Why Are Diamonds So Expensive? Diamonds are one of the most well-known symbols of wealth and luxury. They are also the hardest natural mineral known to man.
Why are diamonds so expensive? The reason diamonds are so expensive is because they are rare, but that’s not the only reason why. It takes an enormous amount of time and effort to mine for diamonds, and it takes a lot of pressure to form them into their final shape.
When you consider all the time, energy, and money that goes into making a single diamond-it’s no wonder they cost so much.
Diamonds are not rare. Most people would be surprised to find out that diamonds are no rarer than any other gemstone or material, yet why are they worth ten times the price of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires? Diamond prices have nothing to do with rarity; rather, it has everything to do with history, marketing, and public perception.
Diamonds were formed over three billion years ago through extreme heat and pressure deep in the crust. Diamonds weren’t discovered until around 700 B.C. when India‘s King Kaniska was reportedly covered in dirt after bathing; he noticed that his body sparkled like stars because of all the embedded diamonds within him (quoted from an article on why diamonds are most likely not rare).
Diamonds were used for many years in India and the Middle East to increase the owner’s attractiveness, charisma, and sex appeal. Later on, during the 14th century, they came into fashion in Italy; during this time, diamond engagement rings also became popular (quoted from an article on why diamonds are most likely not rare).
For thousands of years, diamonds were considered extremely valuable, but why? Even though the Romans loved diamond jewelry almost as much as today’s women love wearing them, why did only royals have access to them? A mere fifty years before Francis, I prohibited everyone except his mother from wearing jewels valued more than 150 francs-precisely because wealthy people were beginning to buy these gems by the carat. For this reason, they were becoming less rare (quoted from why diamonds are most likely not rare).
Diamonds are abundant in some parts of the world, but since supplies are quickly used up, mines have to be relocated often-there is always risk involved when mining for these stones (quoted from why diamonds are most likely not rare). During the 18th century, many diamond deposits were discovered in Brazil, India, and Sierra Leone. This is why South Africa has 85% of the world’s supply nowadays.
The story is told that in 1870 a farmer found a large rough brownstone while plowing his field. He took it to a jeweler who was so excited about it he bought it on the spot-it turned out to be a 23.6-carat diamond (quoted from why diamonds are most likely not rare).
Lately, the supply of diamonds is limited by their very nature as soon as they are discovered, more often than not, they are being hoarded away for whatever reason there might be at the time. Perhaps this will become more common since Russia has announced that it can produce synthetic diamonds in vast quantities and sell them at much lower prices than mined stones (quoted from why diamonds are most likely not rare).
Diamonds have been marketed well over the years, but every product needs good marketing to succeed. Every year about one billion people watch various events on T.V. where prominent celebrities exchange rings made out of these gems with each other; why do we think that we need to buy diamond rings for our loved ones (quoted from why diamonds are most likely not rare)?
Why does everyone want diamonds? It is very hard to tell why people can’t seem to get enough diamonds. The fact of the matter is that you don’t have to be rich or royal to own a diamond, but why should you purchase one as an investment (or as an engagement ring for your significant other) when they are worth more than one million dollars per carat? It’s time we start asking questions and using some common sense. After all, just because something is expensive does not mean that it is better than anything else.
Why are diamonwhy are diamonds so expensive when they are not rare?
Diamonds are one of the most well-known symbols of wealth and luxury. However, they are not that rare. There are over a billion carats worth of diamonds on Earth, but only about one in 10 diamonds is a gem-quality diamond. For every 1 million carats, there is approximately one gem-quality diamond.
Diamonds are so expensive because they’re rare, and it takes a lot of time and effort to mine them. It also takes a lot of pressure to form them into their final shape. When you consider all the time, energy, and money that goes into making a single diamond-it’s no wonder they cost so much!
When people think about buying diamonds as an investment or as an anniversary gift, they need to be prepared for the high price tag that comes with them. If you want to buy a diamond ring for your significant other, ensure you have enough saved up first.
Why are diamonds expensive? Diamonds are not rare. Although they have been prized for centuries, the diamonds we see today all come from a single geologic formation in South Africa. The first mine opened on a farm called Coleskop near the town of Kimberley in 1871 and sparked a diamond rush that led to many others being opened nearby. These mines were later consolidated into De Beers Consolidated Mines, which mined over half of all known deposits of diamonds by 2014. To control prices, De Beers Gems International controls as much as 40 percent of the world’s rough-diamond production through its subsidiary Diamdel Services Ltd., located near Pretoria, South Africa.
Diamonds have also been promoted as being valuable to encourage their sales. The Diamond Trading Company, owned by De Beers, hired N. W. Ayer to create the “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign that made diamond engagement rings an essential part of engagements in the United States starting in 1947.
Metals like gold and silver are relatively rare, but they can be found worldwide, so why do only certain areas produce diamonds? The short answer is that diamonds require very specific conditions to form. Two conditions need to exist for diamond formation: (1) high pressure deep below Earth’s surface; (2) rapid release of that pressure into the open air or water, allowing it to crystallize into a diamond around 100 miles below Earth’s surface. The first condition is called subsurface pressure, and it causes methane to be squeezed out of loose sediments. When the methane reaches a pocket of magma, it reacts with the hot rock causing the methane to turn into graphite-the same stuff found in pencil lead. Carbon atoms link together at temperatures above 573 degrees Celsius, forming a strong crystalline structure that can form diamonds.
For these diamonds to make their way from 100 miles below Earth’s surface up through another 70 miles of rock, they must pass through volcanoes or cracks in Earth’s crust, allowing diamond crystals to enter deep-source volcanic eruptions where they are expelled rapidly from the source of molten lava upward toward the surface. Diamonds that form at the surface through weathering are not as hard and do not remain free of inclusions for very long.
The second condition-rapid pressure release-is why diamonds are found only in certain areas worldwide. Generally speaking, diamonds formed close to Earth’s surface are older than those found further down, making them more likely to have undergone significant changes during their formation. These changes cause them to be less useful as jewels, so they are generally not mined for jewelry use.
The last reason diamonds are expensive is that it takes an extremely long time before a diamond becomes available for mining after it forms deep below Earth’s surface (around one billion years). This means that once De Beers controls most of these gems, they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to controlling prices.
Conclusion
Perhaps it is because diamonds are the only gemstone that does not lose their beauty over time. As long as they are cared for properly, a diamond will remain beautiful forever and never tarnish or dull color as other gems might do with age. In addition to their physical uniqueness, diamonds have been associated with romance since ancient times, contributing to their value throughout history. For these reasons and many more, people continue to cherish them today even though there is no need for true rarity when producing this precious stone. In the end, it’s not about how rare a diamond might be. What they represent to each person determines its value and price. A diamond is an icon of love and commitment, which means people are willing to go to great lengths – even if it means going into debt – for them. They are one of the most common gemstones on Earth. But because society has placed a tremendous amount of value on these stones, people are willing to pay a high price for them.
