Rocks To

Riches

A Diamond’s Journey From The Earth To Your Finger

Where are Diamonds Found?‍‍‍

Diamonds are wonders of beauty forged by the combination of time and heat – over 3 billion years and 1,300 degrees Celsius, to be precise. Nearly half the world’s supply of diamonds comes from Africa, although significant amounts have been found in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, Australia, and the United States. The process of actually finding diamonds can take decades. ‍‍‍

How are Diamonds Mined?‍‍‍

Diamonds are mined in locations varying from above ground, below ground, along ancient rivers, coast lines, and even under the sea. On land mining of diamonds require huge earth-moving equipment that includes trucks with 250-tonne payloads. From the ocean floor, diamonds are extracted by ships functioning as floating mines. ‍‍‍

Sorting

Grading The 4Cs‍‍‍

Even taking into account that there are 12,000 different categories of diamonds, every diamond is unique. Sorting of diamonds remains a highly manual process, performed by expert sorters with a trained pair of eyes and years of experience to grade every diamond based on its cut, colour, clarity, and carat size – our beloved 4Cs. ‍‍‍

A well-cut diamond reflects light internally from one facet to another and disperses it through the top of the gem. It is the only element of the 4Cs influenced by human intervention. A skilled craftsman can increase the value of a diamon‍‍‍d over a larger or better-coloured one with a good cut.

Cu‍‍‍t

Measurement of a diamond’s weight; one carat equals 200 milligrams. The value of a diamond increases exponentially with size – a one carat diamond generally costs more than a pair of half-carat equivalents.

Carat

The more colourless a diamond is, the higher its value. A truly colourless diamond is graded D on the colour scale, gradually increasing all the way to Z as it becomes increasingly off-white. Some diamonds are naturally coloured – these coloured fancies are extremely rare and are graded to the intensity of their colour.

Colour

Minor impurities, called inclusions, are often trapped within a diamond during its formation. They are usually invisible to the naked eye but can influence the way light is reflected and refracted within the diamond. Inclusions are view under 10x magnification. Fewer the inclusions, higher the diamond’s grade.

Clarity

Cutting

No Room For Error‍‍‍

Diamonds are the hardest known stuff known to men; you can therefore only cut a diamond with another diamond, and once the cutting process begins, there is no room for error. Cutting is performed by an experienced diamond cutter who is responsible for choosing the shape of the cut. ‍‍‍

Polishing

The final touch that gives the diamond its brilliant sparkle has been unchanged for centuries. The diamond is gently brushed against the polishing wheel, coated with a mixture of diamond dust and olive oil. After the polishing process, the diamond is ready to be set into your jewellery of choice. ‍‍‍