Australian blockchain technology company Everledger is partnering with WeChat e-commerce in a pilot to give Chinese consumers a more transparent and secure mobile diamond buying experience.

The partnership includes Russian owned Alrosa Group, a leader in the world diamond mining industry.

Consumers will now be able to check a diamond's full provenance – including full transparency of origin, characteristics and ownership history – and unique certificate information.

Shoppers can buy the diamond using WeChat Pay and also register its ownership through the Everledger blockchain platform.

"This pioneering collaboration is exactly why we launched Everledger and it shows how quickly we have deployed a solution in the Tencent ecosystem, since we sealed the series A investment," says Everledger founder and CEO Leanne Kemp.

Setting a new benchmark

Tencent, which develops and operates WeChat – one of the world's largest communication and social platforms – recently led a $20 million funding round in Everledger.

"Our blockchain and IoT solutions will enable key stakeholders in the jewellery industry to bring secure and reputable information to consumers in China and beyond,” Ms Kemp said.

“The WeChat Mini Program delivers on our scalable vision for more transparent, frictionless, and sustainable value chains, providing a new benchmark for customer focus and transparency in the diamond industry.”

According to Evgeny Gokhberg, head of Europe at Everledger, this pilot is the beginning of a much broader roll out with Alrosa.

WeChat has a billion active users.