First thing that comes to your mind when thinking about diamonds is probably jewelry. But why are diamonds so expensive and why do people use them for jewelry? Answer is quite simple; diamond is a mineral composed of pure carbon and the hardest known natural material which combined with his high dispersion of light makes it very suitable for jewelry.

But jewelry is not the only thing where diamonds can be used since they’re also quite useful in industry as well. For instance diamonds make excellent abrasives since they can be only scratched by other diamonds; therefore they hold a polish remarkably well as well as retaining their shine.

The name diamond itself has its roots as most words in Greek word “adamas” meaning invincible which probably refers to their supreme physical qualities. Although diamonds were being held as treasure from ancient times, their full exploit started in 19th century thanks to combination of increasing demand and improved cutting and polishing techniques.

Almost 50 % of all diamonds originate from Africa (mostly central and southern) and about 130 million carats (26000 kg) are mined annually and about 100 000 kg are synthesized annually. Although Africa is by far the richest continent when it comes to diamonds, some other countries on other continents are also having decent amount of sources like for instance Russia, Australia, India and Canada.

But diamonds are not luxurious in all points of view, especially for workers in Africa and are often subjects of controversies when it comes to the mining and distribution. Diamonds are formed deep in the Earth thanks to extreme pressure and temperatures over the long period of time and are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes.

Diamonds vary in color from colorless all the way to black and they can be also transparent, translucent or even opaque. Lots of African paramilitary groups raise their funds thanks to diamonds and exploit of poor workers that are forced to mine them for their military purposes.