As we are all preparing to take a big step into the new year and the next great adventure, we can’t help but reflect on 2022. What a year it has been! 2022 was a big year in many respects, rich with innovations and innovators that disrupt sectors and new consumer trends that provide them with the headwinds of change to do so. 2022 was also big for Sarine as we continued pushing strong on our mission of reimagining the diamond industry.
From numerous events that extended to every corner of the globe to new innovations, partnerships, and social media achievements, this year was one that revealed milestone after milestone, and no doubt it is paving the road for a remarkable 2023 to come. Join us on this jaunt down memory lane as we rediscover the moments in 2022 when Sarine shined brightest.
Sparkling Industry Events
From New York City to Japan, Sarine exhibited and sponsored many leading industry events this year. Throughout 2022 Sarine's experts have had the pleasure of participating in mind-blowing panels, including "Building Sustainable Diamond Economies" at Facets 2022, "Rethinking the Diamond Supply Chain" at the Dubai Diamond Conference, and "Boldly Building the Future" at IAC's 12th Annual Gold and Diamond Conference.
Striking Partnerships Across the Globe
- Aura Blockchain Consortium- Founded by LVMH, Prada Group, Cartier, part of Richemont, and OTB Group, this international association has chosen to partner with Sarine in relation to Sarine’s Diamond Journey™ traceability solution and data for the Aura Blockchain Consortium platform to provide full diamond traceability across the entire supply chain, from extraction to polishing and setting.
- Boucheron- The French luxury jewelry brand Maison Boucheron adopted Sarine Diamond Journey™ and our AI-based eGrading™ for Etoile de Paris, their new fully-traceable bridal jewelry line that will supply consumers with co-branded certificates. Boucheron-branded diamond reports "powered by Sarine."
- Bonas Group- The world's biggest independent global diamond and gemstone tender and auction house adopted Sarine Diamond Journey™ to enable much-needed traceability for rough diamonds sourced from various origins. Bonas’ joining the growing Sarine traceability ecosystem is of major significance to the entire diamond value chain, allowing retailers to easily source fully traceable diamonds from many origins.
- Synova- Amidst their participation at the Rethinking the Diamond Supply Chain panel at the Dubai Diamond Conference, Sarine CEO David Block, and Bernold Richerzagen, Synova’s Founder and CEO, have signed an MOU for collaboration, which will seamlessly link Sarine's Advisor® planning data output with Synova's DaVinci Diamond Factory (DDF). The brilliant teaming of Sarine and Synova will benefit our mutual customers by further streamlining the supply chain and reducing costs and costly errors. This cooperation is yet another example of the benefits created by the data generated inherently by Sarine's technologies across the diamond processing value.
- Mazalit- In Cooperation with Mazalit, Sarine has presented this year the first-ever rough diamond report with valuation appraisal. Based on data collected by the Sarine Advisor®, Galaxy®, and DiaExpert®®, this report approaches diamonds from various angles, including trade, financing, insurance, and more, to allow regulated financial entities to provide working capital against rough diamonds as collateral. We are pleased that Mazalit, a company that shares the same values of transparency and innovation with us, chose to work with us to develop this solution and believe that the service they can now offer is one that’s much needed and has enormous potential.
- HB Antwerp- The diamonds-focused technology company has integrated Sarine’s s industry-leading Galaxy® scanning, planning, and AI-grading technologies into their innovative ecosystem to further streamline the value chain and provide the end consumers with the quality products they desire, along with the transparency and confidence they now demand.
- China’s National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) - Sarine and NGTC have launched a co-branded Light Performance™ grading reports and services in Mainland China to bring a new level of polished diamond appreciation to the Chinese consumer. The alliance between us will create a new experience for diamond retailers and consumers, more transparency, and facilitate a more robust diamond consumer market, effectively contributing to the growth of China’s jewelry industry.
New Storytelling for the Modern Consumer
For decades, diamond marketing has revolved around traditional notions of "prestige" and "romance." But is this approach relevant to a new generation of millennial and Gen-Z consumers who value authenticity and are inherently skeptical about the diamond industry? Our goal this year was to support retailers by reframing existing perceptions of diamonds and creating an emotional connection between the new consumer and diamonds.
Just as TikTok was starting to take off for businesses, we jumped in and dedicated our marketing efforts in 2022 to create a series of bite-size TikTok videos that unapologetically address the biggest pain points our target audience is facing in a humoristic and engaging way.
Our campaign created a new genre we called "Tech-Tok," with a style and tone of voice aimed at capturing the attention of Millennials and Gen-Z. In our Tech-Tok campaign, we swapped outdated notions of "luxury" with a fresh new storytelling approach that celebrates sustainability, authenticity, diversity, transparency, and social responsibility - all values important to next-gen consumers.
We succeeded in creating innovative and highly relatable storytelling that conveys sophisticated information about diamonds and diamond technology in a fun and engaging way that sparks interest amongst a generation that's seen just about everything.
Our Tech-Tok campaign covered many topics, including the transformational journey of diamonds from rough to polished, diamond provenance, digital diamond reports, diamond characteristics and inclusions, the AI-based grading revolution, and the ways retailers can now market to Gen Z and Millennials.
As the world is getting ready to ring in the new year, Sarine has once again struck a huge milestone when our TikTok page reached 100k followers. That's 100k people tuning in and engaging with Sarine on a new and exciting platform for us.
As a high-tech company with infinite amounts of diamond data, we believe we have a unique privilege to raise awareness about natural diamonds' true story and, in so doing, improve consumer confidence and shift perceptions. We can't change the past, but we can change how future generations engage with it by shaping a new dialogue in the present.
New Solutions Powered by Sarine
This year saw Sarine improve upon or roll out a number of impressive and game-changing innovations, all of which add value to diamonds across the industry. From the producing sector to the manufacturers and even down to the retail segment, these innovations assure more efficient, accurate, and transparent experiences across the pipeline.
- Advisor 8.0™ – It stands as the newest and most advanced diamond planning software ever to be released. Advisor 8.0 significantly improves yield, boosts productivity and adds value to the midstream.
- Sarine Autoscan™ - This robotic scanning system was released for beta testing back in March. It has the ability to sort hundreds of diamonds, big or small, at high speeds right as they come from the mines. It sorts and scans, and kicks off a diamond’s journey.
- Sarine Diamond Journey™ 360° Experience – An exploring tool that enables customers to delve deeper into diamond traceability by empowering them to actively move and explore the diamond in every form and at every stage it passed from mine to retailer.
- Meteorite™ Plus – An addition to Galaxy™ scanners specializing in a more accurate and accelerated scanning of smaller rough stones.
- eGrading™ Rolled Out to Manufacturing Segment – Allows manufacturers to grade diamonds on-site, which contributes to a more efficient pipeline by cutting out the middleman, lowering costs, and saving time.
- Sarine Traceability Origin Check™ - Allows consumers to instantaneously trace their diamonds to their country of origin. All they have to do is type in the gem’s Sarine ID.
2022 was a remarkable year, and we're excited to see what next year will bring for the diamond industry and Sarine. We look forward to keeping providing you with the latest diamond innovations and industry insights to help you succeed.
We would love to know what was YOUR greatest moments in 2022. Please share with us by leaving a reply below.