Where do diamonds come from?

Diamonds are known for their beauty and for being a symbol of love, but where do they come from?

What are diamonds?

These rocks are metastable allotropes of carbon with strong covalent bonding between its atoms.

In order for a diamond to form in a natural condition, it requires high pressure carbon-bearing materials exposure between 900 – 1 300 °C conditions that can be found only in two places on earth: in lithosphere and at the site of a meteorite strike. As a matter a fact, diamond crystals are brought closer to earth’s surface through volcanic activity.

Where do diamonds come from?

It’s been said that diamonds have been mined for the first time somewhere in India along the Penner, Krishna or Godavari rivers.

More than 3 000 years have passed since then, but their true popularity has risen in the 19th century because of their usage in engraving tools, that have led to economical growth in the entire world.

Moreover, alongside the Orange River from South Africa, immense diamond mines were discovered in 1867 and then boom.

Practically, the earliest written proof of diamonds’ existence dates back to ca. 500 B.C. All the financiers and business people saw a glimpse. The investments that came afterwards were huge, yet endangered and the diamonds’ price depended entirely on their scarcity.

“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond,
and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.”

DANIEL DEFOE
English trader, writer, journalist, most famous for his Robinson Crusoe novel ca. 1660 – 24 April 1731

In their pure state, diamonds have no colour, but the rarest ones are blue or red as opposed to the most common yellow and brown coloured.

There are four stages the diamond must go through before it reaches the market place.

1. Mining.
2. Rough Diamonds Reach the Market Place.
3. Manufacturing the Diamond.
4. Selling the Diamond.

Global Diamond Mining Output

When it comes to countries and their diamonds, Russia produces the biggest volume in the world while Botswana is first in value of diamonds. North America can produce 12% of the total diamond production [on earth] because of the Ekati Mine and others from Canada. There is no surprise that America is the largest diamond market even though the U.S. produces almost no diamonds.