in this case, the provenance of luxury goods--those are all industries that are decades behind the curve and have never seen a reason to update their software.

This is an excellent example of why you have exactly the wrong idea about this stuff.

There has never before been a way to verify the provenance of an item. Now, there can be a unique identifier attached to an object the ownership of which can be publicly tracked. This has never before been possible. Never, in the history of mankind, has there been an effectively unimpeachable mark of ownership. Never, in the history of mankind, has there been an unforgeable list of transactions.

Up to this point, all transactional and ownership history has been mediated. The credibility of the transaction was dependent on the credibility of the mediator. This has led to very real economic opportunity and harm above and beyond the obvious central bank saws that everyone always pulls out. Now? Now I know where everything has been and when it has changed hands. Similar services have been employed in luxury goods for 20 years but since it's DeBeers, it's just one shady consortium lording it over everyone else. Put that shit on the blockchain and suddenly the entire equation changes.