The path that a diamond travels begins with its formation deep within the earth, then is mined and cut into finished jewelry, and then sold to the public. The long journey from mine to consumer is essential to understanding diamond rarity and value. Diamonds are rarer than many colored gemstones, which are more readily available and easier to mine around the world. Diamond mining requires a more organized and large scale financial effort because they are physically harder to excavate. The unique journey a diamond takes from mine to retailer is known as the diamond pipeline. This blog will touch on the basics of this pathway and how it directly contributes to diamond rarity and value.
Diamonds do not form in the same part of the earth as colored gemstones. In fact, one of the most important factors contributing to the rarity of diamonds is that they form deep within the earth’s mantle making it more difficult to find and extract. Diamond deposits form approximately 100 miles deep into the earth where such extreme amounts of pressure and heat cause carbon in the earth to form into diamond crystals. The environment in which a diamond forms is so uninhabitable that it exemplifies just how durable a diamond is. A diamond can withstand extreme conditions of heat and pressure for thousands of years before reaching the surface. Diamond rough eventually is pushed up towards the surface through pathways known as diamond pipes. Diamond site holding companies such as Rio Tinto and DeBeers search desperately around the world for pipes as potential new sources of rough diamonds. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how successful a diamond deposit will be without investing millions of dollars into its exploration.
