Why are diamonds valuable? Why are diamonds so expensive? In fact, these are questions that have crossed your mind numerous times if you've ever had the chanceSee diamond prices.
One of the most expensive stones in the world, diamonds are indispensable in modern civilization.
Associated with love and passion, these sparkling gemstones are most commonly found in engagement rings, wedding bands, and other eye-catching and acceptable pieces of jewelry.
But what makes diamonds so valuable and when did they become so popular?
The simplest answer would be that diamonds, formed billions of years ago, are incredibly rare because few survive the journey from the depths of the earth to the surface.
But believe me, that's not the only thing that determines its value and increases its price. Critical events in history have left their mark on the diamond market.
Let's examine the origins of diamonds andbecause they are the most expensiveand Popular Gems to Find Today!
diamond over time
In order to understand what diamonds are today, it is important to go back and see how and where they were formed and acquired their value today.
A diamond's value dates back to when these exquisite stones were first discovered.
These stones were discovered in southern India thousands of years ago. was IndianWorld leader in diamond productionDiamonds have also been discovered in Brazil, South Africa, Venezuela, Russia and Australia.
South Africa is now the world's leading diamond producer. DeBeers, the world's largest diamond company, is headquartered here.
DeBeers owns the most valuable diamond mine in the world. They also own some of the largest diamond mines in the world. As a result, they have a significant impact on the diamond business.
nach einer kurzendiamond story, it is important to understand the many theories as to why diamonds are so valuable.
The diamond has been one of the most coveted and valuable gemstones in the world for thousands of years. As we mentioned earlier, diamonds were formed billions of years ago and have become rare due to the upward journey from the depths of the earth to the surface.
Only half of the diamonds mined today are considered high enough to be sold in the diamond market.
Many experienced specialists touch a diamond before it reaches the person who wants such a valuable stone. His journey will take him across four continents and into the lives of hundreds of individuals and families.
Monarchs were only allowed to wear diamonds until the 15th century as they were considered a symbol of power and courage. In addition, diamond wearers should be indestructible.
The diamond has been recognized as the greatest gift of love. Since their discovery, they have been associated with romance and folklore.
The name diamond derives from the Greek word for "invincible". This symbolizes the eternal essence of love, in accordance with Greek philosophy that the diamond's flaming brilliance reflects love's eternal flame.
The tradition of wearing a diamond ring on the third finger of a woman's left hand dates back to ancient Egyptian belief. The vena amoris, which translates to "vein of love," ran straight from the heart to the tip of the third finger of the left hand.
Today, a diamond's value is often determined by testing the four C's: colour, clarity, cut and carat.
Now that we're done with the story, let's learn more about the four cs!
Related reading:Diamond price over the last 50 years: how has it changed?
four Cs
diamonds,Diamonds that are mined and grown in the laboratory, are classified by gemologists according to the 4Cs of diamond quality: cut, colour, carat and clarity.
GIA, or Gemological Institute of America, established a famous and widely accepted grading system for estimating the value of a gemstone. The 4Cs also affect the price of a diamond.
The first C - dish
IsDiamond cut qualityIt is the most important factor in your appearance. The cut of a diamond can have a variety of effects on the stone.
The cut of the stone determines how bright and shiny it is, how much sparkle it has, and how clean and precise it looks. The most important thing is the cutdetermines the price of the diamond.
The GIA assigns each diamond one of four grades of cut. The degree of cut of a diamond affects not only its brilliance but also its price.
Second C - carat
What exactly is a carat and what role does it play in the world of diamonds?
The basic definition would probably look like this:A carat is a measure of weight.It is used to quantify the size of a gemstone such as a diamond.
The carat helps determine the quality of the diamond itself; a more significant number of carats indicates a higher quality, but of course also a higher price.
Clarity is the third C
When choosing a diamond, the third of the famous C's,clarity, should be considered significantly.
The existence and visible appearance of a diamond's inner properties,known as inclusions, and surface imperfections known as blemishes are referred to as diamond clarity.
Color is the last C
The color itself is an easy way to tell the quality of a diamond.
As a result, the best quality diamonds are those that lack color. On the other hand, the more colors (including brown and yellow), the worse the diamond grade will be.
Related reading:
- Diamond Color vs Clarity: What Matters Most?
- Diamond Color Chart: Diamond color grading scale
What Makes Diamonds Valuable?
Diamonds are highly prized all over the world. They are a popular gemstone in many cultures and are often used in engagement rings, necklaces and other jewelry.
IsDiamante Koh-i-Noor, sifted from sand in India and thought to have been treasured by the Hindu god Krishna, is one of the largest, most expensive and most famous diamonds.
It was passed around by the Indian court elite before being looted and included in the British Crown Jewels in the mid-19th century.
In addition to diamonds with religious or cultural significance, such as the Koh-i-Noor, several factors influence a particular diamond's value, including demand in the diamond industry, ethical sourcing, and the quality of the diamond itself.
Diamonds have long been associated with power, wealth and status. However, because the stone was a rare find, it was more valuable.
As we have already mentioned, in the 19th century people discovered a real treasure trove of diamonds in Kimberly, South Africa. This newly discovered mine has the potential to flood the market with diamonds and depress the price of the precious stone.
But what happened next?
De Beers soon intervened, bought the mine andkept tight control over the world diamond supplyto prevent too many stones from entering the market. De Beers issued just enough diamonds to meet annual demand.
This gave the impression that diamonds were extremely rare.
As a result, the supposedly tight supply drove up the diamond price. Throughout the 19th century, De Beers effectively maintained a monopoly on diamond mining around the world, hoarding diamonds, limiting supply and driving up demand and prices.
In addition, De Beers launched an extensive marketing campaignsell diamond engagement rings.
The brand replaced the entrenched custom of ruby and sapphire engagement rings with an overwhelming demand for diamond rings.
The combination of high demand and limited release of diamonds controlled by De Beers drove up the overall cost of diamonds.
Thus we can say that the past movements of a companydetermines the value of the diamond, which continues to grow to this day.
diamond industry
As you can imagine from the headlines above, De Beers controlled over 90% of rough diamond production during the campaign.
The corporation reduced the general supply of diamonds, which drove up the price.
Surprisingly, despite popular demand,Diamonds have a low resale value. When trading at a local jeweler, the average diamond is only worth 20-40% of its original price.
So what's the problem you ask?
Because hediamond shopis heavily regulated and encouraged, diamond sellers can sell them at high prices. However, according to an inside story, if you're trying to resell it, they know what it's worth.
By limiting the availability of new diamonds, companies create false demand, and a lack of supply drives prices up when they sell them, but not necessarily when you sell them.
All of this gives the illusion of a commodity that is hard to buy and not widely available, just an invention. Engagement rings and diamonds are now synonymous, but it wasn't always like that.
Let's go back to DeBeers to explain this claim:
As we have mentioned many times, De Beers is one of the most well-known brands in the diamond business, owning some of the largest diamond mines in the world and exerting a significant influence on the industry as a whole.
During the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, diamond sales plummeted and De Beers was in complete control of the market. As a result, his income plummeted.
They created an advertising campaign that revived the diamond market and established the motto "A diamond is forever".
De Beers built the narrative that reinforced the association between diamonds and engagement rings, propelled the market and made a lasting cultural impression with this ad campaign.
What is the true price of a diamond?
Although diamonds are not as expensive in money terms as we are told, they do have sentimental value. Many couples still associate diamonds with love and want to propose a diamond engagement ring.
However, considerations such as the price of diamonds and ethical issues are beginning to influence modern consumers.
Some consumers cannot afford the high prices for quality diamonds, while others are put off by disclosureblood diamondsjEnvironmental disasters related to mining companies.
People are increasingly aware of why natural diamonds are immoral and where they come from.
Concerned consumers are turning to "conflict-free" diamonds, or forgoing natural diamonds altogether and opting for themmade in the laboratoryÖsynthetic diamonds.
As customers seek alternatives to diamonds, family heirlooms and vintage items are becoming increasingly popular with the emergence of vintage trends.
Where do diamonds come from?
If you are looking for diamond jewellery, you will probably come across the expression "diamonds mined from the earth".
And you may be wondering why this is mentioned or why it matters. This is because diamonds are founddeep in the earth's crust. So to get them, mining is required.
The diamond market emphasizes the notion that diamonds must be mined to give status to an item. It is not something that can be easily acquired or recreated.
This is one of the reasons diamonds are so expensive.
Finally getting diamonds off the ground and into a jewelry store takes an entire industry, scientific approach, and geological resources, not to mention the efforts of hundreds of people.
So here are someinteresting dataAbout the origin of the diamond:
- Diamonds develop deep in the earth's crust, at depths that man cannot reach.
- Volcanic eruptions transport diamonds from the earth's deep crust to the surface.
- There is no other way to extract diamonds from the earth's crust; We have to trust the volcanoes.
- Humans must extract them from lava eruptions that occurred millions of years ago.
Diamonds are not uncommon, but they are a unique gemstone as they are inherently unrecoverable by humans. It increases your value. But that's not the only reason they're so expensive.
Its high selling price was the result of a corporate strategy: De Beers.
Now that we've come to the end of the article, we think we've settled everything about the DeBeers company. So let's consolidate the facts on diamond formation again!
Diamonds are formed deep beneath the earth's surface when carbon deposits are subjected to tremendous heat and pressure. Some stones develop in days or months, while others may take millions of years.
Most of the natural stones available in the diamond market today are quarried in South Africa, Russia, Australia, India and Canada.
Diamonds can also be created in the laboratory. Laboratory diamonds are created in a controlled environment, replacing the tremendous pressure and temperature that a natural diamond is subjected to.
They are made of carbon and have the same chemical composition as natural diamonds.
Related reading:Lab Grown Diamonds Price List: Natural vs Lab Diamond Price
final thoughts
If you are looking for an answer to a frequently asked question about diamonds, namely:Why are diamonds valuable?We've tried our best not to provide a simple answer in this article, which is often related to the rarity of diamonds.
To better understand how a diamond's price moves and what defines diamond value, we went back in time instead. History turned out to be an essential aspect of this theme.
We hope to have clarified the history and value of the diamond as best we can.
Also, we hope you enjoyed reading it at least as much as we did gathering information and writing this article for you!
Related reading:What's more valuable than a diamond?
FAQs
Why are diamonds so valuable? ›
Diamonds are expensive because they cost a lot to bring to market, there's a limited supply of fine quality gems, and people around the world want to buy them. It's simply supply and demand.
Are diamonds very valuable? ›Diamonds are also the most expensive gemstone on the market. There are other less-expensive gems that look identical to diamonds, shine as bright as diamonds, and are formed the same way as diamonds, but are sold at far lower prices.
How do diamonds have value? ›Diamond price is reflective of size, quality and therefore rarity. The higher cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, the rarer the stones and therefore the greater the value of diamonds.
What makes a diamond a good diamond? ›Flawless is the top grade in the GIA Clarity Grading System. Diamonds graded Flawless don't have visible inclusions or blemishes when examined under 10-power (10X) magnification by a skilled and experienced grader. As clarity increases, and if all other value factors are equal, diamond price per carat also increases.
What are 5 facts about diamonds? ›- Diamonds are the earth's hardest natural substance. ...
- Diamonds form approximately 100 miles under the earth and are carried to the surface by volcanic activity.
- Diamonds are the only gems made of one element. ...
- Diamonds are found in every color of the rainbow.
Simply put, diamond formation occurs when carbon deposits deep within the earth(approximately 90 to 125 miles below the surface) are subject to high temperature and pressure. Some stones take shape in a matter of days or months, while others take millions of years to materialize.