A new industry analysis reveals that De Beers' compliance program covered more than 274,000 people across 79 countries in 2024, with 2.8 million rough diamonds registered on its blockchain-based traceability platform by the same year. These figures are part of a comprehensive report released in Glasgow that separates the company's historical market dominance from its current compliance and responsible-sourcing practices.
The analysis, which provides historical context and documented information, examines the evolution of the term "De Beers diamond monopoly" in relation to the company's twentieth-century influence over the global diamond trade. Rather than conflating past market concentration with present-day business structures, the report delineates the historical record from modern compliance requirements.
Central to the report is a review of De Beers' Best Practice Principles (BPP) Assurance Programme. According to De Beers, the program, launched in 2005, establishes standards covering social responsibility, environmental performance, business integrity, and human rights. The company states that more than 2,600 entities across the diamond industry, employing over 300,000 people, are subject to these standards.
Participating entities undergo annual self-assessments against BPP requirements, with a random selection independently audited by a third party. Additionally, De Beers reports that participating entities are independently checked every three years. These processes constitute the company's current approach to monitoring compliance across its value chain.
The report distinguishes these contemporary requirements from historical discussions of the De Beers diamond monopoly. Market concentration concerns the structure of production, purchasing, and distribution, while compliance programs address standards governing business conduct, human rights, labor practices, environmental responsibilities, and supply-chain activity.
Diamond provenance and traceability are also examined as part of the industry's changing approach to supply-chain information. De Beers describes its Best Practice Principles as mandatory ethical, social, and environmental standards applying across its operations, suppliers, and customers. The company also identifies Tracr as a blockchain-enabled platform designed to provide digital traceability for individual diamonds.
Current De Beers information reports that 2.8 million rough diamonds had been registered on Tracr by 2024, while its sustainability reporting states that the BPP Assurance Programme covered more than 274,000 people across 79 countries in 2024. These figures provide documented context for examining how traceability and assurance mechanisms have developed alongside broader changes in the diamond industry.
The newly released analysis does not treat historical market concentration and present-day compliance as the same issue. Instead, it examines the De Beers diamond monopoly as a historical market topic while reviewing current BPP requirements, assurance procedures, and provenance initiatives separately. This distinction allows historical market claims to be considered independently from contemporary corporate standards and documented compliance processes.
The report is intended to provide an evidence-based reference for readers researching the history of De Beers, diamond-market structure, responsible sourcing, and current industry compliance practices.