Natural diamonds are a wonder of the earth. They are produced very deep in the earth’s mantle where carbon molecules are put under incredible heat and pressure. The only reason we get to enjoy these wonders is because the diamonds are pushed up to the surface through Kimberley pipes. It is at the opening of these pipes that diamond mines are located.
Natural diamonds are cut and then certified. This certification verifies the colour, clarity and specifies many other grades of that stone, such as the cut. All these grades are considered to determine the end value of the stone.
There are many diamond simulants on the market including Cubic Zirconia, Moissanite, CVD man made diamonds and HPHT man made diamonds. All these options are manmade and are comparatively cheap and getting cheaper as the technology gets better and faster.
Cubic Zirconia has been around for many years now, widely being used in imitation jewellery since the 1970’s. Since that time the cost of Cubic Zirconia has come down to possibly one tenth of its earlier price. Moissanites have also been reducing in price since they were introduced. CVD and HPHT diamonds are relatively new but will also reduce in price as technology makes them easier and faster to manufacture.
Natural diamonds on the other hand have been very gradually increasing in price with very minor fluctuations year on year over the last century.
The Argyle Diamond mine in Australia has recently closed due to the lack of production. It used to produce most of the world’s high-quality Pink Diamonds as well as Yellows and Champagne colours. These have all been mined out, so the mine was no longer viable. As it was the best source of Natural Pink diamonds in the world, the price for all natural pink diamonds have increase dramatically over the last 4 to 5 years and has become one of the best investments in the world.
Eventually all natural diamond mines will fall to the same fate and will eventually close, leading to price increases over the next 100 years.
The same process has been happening with coloured gemstones over the last century. Specific coloured gemstones are only found in a few areas of the world, depending on the geological makeup in that area. The best Rubies come from Burma and Africa. Sapphires come from a few different areas, but there are major differences in Sapphire from one location to another. Emeralds come from Colombia and a few mines in Africa. All these mines are slowly coming to an end as the gemstones are becoming harder and harder to find. At the same time the costs of mining are steadily increasing and there is more and more government and local restrictions on the mines and the miners. All these factors have put strain on production and we have therefore seen a huge increase in the price of certain gemstones as they become harder to find and therefore rarer.
This is in stark contrast to Synthetic Rubies, Sapphires and Emeralds, that are now worth very little due to the ease of manufacture and the sheer volume of synthetics that can now be produced.
All gemstones used by DDS Diamond Design Studios are natural. We do not use synthetics of any type. Please come into the studio to see our range of jewellery and gemstones.
