How are diamonds made?

Have you ever wondered how are diamonds made? Have you ever thought for a second about the origin or formation of diamonds? When buying an expensive engagement diamonds or wedding day diamonds have you ever asked yourself how many hands touched it before they end up in jewelry stores?

Well, diamonds formation is either natural or man made. Naturally is a process that takes place under heat and pressure at approximately 155 kilometres below the surface of the earth. Man-made are those diamonds that are lab created.

Natural Diamonds

Naturally loose diamonds crystallize deep in the earth’s mantle. After their formation they are transported from the ground to the surface of the earth through the kimberlitic or lamproite pipes. Kimberlites are the rock formation where diamonds can be found.

The name kimberlite comes from the town Kimberly in Northern Cape, South Africa. Kimberly was considered last century as the world centre for diamond mining and site of the first diamonds found in rock.

Man Made Diamonds

Man-made diamonds are diamonds that are grown in laboratories. Laboratories imitate the heat and pressure that create natural diamonds below the surface of the earth to produce man-made diamonds (temperature up to 1500 degree and more, and pressure of 50.000 bar and up).

Man-made diamonds are pure carbon just like natural diamonds. Natural diamonds takes millions of years to be created whereas man-made diamonds are created within a week. They are sold at quarter the price of a natural diamond. Most man-made are found in pink, yellow, blue and orange color and they weigh less than 1 carat.

Though man-made diamonds are the closest synthetic to natural diamonds but are not considered natural. Jewellers are not allowed to declare man-made diamonds as natural ones.

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