This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 9 in 2020. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
“The rising trend of illegal and low-quality goods being posted for sale on WeChat at impossibly low prices is a big deal and has to be controlled”. The statement comes from Mr. Ko Aung San Oo, a Myanmar jade retailer. WeChat is the most popular social media and e-commerce app from China, serving 1.1 billion monthly users. The platform launched WeChatPay in 2014 and two years later made direct payments possible at stores through QR codes.
This facility is being used by an increasing number of Chinese tourists in Myanmar after the Central Bank approved on a trial basis the use of WeChat for payments. “Most of the pieces posted on WeChat – Mr. Ko Aung San Oo added – are by Chinese gem traders or Chinese people who have visited Mandalay”. E-commerce is a threat to jade exporters because such a system, entirely managed from China, is eluding the 10% taxation applied in Myanmar.
Apart from this case of intrusion into the jade business and its exportation, WeChat has more ambitious plans about precious stones. It partnered with Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond mining firm, on a new traceability-based e-commerce project, in collaboration with the blockchain platform Everledger. The new WeChat mini app will allow retailers to track their diamonds from extraction in Russia, across the ownership history stored on the blockchain.
The call for more advanced additional services to accompany gemstones on sale through digital platforms has made possible to all eBay India gemstone sellers to offer their goods certified by the Jaipur-based Gem Testing Laboratory (GTL). The initiative, not as sophisticated as that carried on by Alrosa and WeChat, shows the importance of gaining credibility to build customers confidence in a wide and challenging market more and more attracted by additional service contents.
Gem News published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #9, Spring 2020
