Where Do Diamonds Come From?

Mark:  Hi, it’s Mark from Top Local Lead Generation.  We’re here with Sheetal Gupta of Maharani Jewels in Vancouver; she’s an award winning jeweller and gemologist.  How’re you doing today Sheetal?

Sheetal:  I’m doing really well, thank you so much Mark.

Mark: Aw, stumbling over my words today, so where do diamonds come from?

Sheetal:  So Mark there are five predominate places that diamonds are mined from and I want to make sure that you understand that diamonds, where they’re mined and then where they’re cut and polished are two different places.  So today we’re going to talk about where diamonds are actually formed.  So I’m going to take you over to a map here which, in which you’re able to see some of these sources, so the first producer is Russia, number one on the list.  Number two is the country Botswana which is in Africa, number three is the Congo which is also in central Africa, the fourth one is Australia and at number five is Canada.  So Russia is actually the largest diamond producing country contributing to over 25% of production with the company Alrosa being the company that accounts for 95% of the production and the really neat thing about Russia is that some of the highest and rarest diamonds such as the decolour and flawless clarity quality diamonds are that ones that come from Russia and Botswana which is in Africa is the biggest producers of diamonds in terms of value. 

Australia is famous for its production of colour diamonds such as fancy pink diamonds; fancy pink diamonds are actually the diamonds that garner great value especially when sold at auctions because they’re incredibly popular, they’re also known to produce Champaign colour or chocolate coloured diamonds, those are all diamonds that come from Australia, and then the rare coloured diamonds such as fancy blue’s as well as you know, fancy yellows, they also do come from some of the African sources. 

In terms of Canada, Canada currently has four active mines so it’s got the three mines which is in the Northwest Territories, the first two are in Yellowknife called the Ekati and Diavik mines, then there’s one called the Snap Lake mines which is also in the Northwest Territories but then there’s also a mine in Ontario which is the fourth active mine Canada and that one is called the Victor mine. 

So there are other mines in the world that are active, of course I’ve named the top five but some of these other mines are in Zimbabwe which is in Africa, Angola South Africa also all in Africa as well as Brazil.  Brazil’s actually a, one of the oldest mines, operating mines in the world is actually Brazil and some of the mines which used to be active but no longer have any diamonds coming out of them are India.  India was actually the first source of diamonds in the world where diamonds were first discovered and they currently have depleted all their production so there’s no longer any diamonds in India but Canada is also currently rising to be a larger source of diamonds as its production is increasing so it will be very interesting to see you know, how far up the scale Canada does come in diamond production.

So there are the top five producers of diamonds in the world.

Mark:  So I was thinking that maybe diamonds came from trees but I guess they come from mines, if that right?

Sheetal:  That is correct.  Diamonds do come, the ones for example, there are different types of mines but the ones that are coming from Canada for example are open pit mines.  They are actually buried deep within the earth’s surface so it requires extensive technology to be able to extract those diamonds.

Mark:  So if you’re looking for an expert to buy your next diamond from someone who’s meticulous about educating you and making sure you get the best product for you Sheetal’s the person to call, she’s the diamond lady in Vancouver.  You can reach her at 604-727-0149 to book an appointment to go see her at her boutique jewelry store or you can check out her products at maharanijewels.com.  Thanks Sheetal.

Sheetal:  Thank you so much Mark.