Diamonds by Ella

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:08:12 UTC

Diamonds are formed deep inside the earth with intense heat and under crushing pressure.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:08:45 UTC

The diamonds are mostly formed in a layer beneath the earth's crust, known as the earth's mantle. The earth's mantle is at a depth of about 150km.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:08:56 UTC

The diamonds are discovered, and if the concentration is high enough, a mine is set up.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:08:57 UTC

It's mined from the ground and we use techniques such as crushing, 'scrubbing' and 'screening'. The end result is an uncut diamond of any shape.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:08:58 UTC

The diamond, now clear of rock, is graded by its quality. Of diamonds extracted from an average mine, 5% are gem quality and 25% are used for industrial purposes, like machinery. All the others are called 'near gem'.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 09:15:56 UTC

Most of them are cut and polished to be sold on the market. Cutting is turning it from the lump it was mined out to be to an aesthetically pleasing shape. They are also polished so that they reflect light.

ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 10:24:21 UTC

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 10:39:37 UTC

Finally, they're sold on the market. They are very expensive because the original rock is rare to occur and expensive to mine and present.

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ekwoo14 — 2014-08-19 10:43:10 UTC

The diamonds are set in jewellery, usually gold or silver.