The diamond: the gem of gems.

Let's discover together its qualities and its curiosities.

but sometimes even at about 750 km below the earth's surface, it is here that the conditions of temperature and pressure force the carbon atoms in an isometric structure. From these depths the diamonds are carried towards the surface by a particular type of molten rock called kimberlite or more rarely by lamproite. Only these two types of rocks guarantee the diamond, during its journey towards the surface, to maintain that balance between pressure and temperature without which it would cause changes in the crystal structure of the diamond, transforming them into graphite or carbon dioxide. Scientists estimate that the earliest deposition of diamonds on the Earth's surface dates back to 2.5 billion years ago and that the most recent is 50 million years ago.

Diamonds are mined from two types of deposits called primary and secondary.

The primary deposits are the actual cones of volcanoes through which the diamonds arrived on the surface, the secondary deposits are the river beds that over the millennia have eroded the primary deposits and brought the rocks containing the precious gems downstream.  

On average they have to be extracted from about 227 tons of rock for a diamond 1.00 ct, now if we consider that a carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams, between the weight of the diamonds obtained and the extracted rock there is a ratio in grams of 1: 1.135.000.000, this makes us understand the rarity and also the high cost of the precious gem. In the past, diamonds were recovered from crushing rocks through the use of strips sprinkled with grease, given the ability of the diamond to attach itself to this substance, today x-rays are used to recover the gem.

Once the rough diamonds have been selected for quality and size, they are sold through periodic auctions,

held by the major mine owners including De Beers through its branch for the sale and distribution of rough diamonds, the Diamond Trading Company, the Alrosa or Debswana Diamond, to the most important accredited wholesalers and cutters to participate in such auctions. These in turn sell the cut gems either to other smaller wholesalers or directly to jewelry stores.