Editor’s Note
Tiffany & Co. has set a new industry standard for transparency by publicly disclosing the complete craftsmanship journey of its newly sourced diamonds. This move marks a significant step forward in ethical sourcing and traceability within the luxury sector.
In October 2020, in New York, USA, Tiffany & Co. took an unprecedented step in diamond traceability by sharing the complete craftsmanship journey of its individually registered, newly sourced diamonds (0.18 carats or more). Revealing the country where each stone is crafted and set into jewelry marked an industry first.
This follows the 2019 announcement that Tiffany would become the first global luxury jeweler to provide the provenance (region or countries of origin) of its individually registered diamonds. By taking transparency to a new level and sharing the complete craftsmanship journey of its diamonds, Tiffany reinforces the brand’s commitment to ensuring that every step in its products’ journey contributes to the well-being of people and the planet.
The region or countries of origin of a diamond, along with where it was cut and polished, graded, quality assured, and set into jewelry, are shared with Tiffany clients for each newly sourced, individually registered diamond. This information is available through any sales professional, as well as printed on the Tiffany Diamond Certificate.
Tiffany continues to lead the industry by providing a new level of transparency to its diamond supply chain. The brand is unique among global luxury jewelers for owning and operating five of its own diamond polishing workshops worldwide. Here, nearly 1,500 Tiffany artisans ensure cutting excellence is obsessively considered to maximize brilliance, dispersion, and scintillation, not just carat weight. With company-owned diamond workshops in Belgium, Mauritius, Botswana, Vietnam, and Cambodia, as well as a Tiffany Gemological Laboratory in New York and five jewelry manufacturing workshops in North America, Tiffany can ensure its own superlative standards are met.
Offering this degree of supply chain transparency, which is unparalleled among global luxury jewelers, distinguishes Tiffany and is made possible by over 20 years of investment in vertical integration.
Many Tiffany diamonds begin their journey as responsibly sourced rough stones from trusted suppliers, mined in countries such as Australia, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, Russia, and South Africa, and prohibited from areas of concern like Zimbabwe and Angola. Since January 2019, Tiffany has been disclosing the provenance (region or countries of origin) of its individually registered diamonds to consumers, a first among global luxury jewelers.
All diamonds Tiffany sources as rough stones continue their journey in Antwerp, Belgium. Here, the origin of each individual diamond is recorded, and then the diamond is graded by size, color, clarity, and fluorescence, before its unique design is mapped.
Tiffany cuts and polishes diamonds with great precision and artistry in workshops in Mauritius, Botswana, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Belgium. Tiffany-approved or owned diamond cutting and polishing facilities offer safe and healthy work environments; and meet health and safety standards that, in many places, go beyond local laws. In its workshops, Tiffany prides itself on hiring locally, investing in communities, and providing a living wage for employees in developing countries. Tiffany also acquires select polished diamonds from trusted suppliers that meet its traceability, quality, social, and environmental standards.
Tiffany diamonds are meticulously evaluated at the network of Tiffany Gemological Laboratories in the United States, Cambodia, and Vietnam, ensuring each stone meets superlative grading requirements, standards that are set and guaranteed in New York.
