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Value of Diamonds

Why are Diamonds So Valuable? 

1) Rarity. 80% of all diamonds mined are industrial quality. Of the remaining 20% that are gem-quality, it takes one million to obtain a single 1-carat diamond. It takes five million to get one 2-carat diamond. Think of it ... a thousand piles of diamonds, each pile with a thousand diamonds. Only one of those will be a one-carat diamond, and none of them will be two carats ... we’d need five times that many to find one. I’ve asked DeBeers how many are mined before a three-carat is discovered, but nobody knows the answer. Additionally, diamonds are found in very few places: Africa, Russia, and Australia (5% of the world’s diamonds are also found in Canada). The first diamonds were located in India, 3,000 years ago. And for 2,900 years, every diamond was mined by hand. Eventually, all the diamond mines in India were mined out (by hand, remember!). You could put a price tag of $25,000 on a one-carat diamond for its rarity alone.

2) Mining Costs. Not only are diamonds extremely rare, but they’re very difficult to come by. Approximately 250 tons of the earth’s crust must be removed to find a single one-carat diamond. Think of it another way: you’d have to sift through 250 one-ton dump trucks full of earth to locate that elusive one-carater — that’s a lot of dirt to find something the size of a large pea that weighs one-fifth of a gram! Furthermore, diamond miners have gone into savage territories to search for diamonds ... and never come back. They have mined secret crevices in the heart of lands where only explorers have gone before ... and found nothing. Companies have invested in state-of-the-art technology to dive to the darkest depths of the ocean and vacuum diamonds off its floor. Countries have fought wars over diamond mines, with the mining interests caught in the crossfire. As a matter of fact, diamond is the most fought-over substance on Earth with the least amount of return! How can you negotiate price when you understand how much it costs to obtain that diamond?

3) Cut. People who cut diamonds must serve as apprentices for ten years before they can even touch a one-carat diamond. They start on three- and four-pointers, then move up to ten- and twelve-pointers, mastering the ability to cut stones of that size. From there it’s quarter-carats, and they have to learn to cut and polish each shape. Over the years, they’ll continue to improve their capabilities on one-third carats, half-carats, three-quarter carats ... in fact, they’ll cut thousands of diamonds before ever touching a single one-carat stone. Now, because of society’s obsession with size, 90% of all diamonds are cut to retain weight, sacrificing brilliance and beauty. Only 10% are cut to fine make criteria, and only one-tenth of 1% are cut to ideal standards. The better the cut, the more expertly-skilled the cutter must be. They are therefore more difficult to find, and more costly to employ. Very few cutters have the ability to cut fancy-colored diamonds. These are not skills learned in college, but are rather passed on through families, and trained over many years. These cutters have hands as skilled as a surgeon’s, and can tell that a facet is correctly polished by the sound it makes on the wheel!

 4) Endurance – Diamond is approximately 140% harder than the next hardest substance known to man. Everything else you'll ever use wears out – your tools, your cars, even your house. Diamond is time's only enemy. It's the only substance whose beauty is unaffected by age. Nothing else compares to it or lasts like it. People say diamonds "cost a lot of money"... well, compared to what? A one-carat diamond weighs one-fifth of one gram, yet your customer can wear it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for decades upon decades before passing it down in the very same condition in which they bought it. They may pay several thousand dollars for it. Then they'll walk down the street, buy $30,000 automobile, drive it one hour a day for five years and it's trashed. What's the better deal?

5) Antiquity Value – When the Titanic set sail in 1912, its plates cost five or ten cents each. Today, a submarine picks them up off the bottom of the ocean floor and they're worth $5,000. The Mona Lisa, painted 500 years ago, is said to be worth $160 million, yet she's uglier than if she'd been hit by a steamroller. Meanwhile, diamonds are carbon-dated at 3.4 billion years old. They're so old, scientists are now using them to tell us how and when the oldest parts of our planet were formed. Yet they look brand new. There's nothing for sale that is older. Dinosaurs weren't even in their swaddling clothes when your customer's diamond was formed. Why, then, do antiques go for hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars, while a one-carat diamond is exponentially less?

6) Investment Value – Since 1940, diamonds have doubled in value every ten years, at minimum. However, their greatest value lies not in their monetary worth, but in the emotions invested within them. Most women would never sell their grandmother's diamond ring, which still shines as brightly as the day she first wore it. A diamond is an investment in life, in someone you love. A diamond means security – that somebody loves you and you're taken. It even speaks for you, saying "I love you" like nothing else can. In fact, nothing can do what a diamond does. A diamond's not just a good investment... it's priceless!

Any one of these attributes should add $25,000 to a diamond's selling price, which means your one-carat diamond should go for $150,000. This is Nature's Flamethrower we're talking about here!

 Did you know? Diamond Facts

 === World News ===

 --- U.S. Diamond Retail Sales Grow 8% in 2004

 For the ninth consecutive year, the retail diamond jewelry market grew in the United  States, with an increase of 8.2 percent in 2004.  Total diamond jewelry sales were $31.5  billion, up $2.4  billion from 2003. Transactions grew by 4 percent and the  average ticket price reflected a 4 percent growth as well.  Three-stone diamond jewelry (market value of $3.1  billion) drives sales  growth.  During  the past  five years, three-stone diamond jewelry sales growth has risen almost  35 percent, according to the Diamond Information Center.

 Diamond engagement rings reached their highest average price at $2,600 retail value for the diamond engagement ring category is $4.5 billion, which is a growth of 5 percent ahead of 2003.

 The Diamond  Right Hand Ring is another area that  has seen tremendous growth.  In 2004, the Diamond Right  Hand Ring  drove the $3.8 billion non-bridal  fashion diamond ring  category  from  an  under performing section of the market into one that grew by 15 percent.