Does De Beers want to be the new RapNet?
De Beers is already trying to be the new GIA. Now, it seemingly wants to be the new RapNet.
De Beers is piloting a new project that allows traders to sell high-value polished diamonds over its auction sales platform. This builds on the rough trading service it announced last year.
The service is open to fancy colored diamonds as well as stones over 5 cts.
Sellers must comply with a variety of ethical requirements, including supplying evidence of the stones’ provenance and submitting to a process to screen treatments and synthetics.
In a statement, Neil Ventura, executive vice president of De Beers Auction Sales, stressed the service is just a pilot: “Once we have some initial feedback we can decide whether there is sufficient demand to continue with it. … As a business, we’re always looking to innovate and find new ways to meet our customers’ needs.”
In 2013, De Beers bought a 25 percent equity stake in online auction service provider Curtis Fitch.
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