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Diamonds
Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man. This hardness makes them ideal for both jewelry and industrial uses. Only a couple of man made products are harder and these are basically synthetic diamonds. Roughly 130 million carats are mined annually, with a total value of nearly $9 billion dollars and 110 tons are synthetically made. The name diamond comes the ancient Greek word adamas or "invincible". Since their use as religious icoms in ancient India diamonds have been treasured as gemstones. The diamond's popularity has risen for the past several hundred years as supply has increased, cutting and polishing techniques have improved along with the world economy improving and advertising becoming more successful. Diamonds are normally judged by the “four Cs”: carat, clarity, color, and cut. Roughly 49% of diamonds come from Africa with the majoriy of the balance coming from places like Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes, which brought to the surface the diamond crystals from deep in the Earth where the high pressure and temperature enables the formation of the crystals. Unlike precious metals which are publicly traded diamonds are controlled by a few companies such as De Beers. Most of the diamonds go through Antwerp with 92% of the worlds diamonds being cut in India. Of all the diamonds mined only about 20% of them are considered gem quality with the balance used for industry. Scarcity and tight control are the main reasons for the high value of gem quality diamonds.
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