Diamond Mines

When you hear the word “diamond”, you probably think of money and love. Diamonds are a fixture in today’s society. They are the traditional stone in engagement rings and they are found in every other type of jewelry there is, but this was not always the case. Before the Middle Ages, diamonds were so rare and expensive that they were only worn by royalty. It was the discovery of diamond mines that changed this trend and made diamonds available and affordable for everyone.

Diamonds were originally discovered in India in the fourth century. The Manjhgawan pipe in India, located near Panna, was the only producing diamond mine in India and has produced many famous diamonds including the Hope diamond. India was the only source of diamonds until the 18th century. In 1867 diamonds were discovered in Cape Colony, a providence of South Africa. This discovery would change the world of diamonds forever. Eventually India’s diamond mines dried up and the discovery of diamonds in Cape Colony would make diamonds more assessable to the Western World.

Science has proven that volcanoes are responsible for getting diamonds from the core of the earth to the surface. This is how the world learned of some famous people like De Beers and Cecil John Rhodes.

South Africa is currently one of the worlds biggest diamond producers with Siberia and Russia also producing some of the worlds diamond supply. South Africa carefully controls the distribution of diamonds that are found in their mines. This keeps the market from being flooded by diamonds and this is what allows diamonds to hold their value so well.