Why are diamonds so expensive

There are quite a few myths that have surrounded this treasured stone for a long time and one of them is that it is the most expensive jewel among all jewels. This is not quite true; in fact, jadeites, serendibites and certain kinds of rubies and sapphires are among jewels that are far more expensive than most of the diamonds that most of us will ever see. Another point to be noted is that though it depends largely on quality and size, not all diamonds are expensive at all. Nonetheless, high quality diamonds can indeed be among some of the costliest gemstones available and we will now discuss the reasons that are responsible for that high price.

Supply of diamonds

Here we are once again faced with another myth about diamonds which propagates that diamonds are expensive particularly due to their rarity; which, like most other myths, is not true. It might have been comparatively infrequent before certain mines were found in South Africa that has enough diamonds in them to remove the concept regarding the rarity of diamonds altogether.

In order to understand the reason behind the hiked up price of diamonds, one needs to understand the concept of the “four Cs”. The four Cs signify the four standards of quality, based on which a diamond is valued and they are carat, clarity, color and cut respectively. What this means is that although a lot of diamonds are dug up regularly, they are not all of the same quality and therefore the price varies accordingly.

The first three of the four Cs mentioned earlier are qualities that are inherited by a diamond naturally, and the number of diamonds that meet the criterion set by experts in order for a diamond to be even considered a worthy gem stone based on these three criterions alone is enough to reduce the number of available, gemstone grade diamonds greatly. The rejected, “unworthy” diamonds are then used for industrial purpose.

why are diamonds expensive

Once the diamonds are selected, its cutting is the most important part that determines the final value of the gemstones. Diamond-cutting is an extremely skilled art, one that cannot be done by just anyone; therefore the number of properly cut diamonds is also not quite enough.

Parts of Africa have been a place of unrest for many years now. It has been found that military groups in these areas use the diamond trade to fund their militant operations and to wage domestic war on each other. It is due to these reasons that the diamonds imported from such factions are known as “Blood Diamonds” or “Conflict Diamonds” and international rules and restrictions over such trades have further lowered the supply of diamonds from the mines in Africa.

The diamond trade is controlled by a few companies internationally and they put in a lot of effort to keep it that way. They also control the availability of diamonds and therefore, restrict it intentionally in order to keep the prices high enough for them to make a decent profit.

Diamond Marketing

The marketing campaign of diamonds was and probably still is one of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time, where companies like De Beers managed to embed the importance, value and significance of diamonds in people’s minds as we see it today. The truth is that there are stones that actually look even better than diamonds and also are costlier as well. It is the combination of insufficient supply, controlled availability and excellent advertising that diamonds are so expensive today.