If you are considering purchasing diamonds, you need to know some background on them. As the most sought after of jewels, the process is a bit surprising to most people.
An Introduction to Diamonds
Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man. They are formed from carbon over thousands of years, primarily being formed by the pressures surrounding them in the ground. A similar carbon process also forms the second hardest natural substance known to man, the material known as graphite. Given the strength of diamonds, it is hardly a surprise to find that they are used in many industrial applications ranging from drill bits for mining to high-end saw blades to laser machinery. Of course, you are probably more interested in their capacity as jewelry.
How diamonds become jewelry is a fairly interesting process. They are first mined in a number of locations and the process alone has some controversial aspects. While most diamond mining operations are no different than other businesses, there is a distinct black market element of the diamond industry. Specifically, conflict diamonds are one of the major issues.
Conflict diamonds are those that are mined in war torn countries. In truth, most of the wars seem to be over who controls the diamond mines. Countries such as Sierra Leone and Angola produce conflict diamonds. The purchase of conflict diamonds is generally illegal per the sanctions of the United Nations, but they come onto the market frequently. If you get the urge to buy such a diamond, keep in mind the revenues are funding military action.
Once diamonds are minded, they are sold on the wholesale market in single units if they are intended to be used for jewelry. Master jewelers than grade the diamonds and cut them through a technique designed to bring out the fire in the diamond and maximize clarity and so forth. Following this process, diamonds are then shipped to jewelry stores to be sold as mounted pieces or loose diamonds for custom jewelry.
