The Story Behind My "Diamonds to Treasure" Website

My name is Malehlohonolo (Hloni for short). I was born and bred at Qwa-qwa village, Free State Province in South Africa.

My First "Education" About Diamonds

My childhood memories are not very pleasant, as I grew up in real poverty. During the hardships that I was going through as a child, we had a very interesting neighbour. Whilst we were starving and struggling to afford the basic needs, I would go to school sometimes with an empty stomach not knowing if I will find food when I come back from school. I remember seeing lots of cars everyday at their home.

Our Unusual Neighbours...

Since every child is curious, I remember asking my mother about the everyday ins and outs of different cars at our neighbour's house. She answered that they were smuggling loose diamonds and they could go to jail if the police find out. At that time, I could not quite understand what my mother was trying to tell me, and why should they be arrested by the police.

Back then, as a child, I thought to myself that maybe is not such a bad idea to smuggle diamonds, as they were able to afford things that we could not afford. It is only now that I have realized how bad it is to smuggle diamonds, as people can lose their lives during the smuggling process.

Although I cannot say they were rich, they were surviving and they were better than most of the people who were living around us. They had money to buy things like white bread which were considered a luxury back then by some of us.

There was something nice about them which I will always remember for the rest of my life... Even though they were a big family, they were very generous. Every now and then, they would invite us for supper or bring us food. I guess they understood very well what we were going through at that time.

Unfortunately, they moved from our area and we lost contact with them.

That's when my passion and love for diamonds started.

My Quest for Knowledge about Diamonds Continued...

After becoming an adult, I started to become even more curious about the subject of diamonds. The feedback I was getting was kind of scary. I could not understand why something so precious and that is used to represent Love could also be associated with such bad things and bad people.

Where I come from, when you talk about the subject of diamonds, you are viewed as a mafia.

I wanted to know more about how diamonds are made and where do they come from, how to sell them legally. Along the way, I gave up and concentrated on other things as I was not getting what I was looking for, or didn't know how and where to get information.

A New Discovery...

Then something happened in January 2008... my younger brother called and asked if I am still interested in learning about diamonds.

I immediately said "Yes!"

He then referred me to one of the newspapers advertising a college offering a course about diamonds. I immediately bought the paper and the information that I wanted for many, many years was there, right in front of me. For me, it was like a dream come true. I was so excited! I don't know how to explain my excitement so that you can understand how I was feeling at that moment.

Even though it was very expensive, I did not waste time to enrol, as I was so excited to finally get the place where I could learn about diamonds.

What I've Learned

During my course, I was amazed at how much information was related to diamonds. I learned about the 4 C's which are Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat. I also learned about the formation of diamonds, De Beers (a major supplier of diamonds), different shapes, diamond certification, famous diamonds, colored diamonds, blood diamonds, Kimberly Process.

Currently I am learning how to do the polishing of the actual stones. It is a learnership that is offered by the MQA (Mining Qualification Authority).

Through this learning, I now understand some of the reasons why diamonds are regulated. It is all because of some rebels in some African countries were smuggling diamonds to fund their wars against their own legitimate governments. Those wars violated Human Rights of people staying in those countries where all this was happening.

The Investment Value of Diamonds

As I was learning about the monetary value of diamonds, I also realised that diamonds doesn't only symbolise Love, but Wealth as well. Therefore all of us could buy them as an investment. It is a good investment because it is tangible just like property. You can see it, touch it, feel it, and you can decide when sell or not to sell.

Why I Built this Website

I also realised that many people are unknowingly being robbed during their diamond ring transactions. Nobody tells them anything about Diamond grading report (aka certificate). Most people volunteer to be robbed due to lack of knowledge. When you go to some chain jewelry stores, nobody gives you a loupe to check your diamond or let alone mention the properties of the diamond. They just tell you this is R10,000.00 and because you paid a lot of money, you think you bought a quality diamond.

But that's not always true...

As I gained more knowledge about diamonds through learning and continuous learning about the subject, I also asked myself what about other people, who are being ripped off, without even knowing that they are being robbed?

That's why I decided to build a website where you, as a customer, will get a chance to learn more about diamonds before you can conclude the transaction. Even if you buy somewhere else, you will at least have guidelines.

Buying diamonds is a tricky process and an expensive investment, so you need to take your time. Do comparisons from different websites, and if possible visit the dealer's office.

My Goal

By building this website, I knew I would reach out to many more people globally who might really need more information about diamonds.

Yes, today my dream has become a reality.

I have a website about the subject of diamonds which is my passion.

My dream of building a site would not have materialised if it was not for SiteSell. They helped me to build this site about loose diamonds which is my pride and my greatest achievement so far.

I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Ken Evoy, the founder of SiteSell and SBI! for helping small business people like me to compete in a global environment with ease. Thanks, Dr. Ken for the best software your company is selling. If I could have this website that I can call my own then anybody can, yes I mean everybody can build their own website about anything.

Diamonds are an expensive item to buy, so I just want you to buy wisely.

All the best,

Hloni

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