De Beers is closing the International Institute for Diamond Valuation (IIDV), which it first debuted in 2014 with hopes of improving the diamond buyback experience.
“In the short time since the IIDV launched, there have been major digital advancements that have coincided with a change in consumer behaviors toward the use of online consumer-to-consumer platforms,” says spokesperson David Johnson.
The company determined “the IIDV model is no longer the optimal means of ensuring that diamond recyclers are treated fairly and to underline the inherent value of diamonds,” he says.
The news first appeared on diamonds.net.
At press time, the company’s website has been taken down, and its social media accounts have gone off-line.
Johnson said the IIDV’s four-year run gave De Beers “valuable insight into consumer behavior and the needs of our retail partners.” He added that De Beers is still seeking opportunities in consumer-to-consumer diamond recycling but didn’t specify what they were.
The IIDV first premiered as a pilot in 2014. Initially, it was conceived as a service that would value diamonds for select retailers. It vowed to reinvent the secondhand market for diamonds, by paying the “highest possible price one could achieve…on the secondary, wholesale market.”
When it was given the official green light in 2016, it also added a consumer-facing website to buy goods from the public.
Yet the service went through several changes in management and strategy (and logos). Lately, it had pivoted into working with retailers to organize buyback events.
“We started the operation as we had recognized that the practice of the existing recycling sector often led to a poor consumer experience for sellers, and the IIDV provided a means of underlining the enduring value of diamonds,” says Johnson.
According to LinkedIn, Tom Montgomery, who as De Beers’ vice president of strategic initiatives was a public spokesman for the IIDV, left the company last year.
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