Why are Diamoonds So Expensive?
In a word - demand. Demand is what makes diamonds so expensive. That plus the fact that they are somewhat rare, hard to find, and extremely useful for their hardness drives the price of these little (and not so little) beauties as high as they are. Diamonds, when they are mined come in two general categories Industrial, and gem quality. The ones that most people are after to adorn their bodies and special items are the gem quality diamonds and they are the least-often found, thus adding even further to their expense.
Industrial Diamonds
Industrial diamonds are essentially diamonds in chemical properties only. They are not the super-shiny, sparkly things you see in the gems at the jeweler’s store or in your wedding ring. Industrial diamonds are diamonds that are so ‘flawed’ (that is to say, chipped, or streaked with imperfections in them) that they aren’t considered attractive by most people. This is the majority type of diamond that is mind and they can be as small as dust (literally) or as large as your first. Industrial diamonds are used by businesses and industries all over the world - usually in cutting mechanisms, such as your dentist’s drill or to cut other diamonds (since nothing but a diamond is hard enough to cut a diamond). Industrial quality diamonds are also sometimes used where light refraction is needed such as in some laser applications. This industrial demand and usage is what keeps the diamond industry worthwhile, actually, for all of the trouble it takes to mine diamonds, the price would be far more astronomical if only the gem-quality diamonds were useful and the rest had to be tossed out as garbage.
Lately, the industrial industry has been turning more and more to the production of synthetic diamonds since they are actually harder than natural diamonds. This trend, while having no real effect on the market as yet will likely, over time, make the gem-quality diamonds more expensive as demand for the “leftover” industrial-grade diamonds decreases.
Gem Quality Diamonds
If you are wearing a ring with a diamond in it, you are wearing a gem-quality diamond. Diamonds that achieve this rating do so only by being flawless (or nearly so) after the mining process, containing virtually no trapped air or other impurities from their formation. They also have gone through an extensive sorting and grading process both before and after they are cut by jewelers into the shape you usually see them in. Diamonds, like any other stone or rock, come from the earth in an odd completely random shape that has to be cut (by other diamonds) into the shapes that most people enjoy and purchase. Clear diamonds are the most common but are not, by any means the only types of diamonds to be found. Diamonds can be blue, yellow or even black in color, though the colored stones tend to sell for less than their perfectly clear counterparts.
The meticulous effort that has to go into mining gem-quality diamonds, preserving and protecting them as they are transported to jewel cutters around the world, and then cataloging them through microscopes to find tiny markers that will uniquely identify each one, and preserving and protecting them as they are shipped to your local jewelery store is a large part of why diamonds are so expensive. There is also substantial markup placed on the price, but this is due to common market capitalism. People have decided that they will pay thousands for these tiny stones, and so thousands they cost.
The expense of diamonds is due primarily to market demands and the extensive work that must go into bringing a gem-quality diamond out of the earth and o the jeweler’s store in suitable condition for sale. That, plus the fact that diamonds are essentially eternal and generally sentimental so there is virtually no resell market for them. Once a person has bought a diamond they rarely return to buy another one to replace it.
