Leadership in 
the diamond industry
The importance of diamond provenance

Overview

The importance of diamond provenance

Every natural diamond goes on a unique journey, from deep in the earth to its polished form, touching countless lives along the way.

De Beers has been part of this journey for over a century – shaping how the world understands diamonds. Through deep expertise, global partnerships, and enduring commitment, we bring these rare, remarkable stones — and their stories — to light with care, integrity and craft.

Today, we continue to raise the bar, so that a De Beers diamond is a symbol of trust.

Our commitment

We continue to pioneer on ethical sourcing and innovate on traceability — setting the global standard for diamond provenance.

20 YEARS OF THE BPPs​

For 20 years, the Best Practice Principles, De Beers’ responsible sourcing and assurance programme, have helped raise standards across the diamond value chain, expanding accountability and evolving in step with changing global expectations. Watch to see how we've set industry leading standards.

5 m

Rough diamonds individually scanned on Tracr

20 years

We marked the 20th year of our Best Practice Principles​

100 %

of our precious metal suppliers were assessed against our rigorous sourcing standards

Artisanal mining

Our approach

20 years of setting best practice standards​

For 20 years, the Best Practice Principles (BPPs), have helped raise standards across the diamond value chain.

Today they help to ensure that diamonds are sourced and handled responsibly from mine to market and remain an important part of our commitment to transparency, accountability and provenance, supporting confidence in every diamond that carries our name.

Our approach

Blockchain enabled traceability: Tracr

Tracr is our cutting-edge, blockchain-enabled traceability platform. It allows our customers to trace individual diamonds back to their country of origin and better understand their impact. Tracr is the world’s leading digital diamond traceability platform and is open to the wider industry, helping drive transparency at scale.

Artisanal mining

Our approach

Artisanal mining standards: GemFair

Ethical sourcing also means supporting the most vulnerable people in the diamond value chain. Our GemFair programme helps transform the future of artisanal and small-scale mining, providing equipment and safety support, training, development and a transparent, fair route to market.

GemFair helps strengthen communities and raise standards by making local artisanal sourcing safer, fairer and more accountable.

A responsible supply chain is critical to our operations. We expect our suppliers, Sightholders and subsidiary businesses to adhere to high ethical standards and to share our commitment to responsible business practices and continuous improvement.

In 2025, $1.37 billion was spent on goods and services from local suppliers in host countries, representing 75% of total procurement spend. The proportion of local procurement has remained broadly consistent over the past four years.

In 2025, 336 suppliers were requested to complete responsible sourcing self assessments, including top suppliers by spend in Canada and over 300 suppliers in South Africa. Results are scheduled for review in the third quarter of 2026.

For further information on supply chain management and wider sustainability reporting, see our Sustainability Report 2025.

In 2025, responsible sourcing standards continued to be applied across the diamond jewellery supply chain. The Best Practice Principles (BPP) Assurance Programme marked its 20th year, with 103 verification visits and 176 workbook reviews completed during the year.

Across jewellery manufacturing, all manufacturers met responsible sourcing requirements. A total of 89% were certified to the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices, with the remaining 11% participating in the BPP programme. 100% identified precious metal refiners and sellers supplying gold, platinum, and silver were assessed as compliant with sourcing standards, up from 90% in 2024.

For further information on responsible sourcing and wider sustainability reporting, see our Sustainability Report 2025.

The Pipeline Integrity Programme (PI) is De Beers Group’s proprietary, third-party assessed chain of custody standard for diamonds.

In 2025, the Standard covered 183 entities across our operations, customers and their contractors. This represented a 5% decrease compared to 2024, driven by inactive factories and the removal of entities where no eligible diamonds were handled, avoiding unnecessary audits.

For further information on responsible sourcing and wider sustainability reporting, see our Sustainability Report 2025.

Innovation & Technology 
Institute of Diamonds

Institute of Diamonds: Enhancing confidence in the natural diamond industry

We uphold a fundamental promise of accuracy, knowledge and unparalleled service. Our experts employ comprehensive analysis techniques, combining cutting-edge technology and decades of skill, to ensure that every diamond we assess meets the highest standards of authenticity and quality.

See what services we offer
Upstream Technology 

Upstream Technology

De Beers Upstream Technology specialises in developing technological solutions for our mining and discovery operations. The division’s integrated systems and engineering capabilities improve safety, efficiency and profitability, helping us achieve excellence in mining. We provide technical services, technology products and holistic marine and land-based mining systems and solutions, based on our leading-edge expertise.

Learn more about our operations
Tracr: The future of diamond traceability

Tracr: The future of diamond traceability

Tracr is the world’s leading digital platform for tracing natural diamonds from source at scale. It gives customers the ability to explore the provenance, authenticity and the unique journey a diamond has taken along the diamond value chain.

Learn more about Tracr
Institute of Diamonds

Institute of Diamonds: Enhancing confidence in the natural diamond industry

We uphold a fundamental promise of accuracy, knowledge and unparalleled service. Our experts employ comprehensive analysis techniques, combining cutting-edge technology and decades of skill, to ensure that every diamond we assess meets the highest standards of authenticity and quality.

See what services we offer
Upstream Technology 

Upstream Technology

De Beers Upstream Technology specialises in developing technological solutions for our mining and discovery operations. The division’s integrated systems and engineering capabilities improve safety, efficiency and profitability, helping us achieve excellence in mining. We provide technical services, technology products and holistic marine and land-based mining systems and solutions, based on our leading-edge expertise.

Learn more about our operations
Tracr: The future of diamond traceability

Tracr: The future of diamond traceability

Tracr is the world’s leading digital platform for tracing natural diamonds from source at scale. It gives customers the ability to explore the provenance, authenticity and the unique journey a diamond has taken along the diamond value chain.

Learn more about Tracr

Innovation & Technology

As the world’s leading diamond company, De Beers prioritises innovation and technology. Our global teams of scientists and engineers deliver innovations that help advance new mining technology and rough diamond sorting machines to technology that documents the journey of a diamond. We also create industry-leading instruments, including an unrivalled suite of diamond verification devices.

Our experts are skilled in diamond characterisation, design, electronics, mechanics and imaging technology. They collaborate with a range of organisations, including trade associations, gemmological laboratories, and some of the world’s most innovative research teams.

Further links

Sustainability strategy 

BUILDING FOREVER

Partnerships with host countries  

PARTNERSHIPS WITH HOST COUNTRIES

Business ethics  

BUSINESS ETHICS

Sustainability Reports

Sustainability Report

Our sustainability report is published every year and highlights our progress against our Building Forever framework, including detailed sustainability performance reporting.