How Rare Are Diamonds?

When you're out browsing the gold and diamond treasures at your favorite mall's jewelry store, you see oodles of diamonds in hundreds of settings with fabulous variations of color. And of course, you'll see prices from low and affordable to way up there near Donald Trump's price range.
What you won't know is how in the world did those particular diamonds end up in that store in your city? The story of most diamond's journey from mine to jeweler's display would make Raider's of The Lost Ark seem like a bedtime story!



Millions of diamonds are dug out of the earth. However, fewer than one of 10 million are able to make the grade, so to speak. Mining from the earth is the first source we think of when the subject of diamonds is on the table. Literally tons of diamond ore is mined in order to find a ring sized rough "rock" that can stand the tests and processes that result in a true diamond jewel.
Most of the trash from this process ends up on the tip of your hobby drill, or that of a local mason. These stones are not much good for any type of jewelry but can slice through hardened steel like a knife through butter.
While man-made diamonds are pretty, at least at a glance, they too can loose their luster under the pressure of improper methods of manufacturing which results in their transition into the industrial diamond category.
Now on your next trip to the mall, especially if a special day, or date in on your calendar has arrived, be sure to look knowingly at your visual treasure trove of sparkling diamonds. And think about the journey from muck and mire to flash and fire.
True diamonds are a treasure, not just because of their dollar value, but also for the intricacy and rarity of the special varieties that fulfill our dreams. Lovers and others, who lust for the lasting bobble of beauty that only diamonds can represent, will never settle for anything but the earth's bounty. After all, diamonds do last forever.