Their sparkle and overall allure are what attract so many people to this gorgeous gemstone.  Even though other precious gemstones such as sapphires and emeralds are becoming more prevalent in engagement rings, diamonds still remain to be the gemstone of choice when it comes to finding the perfect ring to propose with. Anyone can appreciate the beauty of a diamond, but what makes these gemstones truly remarkable is their unique origin.

The process of natural diamond creation occurs between depths of about 90 to 120 miles below the Earth’s surface. Extreme heat and pressure transforms pure carbon into the diamonds we all love today. In fact, diamonds are the only gemstone made out of only one element. Geologists believe that diamonds were first formed somewhere between 1-3 billion years ago.

Many years ago, volcanic pipes known as kimberlite pipes carried the diamonds closer to the surface while also cooling them. Today, diamond miners look for these kimberlite deposits in areas that have experienced volcanic activity.

As you may already know, not all diamonds are colorless. In fact diamonds can be found in various shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and black. So what exactly causes diamonds to be a certain color? Well, it all comes down to science.

• Red diamonds are formed by a particular type of crystal distortion.
• Yellow and orange diamonds are created when nitrogen binds to carbon.
• Green diamonds are formed when the gemstone absorbs naturally occurring radiation within the soil.
• Blue diamonds are created when boron binds to carbon.
• Purple diamonds are formed when hydrogen binds to carbon.
• Brown diamonds are thought to be formed by irradiation treatment, nickel impurities, and crystal structure defects.
• Black diamonds are created by small inclusions of graphite. What’s interesting about black diamonds is that they lack traces of minerals found deep within the Earth’s mantle, but do possess traces of nitrogen, hydrogen, and osbornite (a mineral found in meteors). Because of this, many scientists believe that black diamonds originated in outer space and were brought to Earth by a diamond meteorite about 2.6 to 3.8 billion years ago.

Today, most diamonds can be found in Africa, Russia, Botswana, Congo, Australia, and Canada. Click here to view our diamond collection.