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By:KEVIN DUBE
The ethically sourced artisanal diamonds by GemFair have entered the luxury jewellery market for the first time through a capsule collection launched with De Beers London, marking a milestone in efforts to formalise the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. The collaboration translates traceability and responsible sourcing into finished jewellery, with a twelve-piece capsule collection pairing rough and polished diamonds. Each piece offers a direct link between mine site and market, underscoring the commercial viability of formalised ASM supply chains.
GemFair was launched by De Beers Group to create a transparent, formal route to market for artisanal diamonds through fair-value purchasing, improved mining practices and third-party verified assurance systems. Eligible diamonds are traced using proprietary digital tools, forming part of De Beers Group’s Building Forever sustainability framework, which prioritises long-term social, environmental and economic outcomes. Beyond the capsule collection, GemFair has been approved as a registered supplier to De Beers London for future jewellery lines, signalling growing market acceptance of ethically sourced ASM diamonds within the luxury segment.
De Beers London CEO, Emmanuelle Nodale said, “We’re proud to be the first jeweller to launch a collection featuring GemFair ethically sourced diamonds, bringing not just their beauty but also the powerful story of artisanal miners to our clients. By introducing both rough and polished diamonds within the same creation, we offer a rare and tangible connection to each diamond’s path, from its discovery in ancient riverbeds to its transformation into a jewel. These pieces carry not only the beauty of the diamond itself but also the human stories behind it, stories of pride, opportunity and meaningful impact for artisanal mining communities. This collection marks an important step in our ongoing commitment to GemFair and to raising awareness of the programme’s important work.”
In addition, De Beers Brands & Diamond Desirability CEO, Sandrine Conseiller noted, “Today’s luxury is defined not only by craftsmanship but by conscience. As part of our commitment to Building Forever, GemFair plays a vital role in supporting livelihoods by formalising artisanal mining and creating fair, traceable routes to market. For the first time, we are bringing these diamonds to consumers through this new collection with De Beers London with pieces that celebrate the beauty of natural diamonds while telling a story of the producers’ empowerment and transformation. It’s an important step in our efforts to translate rarity to responsibility and create meaningful impacts that endure beyond diamonds.”
The GemFair programme operates across more than 500 artisanal mine sites, supporting approximately 7,000 direct livelihoods. Since its launch in Sierra Leone’s Kono region in 2018, the initiative has purchased more than 20,000 diamonds, conducted over 5,700 compliance visits and rehabilitated abandoned mine sites for agricultural use, demonstrating how responsible ASM integration can deliver both social impact and commercial supply.
“The collaboration with De Beers London marks a significant milestone for GemFair as our beautiful, ethically-sourced artisanal diamonds are sold in a dedicated jewellery collection for the first time. GemFair makes a tangible difference to the lives of the artisanal miners involved in the programme and it’s a great privilege to help tell their stories through the diamonds that we source and sell. We’ve come a long way since starting out as a pilot programme trying to establish a model for something that had never been done before. It’s very rewarding to see GemFair diamonds set in such stunning jewellery pieces, representing a real full circle moment,” concluded Steve Allan, Head of GemFair.
