Singapore: The Singapore Diamond Mint Company (“SDM”) announced the launch of the Diamond Bullion, a revolutionary new investment product designed to bolster investment in diamonds as an asset class by providing a standardised, liquid, and exchange-listed format for diamond trading.
The Diamond Bullion is a credit card-sized package of investment-grade diamonds in a tamper-resistant sintered zirconia case, with a unique optical signature recognition system and serial number. The latter two features enable the instant authentication of the product using a secure mobile app. Further to these, proprietary unique inscription technology sourced from De Beers Group’s International Institute for Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR) is incorporated into the Diamond Bullion. This technology from IIDGR enables the unique identification of each diamond sealed in the Bullion through a proprietary table inscription, which is integral to ensuring the authenticity of every diamond in each Diamond Bullion sold.
Fungible and tradeable, the Diamond Bullions will be exclusively listed on the SDiX, the world’s first fully electronic exchange for trading investment-grade diamonds. Investors will be able to obtain real-time pricing data via the SDiX website or via the SDM mobile app. The app will also provide a range of unique tools from diamonds authentication, to trading functionality as well as other data services. Trades are recorded in the SDiX Electronic Central Depository, while digital ledger services will be available via blockchain in the future.
The units are available for order to global accredited and expert investors via broker members of SDiX and other SDM distribution partners progressively in the coming months, which will include wealth managers and private banks. After the order is placed, purchased and fulfilled, the Diamond Bullions can be sent directly to the buyer or stored in dedicated secure vaulting facilities at the Singapore Freeport and other secured vaults around the world operated by specialised logistic companies for SDiX, or nominated banks and brokers.
The Diamond Bullion will be initially available in two case colours of Silver and Gold in standard denominations of approximate values of USD100,000 and USD200,000 respectively. The Silver Diamond Bullion was soft-launched on 2 October 2017 and as of market close on Friday, 6 October 2017, closed at USD106,450.00 on the SDiX.
With the issuance of the Diamond Bullion by SDM, a company backed by the SDiX and a group of strategic investors, the launch of the Diamond Bullion, coupled with the unparalleled functionality of SDiX, unlocks a new asset class for investors globally.
