Where did the diamond on earth come from?

All our diamonds come from Russia. ALROSA mines diamonds from 11 kimberlite pipes and 16 placer deposits. Two of this number of pipes are located in the Arkhangelsk region – in the North-West of Russia. The remaining deposits are located in Yakutia – in the north of Siberia.

Yakutia

Arkhangelsk

Origin

Diamonds were born deep in the bowels of the earth hundreds of millions of years ago. They are a hundred times older than humanity and even older than dinosaurs. Under enormous pressure and at enormous temperatures, carbon atoms formed a diamond crystal, and the eruption of ancient volcanoes brought it close to the surface of the earth, where people could find it. ALROSA’s history goes back to 1954, when two female geologists discovered the first diamond deposit in far northern Yakutia. It received the name “Zarnitsa” because in the diamond ore there were small red stones – pyropes, satellites of diamonds in kimberlite pipes. Today, from the very moment a diamond emerges from the ore into daylight, we assign it a unique ID and can already say exactly when and in what deposit it was mined. Further information about the diamond is transmitted throughout the production chain.

Finding the Diamond

Mines

When a diamond mine gets very deep and there are still plenty of diamond reserves in the ground, companies usually build underground mines. ALROSA has three of them, each of them is unique and has no analogues in its conditions. The mine is a whole small city underground, through which special cars and even trains travel. People also work in the underground mine, but there is no manual labor there: people control all these mechanisms, including remotely.

careers

We mine diamonds from open pits, underground mines and alluvial deposits. A quarry is probably the most familiar method of extraction. It looks like a huge crater in the ground where trucks drive through. Each quarry is a complex engineering structure, calculated down to the centimeter. Excavators and large dump trucks remove diamond ore from the bottom of the quarry, gradually making it deeper and deeper.

Placer deposits

Placer deposits in Yakutia appeared where time destroyed the diamond deposit and scattered the diamond ore either along the bottom of rivers or somewhere near them. The ore remained the same – hard and unyielding. Therefore, in placers it is collected either by excavators or special ships – dredges.

Birth of a Diamond

A diamond in its original form is not like the beautiful sparkling diamond that comes to you from the store. Only the skill of a cutter can reveal its potential. Today ALROSA is the only diamond mining company that has its own cutting facilities. We cut only our own diamonds and never accept third-party orders. This allows us to guarantee the origin of the stone and the fact that it was created in accordance with the best practices of social and environmental responsibility. First, the stone is assessed, then scanned, during which specialists recreate a 3D model of the diamond and calculate how best to cut it. After these calculations, the diamond is cut with a laser beam into several parts, each of which is sent to the cutters to become a unique high-quality diamond. Creating a diamond is a long process that can take several months. This is the price of achieving ideal proportions and play of light. show more

The future of diamond

Even though a diamond may have been cut into several pieces for cutting, we still know what stone each diamond was made from. And vice versa – we can easily find out how many and what kind of diamonds were made from a particular diamond. We can control the entire process from mine to diamond, and be sure that at no stage the stone has been replaced or damaged. This is why we believe that our diamonds are truly proven. We sell the mined and cut diamonds to our partners – large companies that have passed a strict pre-selection and guarantee compliance with human rights, social and environmental responsibility standards. Diamonds sold in retail undergo mandatory certification in gemological laboratories and receive a passport with individual characteristics. show more

Only a diamond with an impeccable history is worthy of sparkling in jewelry, becoming a part of someone’s life and a symbol of something truly important.

Diamond is a crystalline modification of pure carbon, formed in the deep interior of the Earth, in the upper mantle at depths of more than 80-100 kilometers, at exceptionally high pressure and temperature. It is the most precious stone, the hardest and most wear-resistant mineral, the most brilliant and timeless gem. The history of diamonds goes back thousands of years, but even today diamonds attract millions of people with their magical beauty. At all times, this fascinating and unique stone has attracted people. “It remains unharmed in the strongest fire, it is the light of the sun, condensed in the earth and cooled by time, it plays with all colors, but itself remains transparent, like a drop of water. “- they wrote about diamonds in ancient times. The first mention of human use of diamonds dates back to India and appeared approximately three thousand years BC. Diamonds pass like a sparkling thread through the fabric of existence, through the history of mankind, disappearing for a while and reappearing to illuminate the most incredible and bizarre legends with their mysterious radiance. “The greatest price among all human things, and not only among precious stones, is the diamond, which for a long time was known only to kings, and even then to very few,” wrote the ancient Roman scientist Pliny the Elder in 79 AD. in his treatise “On Natural History”. The Greeks called it “adamas” or “adamantos” – invincible, indestructible, insurmountable; Romans – “diamond”; Arabs – “almas”, the hardest; ancient Jews – “shamir”; the Hindus called him “Fariy”. The Old Russian literary monument, “Izbornik” of 1073, equally uses the terms “adamas” and “adamant”, and “Walking across the Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin (1466-1472) for the first time, and forever, “legitimized” in Russian the name is “diamond”. In ancient India, it was believed that diamonds were formed from the five principles of nature – earth, water, air, sky and energy. In India, the diamond was deified and turned into a fetish. He was endowed with many mythical abilities, such as healing from diseases, protection from evil spirits and simply enemies, from wounds, the evil eye, damage; declared to bestow clairvoyance, the ability to predict. The metric carat used to measure the weight of diamonds is 0,2 grams or 200 milligrams. Diamonds weighing more than 15 carats are rare; diamonds weighing hundreds of carats are the greatest rarity. Some stones receive their own names, world fame and a strong place in history. Read more about historical diamonds. Currently, global diamond production is about 130 million carats. Read more about diamond mining. The main use of natural diamonds is in jewelry, but not every diamond can be made into a diamond. Of course, about 15% of mined diamonds are considered jewelry, another 45% are considered near jewelry, i.e. inferior to jewelry in size, color or clarity. Until the end of the XNUMXth century, only the upper classes owned diamonds, but in the XNUMXth century large diamond deposits were discovered, and increased production made them more accessible to buyers. However, even today, diamonds are not available to everyone, and people still view diamond ownership as belonging to the most successful part of society. The sparkle and beauty of a diamond are fully revealed only after cutting. For a long time it was believed that L. van Berkem from Bruges at the end of the 15th century. developed a method of precise symmetrical cutting (still used today), which consists of grinding the stone on an iron wheel, onto which a mixture of diamond powder and oil is applied. Now the existence of this master is being questioned. The above method is believed to have been developed in India. Previously, it was also believed that diamond cutting was invented by the Italian lapidary Vincenzo Peruzzi at the end of the 17th century, but this opinion also turned out to be erroneous. Therefore, there is no consensus among historians about where and when the diamond cut appeared. Diamond (from the French brillant – brilliant), a diamond that has been given a special shape through processing, the so-called brilliant cut, which maximizes the optical properties of the stone. Over the course of centuries of trial and error, cutters have learned to use the refractive index of the stone in such a way as to re-reflect the light entering the stone from the side of the crown on the edges of the pavilion and scatter it in different directions. Thanks to the dispersion of light inherent in diamonds, one can observe the play of the diamond in the form of rays of all colors of the rainbow. Learn more about diamond cutting. The word “diamond” is actually the name of the type of cut, not the material. But in the case when we are talking about a diamond cut from a diamond, the name of the material may be omitted. In this case, “diamond” means both the substance and the type of cut. The word “diamond” is used when referring to the material itself, substance, or when talking about rough diamonds. A rough diamond is the raw material from which cutters will make a diamond, and jewelry craftsmen will use it to create a luxury product. Diamonds, like fingerprints, are unique – no two stones are completely identical. Diamonds, on the contrary, are made according to strictly defined rules. There are diamonds, for example, yellow or black, designer cut shapes, which are subject to fashion, and the demand for them is variable. But the classic diamond stands above fashion, and the demand for it has not changed over the years. The statement “Diamond is forever”, i.e. “A Diamond is Forever” not only illustrates the invariably high place of diamonds in our society and the connection of these stones with eternal human feelings, but also their unimaginably ancient age. The fact is that the scientific methods used to determine the age of minerals and rocks give diamonds an age of one and a half to three and a half billion years. We can say that diamonds are older than everything that surrounds us, and their age is comparable to the age of our planet. Diamonds, as carriers of unique hardness and other interesting properties, are objects of close attention of scientists; they are both an object of research and a valuable material for use in technology. There are also specialists – gemologists, or precious stone experts. Over the past decades, gemologists have been developing scientific methods for determining the authenticity of rough and polished diamonds, objective systems for their evaluation, and recommendations for cutting diamonds. Read more about diamond examination. However, it is not easy for a potential buyer to navigate this large amount of knowledge, especially if he is looking for simple recommendations that would allow him to navigate the world of diamonds and develop the right course of action in the market. Much of the information that allows professionals to make money selling diamonds has been developed over many years and is a trade secret. However, today, in the age of information technology, information is becoming much more accessible, and for any person who wants to become an expert, a qualified consumer, there are no former restrictions. Advice to consumers. Truly, the diamond has no competitors – it is the undisputed favorite in the world of precious stones and jewelry. However, no matter how wonderful properties diamonds have, when purchasing products with this stone, you can never rely on chance. An unprepared person, when dealing with precious stones, is often doomed to failure. It is worth approaching the purchase of such a serious stone well prepared. A future buyer can learn to understand a stone as a “personality” and evaluate such important characteristics as color, clarity, cut, its play and brilliance, weight, and learn to relate all this to its price. Diamonds are a lot like people. Almost each of them has disadvantages that you just need to be able to discern (there is practically no ideal), and some individual advantages, for example, high quality cutting or polishing, a unique color. The individuality of diamonds remains despite the standards that guide the cutters, since this individuality is inherent in diamonds – unique natural creations. Understanding the individuality of diamonds allows you to choose the most suitable stone. The process of searching and choosing a diamond does not have to be reduced to a visit to the nearest jewelry store; it can become an exciting event, a journey in which new knowledge, new impressions and new experiences await everyone. Go to the forum. photographs used by De Beers and the magazine “Around the World”