Formed deep within the earth’s crust, the diamonds, illustrious for their strength, durability and glowing beauty, are in fact billion years old by the time they reach the earth’s surface. Some might even be as old as trillion years, just a little young than the earth itself.
These sparkling stones are formed under incredible pressure and relatively manageable temperatures, underneath the continental crust of the earth. They originate from pure carbon obtained either exclusively from non-organic sources or organic sources, or a blend of both.
Earlier, India was the only supplier of diamonds in the world. But the commercial potential of these sources bushed in the late 18th century when the first non Indian diamonds were found in Brazil. Africa, in the 19th century, became the largest diamond producer with its industrial diamond share got from Zaire and the gem quality diamonds obtained from South Africa.
Today, most commercially viable diamond deposits are in Russia, Botswana, Australia and the Democratic Republic of Congo with Australia being the largest diamond producer since the 80’s.
Once mined, diamonds are set on their journey to be cut and polished in pursuit of a beautifully glittering gem. This specialized skill of cutting rough diamonds and transforming them into dazzling stones takes place in few places of the world. Antwerp, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, New York and Tel Aviv are the traditional diamond cutting centers while China, India and Thailand are the recent addition to the list.
While in the rough form the establishment of the origin of a diamond can be done, but once cut, however, it is nearly impossible to distinguish its origin.
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