During these trying times, a lot of things and resources are running out—food supplies, medicines, and hygiene kits among others. While many commodities are getting scarce, do you ever wonder if diamonds are becoming scant as well?
We can all agree that the world’s precious stones have a long chronicle as an object of beauty and luxury and a representation of forever. In the early AD century, Pliny, a Roman naturalist, expressed that “jewel is the most important, of valuable stones, yet of everything in this world.”
If we consider the world’s diamond reserves, we can ask, “Are diamonds truly forever, or will they run out ever?”
If you love diamonds, it’s important that you should know or, at least, get updated. What’s the status of our diamond supply during this global pandemic? Let’s dig more!
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The world’s source of diamonds
Let’s check with the world’s source of diamonds before getting to the point.
Before a diamond gets displayed in a jewelry store, it must undergo a lot of stages. These gems are shaped from 140 to 190 kilometers underneath the Earth’s surface and may take up to four billion years to be crafted. London-based jeweler Harry Levy Diamonds said that the days these diamonds are being washed up on the watercourse of South Africa are out-of-date; however, that doesn’t mean there won’t be major new findings forthcoming.
Despite the rising pain, the diamond industry has been experiencing from 2019 to 2020—a year of transition to a global pandemic—several diamond miners have claimed to have been prolific in unearthing some major diamonds this year—yes, amid the coronavirus adversity.
Now, what countries are deemed to be above the charts when it comes to the diamond-mining category? Here are the top 10 of them in terms of million carats:
- Russia – 23,000,000 carats
- Botswana – 16,000,000 carats
- Canada – 13,000,000 carats
- Angola – 8,500,000 carats
- South Africa – 7,700,000 carats
- Democratic Republic of Congo – 3,700,000 carats
- Namibia – 1,900,000 carats
- Lesotho – 1,100,000
- Australia – 340,000
- Tanzania – 260,000 carats
Will diamonds ever run out?
We are assured that diamond supplies have been steady as of late, at 2.3 billion carats, an adequate level to continue the existing yearly production for the succeeding 18 to 20 years. Guess we’ll have to revisit this question after a decade or two.
