Where Do Diamonds Come From?
All fine things in life take time, and so do diamonds. Imagine possessing something that took hundreds and thousands of years to form, that is what makes each diamond precious and special. Every single diamond of your ring is formed deep within the earth's surface, about a hundred miles below where the temperature is above a 1000 degrees Celsius. Diamonds are worth all the hype because their beauty and precision can never be overlooked in any circumstance. Each diamond goes through a journey before it reaches you, let’s try and understand what are the major milestones in a diamond's journey, or as we like to call it at Laxmi Diamond, from mine to market.
We all know diamonds are made up of carbon. The question is - How?
Carbon is found everywhere in our surroundings. In the rocks, sand, water, and even in our bodies. The majority of this carbon will never become a diamond because diamonds are formed when the carbon is exposed to the right amount of heat and pressure, which is found deep in our earth's mantle. Various components like magnesium, iron, and carbon are found in large quantities in the earth's mantle, and the carbon atoms present start forming chemical bonds because of high temperatures, which is around 1000°C. Also, the pressure per square centimetre is around 50 kilograms, which makes the bonds rigid and unbreakable. The pressure materialises the bonds into crystals, which look like shiny rocks when mined.
The pioneers
India discovered diamonds a long long time ago in 400 BC. India's diamonds became famous worldwide as India was the sole producer till 1700 BC. Our country is the soil of some of the most iconic diamonds in the world like Kohinoor and the Hope diamond. Over the period, India started to be recognized for processing diamonds and it is currently the largest supplier of polished diamonds around the world.
Laxmi Diamond is the leading diamond manufacturing brand in the world. With a global presence in major countries, they deal in diamonds from rough to retail. Associated with some renowned diamond groups like DeBeers and Forevermark, they are the major supplier of polished diamonds to traders around the globe.
Current Suppliers
After India, the first-ever diamond reserve was found in Brazil. Currently, there are approximately 30 countries that have diamond mines scattered all around the globe, but only 10 stand out due to the huge quantity they produce. More than 70% of diamond produced is supplied in industry and only around 30% of quality diamonds are supplied in the jewellery market. Industries use diamonds for cutting, grinding, drilling and polishing because it is the hardest material found in the world.
The total number of carats that are manufactured all around the globe is around 1.1 billion carats. Russia and Botswana hold the top two positions with 38 and 23 million carat diamonds respectively. Namibia and Sierra Leone stand last in the list with 2 million and 609 thousand carats of diamonds. The interesting thing is that the value of diamonds produced by Mamba and Sierra Leone stands the highest in the market. The value of a diamond is directly related to its quality. So 38 million carats of diamonds may value at a lesser price than 2 million carats because of their quality.
Laxmi Diamonds buys diamonds from various international markets and mines and then processes them into polished diamonds to deliver the finest gems to jewellery manufacturers in different parts of the world.
Diamond Mining
Diamond mines are usually found on land, but there are also a few under the ocean bed. No matter where they are, a chunk of rock and soil is blasted through a controlled explosion to reach the depth where the diamond lays, which can be more than 600 metres deep. Most of the mines now are marginalised where the tractors, trucks, and diggers are used to take out the soil and transport it, but few traditional families of south Africa still do it the old way by digging the soil using basic equipment.
Ethically sourced diamonds.
Ethical diamonds are the ones that are sourced or mined without exploiting the workers or the environment. Previously various miners were treated as slaves by the mine owners, and the diamonds that were mined were used for civil wars- these diamonds were called "blood diamonds". Conflict-free diamonds come from mines where fair pay, safe working conditions, and value to human rights are practised. You can know if your diamond is ethically sourced by looking into its history and supply chain. Various groups and jewellers have joined hands and come forward to encourage ethically sourced diamonds by not supporting mines that undertake illegal practices to exploit humans.
Laxmi Diamond group has always stood strong in its core value which is human empowerment and upliftment. The group makes sure to tie the business bonds with miners and suppliers that are not involved in the unethical diamond rush. They promise a conflict-free journey of a diamond from mine to the customer by maintaining sheer transparency throughout the process chain so the customer gets a diamond that ethically aligns with their core values.
Diamond cutting at Laxmi Diamond
Initially, diamond cutting was done in the country of origin. But, as it is a work of expertise and precision, a skilled labour force was required which was available in India at a large scale. This is how slowly India became a hub for diamond processing. People here knew the techniques for cutting diamonds without excess waste.
Laxmi diamond started processing diamonds back in 1972 at a very small scale and now in 2022, they are one of the largest suppliers of finished diamonds all over the world. Their expertise and process is polished and precise over the years with help of skills and technology. Rough diamond spends many months going through several steps in the cutting process which are as follows.
❖ Planning : mapping the diamond to decide what to make out of it with minimum waste.
❖ Cleaving : The breaking of a large stone into smaller individual gems.
❖ Bruting : shaping the diamond in a way to reflect maximum light to enhance its beauty
❖ Polishing : the final finishing of the diamond to make its surface smooth.
❖ Evaluation : Deciding the value of the diamond according to its volume, carat, clarity, and cut.
Laxmi Diamond uses the latest technologies available around the globe at each of these steps to deliver fine-quality diamonds to jewellers globally. Every diamond has a unique journey from mine to customers. It is found as a rock and is turned into a piece of art. The story of every single gem started thousands of years ago and is adorned with hard work, craftsmanship, and the skills of miners, and lab workers.