package.” 

“The combination of something physical with something digital, we believe, really takes a step forward in our overall attempt to bring more transparency to our industry.”

The paternity test, launched at Baselworld 2017, makes emeralds completely traceable by applying DNA-based nanoparticles directly onto the rough crystals at mining sites.

The lab wants to expand the technology, or something similar to it, to all gems.

Nyfeler said the current type of nanoparticles they use on the emeralds can also now be applied to pearls and Paraiba tourmaline.

The lab is developing other solutions, likely also based on nanoparticles, for rubies and sapphires, though they are only at the lab trial stage for those now.

“We want to develop the technologies that, again, is something physical, that we add to the stone or write in the stone, something that is invisible and that becomes part of the stone and can be retrieved or read at any late stage.”

Since the investment required by anyone interested in the paternity test is quite large, Nyfeler said the lab also is partnering with a consultancy company in the artisanal mining sector on a project to see how the technology can be applied in such an environment.
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

The Latest

Sothebys the glowing rose pink diamond
AuctionsOct 20, 2025
Sotheby's To Auction 10-Carat Vivid Pink Diamond

Making its auction debut, "The Glowing Rose" is expected to fetch $20 million at the November jewelry sale in Geneva.

Empress Eugénie’s pearl and diamond tiara
CrimeOct 20, 2025
See the ‘Priceless’ Jewels Stolen During Daytime Heist at the Louvre

It took the masked thieves less than 10 minutes to steal eight irreplaceable jewels from two display cases in the museum’s Apollo Gallery.

Charles London, Mayer and Fran Udell, Mark and Candy Udell
IndependentsOct 17, 2025
From the Jazz Age to the Information Age: London Jewelers Turns 100

In 2026, the jewelry retailer will celebrate a milestone only a small percentage of family-owned businesses survive to see.

LIM-401 2024 National Jeweler Supplier Bulletin- iD100 Web and Eblast FINAL (2) (1).jpg
Brought to you by
Protect Your Customers and Your Business

You deserve to know what you are selling–to protect your customers as well as your business and your reputation.

The Edit – A Gallery of Italian Jewelry Masterpieces Graphic
Events & AwardsOct 17, 2025
An Edit of Italian Jewels Is Coming to NYC

The new showcase dedicated to Italian jewelry design is set for Oct. 29-30.

Weekly QuizOct 16, 2025
This Week’s Quiz
Test your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
Take the Quiz
Judi Powers Jewelry Stella Earrings
TrendsOct 17, 2025
Piece of the Week: Judi Powers Jewelry’s ‘Stella’ Earrings

Take a gaze at the sky with this pair of platinum diamond-set star earrings with blue lace agate drops.

Jeffrey Zimmer Reeds Jewelers
IndependentsOct 16, 2025
Retailer Hall of Fame 2025: Jeffrey Zimmer

Jeffrey Zimmer's decades of leadership at Reeds Jewelers are defined by integrity, a love of sourcing gemstones, and a heart for community.

ja_fall_2024_by_headshot_stories_6824.jpg
Brought to you by
JA New York Fall Is Right Around the Corner

The upcoming show provides savvy retailers with the opportunity to stock their cases with best sellers in advance of the holiday season.

Sothebys salon new bond street
AuctionsOct 16, 2025
Sotheby’s Introduces Custom Jewelry Service

The new high jewelry design and production process takes 30 days or less from concept to completion, the auction house said.

Oscar Heyman 2025 Holiday Catalog Cover
MajorsOct 16, 2025
Oscar Heyman’s Holiday Catalog Is Out, and It’s Spectacular

The holiday catalog for 2025 features never-before-seen images of more than 100 one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

Foundrae United in Love Campaign Imagery
CollectionsOct 16, 2025
Foundrae Adds To ‘United in Love’ Collection

The brand has released a second installment of its collection of traditional and non-traditional commitment heirlooms.

Kathy Corey
IndependentsOct 15, 2025
Retailer Hall of Fame 2025: Kathy Corey

Corey rescued New England chain Day’s Jewelers, preserving its legacy with strong people skills, pragmatism, and a “get-it-done” attitude.

Colorado jeweler Peter Damian Arguello
CrimeOct 15, 2025
Men Receive Lengthy Prison Sentences for 2023 Murder of Colorado Jeweler

Charles Robinson Shay was sentenced to life in prison plus 120 years while his accomplice, Michael James McCormack, got 75 years.

Douriean Fletcher Messenger Collection
Events & AwardsOct 15, 2025
‘Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture’ Opens at MAD

The Museum of Arts and Design's new exhibition features 75 pieces by the designer, best known for her work in the “Black Panther” films.

Logo for Timepieces at Luxury
Events & AwardsOct 15, 2025
JCK, Luxury to Debut New Watch Section in Vegas Next Year

Timepieces at Luxury will take place at The Venetian and, like Luxury, will be invitation-only for the first two days.

Max Fawcett Claibourne Poindexter
AuctionsOct 15, 2025
Christie's Announces New Jewelry Department Leadership

The auction house named a new global head of jewelry, as well as a new head of the jewelry department for the Americas.

Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, Tom Dixon
IndependentsOct 14, 2025
Retailer Hall of Fame 2025: Tom Dixon

As chairman of Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, Tom Dixon has been tasked with honoring the past and shaping the future of the family-run store.

Katty Villapando Lyte and Mica Rencher of Shimmer LLC
Events & AwardsOct 14, 2025
Here Are the Winners of the BIJC, JA ‘Emerging Jewelers’ Grant

Katty Villapando Lyte and Mica Rencher received a $10,000 grant for their business, Shimmer Culture LLC.

Cooper Flagg family at Day’s Jewelers
IndependentsOct 14, 2025
Day’s Jewelers Crafts Custom Jewelry for No.1 NBA Draft Pick Cooper Flagg

The parents of the Dallas Mavericks rookie bought their engagement ring at a Day’s store in Bangor, Maine, in 1997.

Pragnell Kitulo Garnet collection
SourcingOct 14, 2025
Pragnell Debuts Kitulo Garnet Jewelry

The UK-based brand sourced the gemstones, which are fully traceable, from an artisanal mining community in Tanzania.

Astrid & Miyu 2025 12-Day, 24-Day, Solid Gold Advent Calendars
CollectionsOct 10, 2025
Count Down to the Holidays With Astrid & Miyu’s Advent Calendars

The trio of Advent calendars include a version with 18-karat gold and lab-grown diamond jewelry in a red lacquer jewelry box.

Front of Marla Aaron porcelain Nymphenburg Lock
CollectionsOct 10, 2025
Piece of the Week: Marla Aaron’s ‘Nymphenburg Lock’

Created in collaboration with Nymphenburg Porcelain, the lock is part of a four-piece collection that took two years to bring to fruition.

Alisa Bunger Frederick Goldman
MajorsOct 10, 2025
Frederick Goldman Names New VP of Sales

Jewelry industry veteran Alisa Bunger has taken on the role.

Feriel Zerouki, De Beers Chief Trade and Industry Officer
SourcingOct 09, 2025
Feriel Zerouki Is Leaving De Beers

The company and industry leader’s two-decade tenure with De Beers will come to a close at the end of the month.

Fabergé Imperial Winter Egg
AuctionsOct 09, 2025
This Fabergé Egg Could Crack $27M At Auction

“The Winter Egg” set the world auction record for a Fabergé piece twice at previous Christie’s sales.

Kessler watch battery recycling program
MajorsOct 09, 2025
Sy Kessler Buying Watch Batteries as Silver Hits Record High

The company will pay 1.5x silver’s current spot price for each pound of silver oxide batteries submitted.

Katkim Men’s Collection Shadow Pendant Necklace and Anerise Signet Band
CollectionsOct 09, 2025
Katkim Launches First Men’s Collection

The line includes a “Shadow” series crafted exclusively for the new men’s offering and reimagined styles from the brand’s core collections.

×

This site uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By continuing to use & browse this site, we assume you agree to our Privacy Policy