Beyond consensus: How valuation, certification, and digitalisation are securing the KP’s future
In the face of a culture that provides criticism without solutions, the Kimberley Process continues to evolve through transparent valuation, ISO-certified practices
The Kimberley Process, which concluded its Plenary in November 2025, has now completed its ‘Year of Best Practice’. Over the past 12 months, it has focused on practical solutions that have strengthened the KP’s effectiveness through operational excellence, uncompromising integrity, and modern technology. This work has supported ongoing efforts to close loopholes exploited by illicit actors, improve transparency, and ensure that diamond wealth benefits producing nations and their communities. As we move into 2026, it is essential that the KP family continues to enforce and uphold three core pillars: transparent valuation, global certification standards, and digitalisation.
Upholding integrity through valuation
The first line of defence against conflict diamonds is not only a certificate, but fair valuation. Accurate valuation strengthens parcel and certificate alignment. When value is assessed correctly and recorded on a KP certificate, it becomes a practical way to verify that a physical shipment matches its documentation. By contrast, weak or arbitrary valuation creates an immediate loophole that illicit trade can exploit. Under invoicing rough diamonds also deprives producing nations of vital tax and royalty revenue, weakening governance and making communities more vulnerable to the abuses the KP was designed to prevent.
For valuation to be effective, it must meet several criteria. First, it must cover full Run-of-Mine productions, from industrial stones to ‘Specials’. Second, it must be independent and free from bias toward any production, company, or country. Traditional producer pricing can fall short because it often reflects asking prices at sights or allocations rather than true market levels, and it can naturally favour the producer’s own production characteristics. Third, valuation must be driven by rigorous market-based analytics that translate polished potential into accurate rough values. Desktop analysis alone is not enough. True market alignment requires a presence in major trading hubs such as Dubai, so valuation models remain connected to evolving market dynamics in real time. Ultimately, credible valuation reflects achieved liquidity rather than internally generated price lists.
Platforms such as WWW International Diamond Consultants and DCi’s E Valuer provide important independent benchmarks for auditing and compliance. E Valuer offers a consistent baseline for full Run-of-Mine pricing, helping ensure valuations are not distorted by producer conflicts or trading positions. Specialists such as Mercury Diamond apply Transaction Based Valuation to reverse engineer rough prices from polished wholesale data, capturing true market value for exceptional stones by accounting for manufacturing variance. In practice, the best approach is a hybrid model where independent benchmarks collaborate with high quality market data from established industry sources, so pricing reflects actual market reality.
The global standard of best practice, ISO 9001:2015
Best practice matters only if it is measurable and verifiable. This is where the standardisation and rigour upheld by the UAE KP office can serve as a blueprint for the wider KP family.
The UAE KP office is the only one among all 60 Participants, representing 86 countries including the 27 member states of the European Union, to hold ISO 9001:2015 certification. This is not a point of pride, but a demonstrable commitment to operational integrity, achieved through three successful renewals on the first attempt over the past six years.
ISO certification translates directly into accountability and efficiency. It means internal processes, from membership administration to certificate issuance and data verification, are continuously managed, externally audited, and aligned with internationally recognised best practices. Implementing ISO 9001:2015 required documenting 60 operational procedure manuals, which streamlined operations and ensured consistent handling of every case.
Regular external audits ensure the system is maintained and continuously improved. In practical terms, this reduces operational risk and strengthens stakeholder trust globally. For other Participants, the UAE’s ISO status provides a proven model for strengthening compliance and governance. ISO certification may not be the goal for every office, but formalising procedures and adhering to internal standards of best practice are essential steps toward achieving the consistency and quality the global diamond market demands.
Digitalisation, Verifico, and real time oversight
If valuation protects economic integrity and supports certificate conformity, and ISO protects procedural diligence, then digitalisation is essential to guaranteeing data accuracy. As highlighted during November’s Dubai Plenary, there is growing recognition that modernising the KP, including through the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help eliminate compliance gaps.
The development of the KP’s digital certification platform, Verifico, marks an important step in this journey. By moving from vulnerable paper-based certificates to secure digital records, potentially reinforced through blockchain or enhanced with QR codes, the KP can reduce the risk of physical certificate fraud while making verification between KP authorities faster and more reliable. This supports stronger border monitoring and improved certificate security.
More importantly, digital systems enable the intelligent use of AI. Digital records allow real time analysis and help detect anomalies in trade flows and internal controls. These may include irregularities in volume, value, and route, as well as weaknesses in routine operational controls connected to mining and manufacturing oversight.
This can be identified earlier and more accurately than human oversight alone. In doing so, the KP can evolve from a primarily reactive administrative framework into a more proactive compliance mechanism, delivering the transparency and traceability required to secure the supply chain for a more conscious global consumer.
A brighter future built on certainty
With the ‘Year of Best Practice’ now complete, it serves as a reminder that operational excellence has no expiry date. By reinforcing transparent valuation, applying ISO driven operational discipline, and embracing digital transformation, the KP becomes more effective, credible, and responsive. This practical agenda is not a distraction from wider political debates, but the administrative foundation that protects the KP’s legitimacy and long-term strength. It is also how we ensure that every diamond entering the legitimate trade is defined by rigour and an unwavering commitment to a conflict-free future for all.
I extend my sincere congratulations to India on securing the 2026 Kimberley Process Chairmanship, and to Ghana on its appointment as Vice Chair. It has been an honour for the UAE to serve as Custodian Chair, and we look forward to continuing our work with the KP as it evolves with integrity and purpose.
I might look bias but the move toward digitalization through Verifico is a game-changer, especially because blockchain provides the high-integrity data needed for the AI oversight you described. AI is only as good as its data; by anchoring KP certificates in a blockchain, we ensure the AI is analyzing a 'single source of truth' that hasn't been tampered with. This is a massive step for the industry's legitimacy.