Where do Diamonds Come From
Diamond is the hardest substance known to man, and is renowned for its beauty and strength. Though diamonds are expensive, this precious stone is a favorite with jewelers and women who love jewelry. Diamonds are also used for industrial purposes. The popularity of natural and synthetic diamonds have grown considerably in the past few years, and will still continue to do so. But where do diamonds come from in such large quantities. Let's find out.
Origin of Diamonds
Diamonds are formed deep within the earth's surface, around 90 miles (150 km) deep and most of them are millions of years old. Diamonds are formed at high temperatures of 2000F (1100C). Sometimes even hotter conditions are required. Majority of the diamonds found are more than a billion years old. Some of the most amazing facts about diamonds are that they are found in the core of the earth when molten magma rises beneath the earth's surface. Since the depth at which diamonds are formed is four times deeper than the depth at which an average volcano is formed; very rarely magma brings these beautiful stones to the surface. Once this hot molten magma cools down it transforms into a rock known as kimberlite, also called lamproite. Formation of this rock is a strong indicator that diamonds can be found in this cooled magma.
A detailed diamond mining process is carried out in these giant kimberlite rocks, but the presence of kimberlite rocks do not mean that you will find diamonds. White kimberlite dikes are one of the most common places where diamonds can be formed. Others include glacier occurrence, which also transport diamonds hundred of miles from where it was formed. Due to glacier activities diamonds have been found in places that were not appropriate geologically. According to geologists meteors striking are also an important cause for the formation of extremely small diamonds. For many centuries India was the prime exporter of diamonds, but gradually all the diamond sources got depleted. Now, South Africa is the leading exporter of diamonds in the world. Nearly 40% of the total diamond mines found in the world are controlled by various companies of the De Beers Group. The other important exporters of diamond are Brazil, Canada, Siberia and Australia. Diamonds found in Africa are popularly known as blood diamonds. These diamonds undergo a diamond grading system which determines their true value.
Where do Black Diamonds Come From
People find it hard to digest that diamonds are also available in various colors. The white ones are more popular, often seen as diamond earrings, diamond engagement rings and diamond jewelry. There is also a good demand for colored diamonds these days. On such rare colored diamonds are the black diamonds. Unlike its white cousin, black diamonds are gemstones which have many crystals. The mineral content in the stone in the form of iron oxide gives the black color to the stone. Actually the stone is not black but it appears due to inclusions. There are two types of black diamonds, transparent and opaque. Black diamond's cost is determined by its level of transparency. The more transparent the black diamond, more is its value.
Though black diamonds were found in Brazil in the 1800s, recently they have been found in Venezuela and Australia. Black diamonds are obtained in natural form but people generally prefer lab-created diamonds. Though it's still not clear how black diamonds are formed, it's often stated that black diamonds are a result of a meteor impact which happened thousands of years ago. Natural black diamonds are very rare and expensive, though you can go for lab coated diamonds. You can buy black diamonds from jewelry stores and auctions and also on the Internet.
I hope this article has answered your question, where do diamonds come from. The clarity and color of diamonds are determined by the mining process and the geographical factors.
