Yet another big retailer is now getting more of its diamonds straight from the source.

Tiffany and Co., a pioneer among retailers in buying direct from mines, has signed a three-year deal to secure rough gems directly from Russian diamond miner Alrosa. The deal’s terms were not disclosed.

Signing this deal means that about half of the diamonds that Tiffany uses were sourced in rough form, says spokesman Carson Glover. 

The deal was officially signed between Alrosa and Tiffany’s diamond cutting subsidiary Laurelton Diamonds, which is also a DTC sightholder. Laurelton has cutting facilities in Belgium, Vietnam, Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.

Signet has also been increasing its rough diamond purchases, and earlier this year became a Rio Tinto sightholder.

The noted retailer also joined the visually-oriented micro-blogging site Tumblr. Its Tumblr blog—available at tiffanyandco.tumblr.com—is organized into three themes.  

“Timeless Tiffany” includes the story of Tiffany’s history and features pictures from its archives. “Tiffany Insider” tells of the company’s current business, including its photo shoots and window displays. And “Tiffany In Style” covers the latest designs in jewelry and accessories.

JCK