One of the key drivers of the growth of the Web 2.0 is it’s integration into the “thing” – and RFID technology is widely viewed to be critical to this development. While the growth of RFID has come in fits and starts, recently Hitachi announced they have devised the smallest RFID tag ever – 0.05 millimeters by 0.05 millimeters, which is smaller than a grain of sand.

Now small tags are great – but the barrier to adoption for RFID has long been more of an economic issue then a technological one. In short, for many products companies feel that the few cents or (in some cases) dollars they would have had to pay for the tag simply wasn’t worth it. But for higher priced products, the economics can look a little different – which is why this latest development appears to have captured the imagination of some people tied to the jewelry industry.

For example, one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest flicks recently brought blood diamonds back into the limelight, as it focused on the sheer brutality that has long besieged the diamond trade in Africa. While a lot of complicated political and economic issues are intertwined in this continuing problem, by embedding an almost invisible tag in a ring that can track the origin of it (and it’s path to market), those that seek to end the illegal side of the diamond trade will have a valuable new tool to leverage – and one that could also eventually provide a disincentive to steal jewelry as well.  

Of course, the ability to accurately track the origins of a piece of jewelry are only as good as the rules and regulations around the implementation, and the increased transparency that is often needed to make such systems work. While no technology can do this on its own, by leveraging things like advanced RFID tags hopefully the diamond industry – and the world – can make some permanent advancements on this very important issue.