The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 30% shareholding in Tracr, the De Beers Group-backed company behind the development of the pioneering diamond provenance blockchain-driven platform.

The agreement marks a significant milestone in Tracr’s evolution towards independence and reflects the GIA’s confidence in the platform’s role as an industry‑wide infrastructure to advance natural diamond provenance and traceability at scale.

The GIA’s investment, which builds on a 2023 initiative to include diamond provenance information registered on Tracr’s platform on eligible GIA diamond grading reports, represents a significant step in this transition, reinforcing Tracr’s long‑term credibility across the diamond value chain.

“Consumers deserve to know where their diamonds come from and they should feel more confident in their understanding of each diamond’s source. At De Beers, we have been providing provenance data on diamonds through Tracr for several years and we believe that delivering provenance should become an industry standard.

"Following our promise to open Tracr up to broad ownership, we are proud to be partnering with the GIA as Tracr evolves into an independent, industry-wide platform. We will work alongside the GIA to advance provenance transparency for the entire diamond sector,” says De Beers Group CEO Al Cook.

“At the GIA, our mission has always been rooted in trust, integrity and consumer confidence. Our collaboration with Tracr over the past several years reinforced our belief that combining source-based blockchain provenance with the GIA’s independent grading and identification expertise can help unlock a new level of transparency for the diamond industry.

"As Tracr continues to scale globally, we see a tremendous opportunity to deliver meaningful, verifiable provenance information from the source to the consumer. We are proud to deepen our commitment through this investment and help shape the next evolution of transparency, traceability and trust across our industry,” adds GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel.

Tracr CEO Jillian Wolk says the start of Tracr’s evolution into an independent platform, as a result of the GIA’s investment, creates a strong foundation for the future.

"I am excited to continue scaling the platform and bring more producers on board, which will support Tracr in enabling the individual journey of every registered diamond to come to life. Each stone carries its own narrative, defined by its source and the craftsmanship that has shaped it, and as Tracr continues to grow we have a fantastic opportunity to help reveal those unique stories.”