Raw Diamonds Have Value

When you wish to purchase a diamond ring, bracelet, necklace or earrings, you can visit any reputable jewelry store and view dozens of beautiful, sparkling white diamonds. You will need to specify what you want; the cut of your diamond, its color and clarity, and its mounting. You can also see diamonds that have not been mounted, so you can design the mount yourself. What you won't see in most jewelry stores are raw diamonds.

The diamond you select didn't come out of the mine looking anything like what you see in jewelry stores. The Argyle mine near Perth, Australia produces what are considered to be among the best-quality diamonds in the world. Geologists and miners know exactly what to look for when "running a strain" of raw diamonds. Diamond stones began their existence from lumps of black coal. After eons of time, the coal undergoes many geological changes and raw diamonds are formed. All diamonds are carbon-based gems. In fact, purchasing a diamond that has a tiny speck of black, called an "occlusion," is a pleasant reminder of the raw diamond that was formed by coal.

Why Are Raw Diamonds Valuable?

The old proverb about a person being a "diamond in the rough" indicates a person who might be unskilled or uneducated but is also a person of integrity. This is also the case with raw diamonds. When they are taken from the earth by expert miners, they hardly even look like the diamond that you will see in jewelry stores. Miners know when they've hit a raw diamond strain because they recognize the type of rock that contains the diamond.

After a raw diamond is extracted from the earth, it is sold to an expert gemologist who cuts the diamond from its harboring stone. The raw diamond then undergoes many chemical treatments, is cut in a variety of shapes, and electronically polished to give it that gorgeous sparkle you see in the store.

Many people find raw diamonds to be interesting and reflective of the forces of nature that turned a lump of black coal into something resplendent. Raw diamonds can be mounted as necklaces, bracelets and rings. It is like wearing a piece of the earth that created and sustains all life forms, including mankind.

Diamonds are just one example of a raw stone. Emeralds, sapphires and rubies that are still raw and uncut can be found in specialty jewelry stores all over the world. Raw diamonds and other raw stones are a major source of income in countries like Aruba and other islands of the Caribbean. Raw stones are an opportunity to wear a piece of the earth's history.