Background Facts

• From value chain of diamonds consists of 6 stages: formation, mining, sorting, cutting & polishing, manufacturing and retail
• Formation: Diamonds are created when carbon is put under immense pressure and temperature deep within the earth at distances of 250 miles or even greater.
• Mining: Diamonds come from two types of deposits. Primary deposits are diamond-bearing pipes of volcanic rock called "kimberlite". These require open pit or underground mining operations. Secondary or alluvial deposits were formed due to erosion of primary deposits. These require alluvial mining mostly taking place in riverbeds, and coastal and marine/undersea locations. Alluvial mining is often conducted by artisanal miners. Some African diamond producing countries are Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania.
• Sorting: Rough diamonds are sorted according to their size, shape, quality and colour.
• Cutting & polishing: Cutting takes place mostly in Southern Africa, Belgium, China, India, Israel, Russia and the US. The value of a diamond is determined by the 4 Cs: Carat, Colour, Clarity, and Cut.
• Manufacturing: Cut and polished diamonds are sold through one of the 24 registered diamond exchanges (known as "bourses") located around the world or directly to wholesalers or diamond jewellery manufacturers.
• Retail: The retail sector sells diamonds to consumers.

Link

Visit DiamondFacts for more details on the diamond value chain.