The owner of Cartier Richemont plans to keep track of diamonds with Blockchain

Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods giant that owns Cartier, is turning to the blockchain in a move aimed at bringing transparency to its supply chain.

Jin Keyu, a noted economist and associate professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), appointed last year by Richemont as a board member, said during a speech at an event on Thursday that the luxury giant intends to use the blockchain to control all the "parallel markets".

"As a parent company of Cartier, we [Richemont] have recently decided to start using the blockchain to trace the origin of diamonds, and gold in mines or recycling factories. For all the watches we sell, we also hope to (use blockchain) to monitor their sources to validate their authenticity, "he said.

During his speech, Jin also discussed his academic interests and the reasons for his transition to the blockchain industry, adding that he will have to join the Chinese blockchain startup Ultrain as a consultant to contribute his expertise in macroeconomics.

"For me, the blockchain has essentially restructured the entire economic spectrum ... I think it's extremely interesting because, to solve this broad problem, we need not only microeconomic theories ... but also macro as currency, monetary policy and regulation. "

During a conversation with CoinDesk, Jin indicated that he is planning a research to explore the questions in the cryptic world from the macroeconomic point of view.

This work will potentially include the design of a cryptocurrency that can perform three essential functions of a currency: storage of value, stability and unit of account.

Originally from Beijing, Jin became one of the youngest tenured professors at the LSE after earning a medical degree, a Ph.D. at Harvard. She is often invited to appear in international news agencies for her macroeconomic skills on issues related to China.