A photographer called Dillon Marsh in 2015 started a project for finding out the total amount of natural diamonds that have been extracted during the whole lifetime of a mine. A wonderful example of this is the “Big Hole” which is actually the photo of a South African mine known as Kimberley mine.
This photo really shows the total amount of diamonds that had been extracted from the mine from 1871 to 1914. This picture has two images kept side by side for comparison. If you carefully compare these two images, you would be able to see a minute speck in the water. This is the total carat weight extracted from this mine.
This picture would give you a clear understanding that it is really hard and rare to find natural diamonds. Moreover, the process involves many types of equipment, time, manpower, technology, and funds. Another fact about diamonds is that only about 30% of the diamonds in the world are of good gem quality and the rest 70% are of industrial quality.
Lab-Grown Diamonds
As a whole, this is the real reason behind the increasing demand for the cheaper gem substitutes for diamonds. However, the advancements in technology will let you grow diamonds artificially in a lab. These lab-grown diamonds look just like natural diamonds and also exhibit the same chemical and structural properties. The only possible way to make a distinction between natural and lab-grown diamonds is with the help of some advanced detection equipment. This made it necessary to validate a diamond with its real sources of origin.
Provenance
The diamond provenance refers to the capability of ascertaining the exact history and source of the diamond. This would help in finding out if the diamond is natural or lab-grown or if it is an imitation like zircon. This would also help you in determining whether the stone has been treated, and if so how it is treated.
It is very important to answer all of these questions for finding out the true value and authenticity of the stone. In order to accurately determine the true origin of the diamond, you would need deep gemological knowledge and cutting-edge equipment. To find out the authenticity of the gem, you need to take a look at the total amount of lab-grown diamonds, natural ones as well as the diamond imitations available in the market.
