Diamonds
Natural diamonds are made from pure carbon, formed into crystals far below the earth’s crust billions of years ago. Diamonds are found in several parts of the world but predominantly in southern Africa. This is where flows of volcanic lava, known as Kimberlite, have carried diamond deposits to the surface. These deposits can be mined or quarried to find the diamonds within the Kimberlite.
Being the hardest natural substance known to man, diamonds brought to the surface in this manner have survived the damaging effects of geological erosion, often being washed down river valleys and occasionally into the sea.
Hence, diamonds can be recovered from the alluvial deposits in river beds but also from the sea bed and even from beaches. In their recovered, or better known, “rough” form they are far from the finely cut and polished gemstones which we prize today.
Rough diamonds have to be sorted and graded, the better quality stones are used for jewellery and are shipped to specialist cutting and polishing centers all over the world. Diamonds that not suitable for jewellery are then used for industrial cutting and drilling.
This website is dedicated to teaching you all you need to know about diamonds so you can make in informed purchase. We hope you find the information here relevant and concise.