How Are Diamonds Formed – They Are Not Made From Coal

Every girl dreams of one day wearing a diamond on her finger. The admiration for diamonds has its origins in antiquity. The word Diamond has a Greek origin, and it was called ADAMAS, which means invincible. But do you know how are diamonds formed in nature? Let’s find out.

When looking at diamonds, it is often forgotten that they are also fascinating natural products because of their hardness. From the chemistry’s point of view, a diamond is made up of 99 percent ordinary carbon. 

How diamonds are formed, and its chemical composition ensures that diamonds are the hardest material found naturally on Earth.

Diamonds have always been said to have a magical effect, which is why they are preferred to be worn as talismans. In the Middle Ages, many knights went to war with a diamond ring because they hoped that the hard stone would give them bravery and fearlessness.

How Are Diamonds Formed

The general conditions under which diamonds are created make it clear why these gemstones are of great value and are real rarities. Usually, diamonds are only created under pressure at soil depths of 150 to 500 kilometers and only under the extreme heat of around 1500 degrees Celsius.

It is assumed that the crystallization of carbon atoms in graphite occurs, and this chemical process produces diamonds. The conditions described for the formation of diamonds prevail in the layer of the Earth’s upper mantle. 

Millions of years ago, a process of converting the deep carbon rocks into diamonds took place. Carbon atoms combined to form diamonds. What is certain is that diamonds are created in incredibly long periods.

Now we know How are diamonds formed but how do they reach the surface? The gemstone often appears on the surface of the Earth as a rough diamond, due to volcanic eruptions. 

How Does A Diamond Come To The Surface

A diamond is usually found in so-called pipes. Pipes are practically tubes in the ground that were created by volcanic activity. Through these tubes, volcanic rock is thrown from the Earth’s mantle to the surface. This is how the gems that were created a long time ago come to light. But the supply has run out long since.

It is assumed that diamond-bearing pipes were created about 15 million years ago, and everything that is pulled out of the ground today was created in an early phase of the Earth’s history. Many researchers now state that the chemical processes and conditions for how are diamonds formed are no longer optimum and will never be again.

In addition to the natural process of how diamonds are formed, diamonds also reach Earth in another way that is through meteorite impacts. Earth’s carbon is strongly compressed when the meteorite impacts. Diamond crystals are formed, which can be found in the vicinity of meteorite craters.

Micro diamonds can also be found in so-called ice meteorites. However, these diamonds are often only a few nanometers in size. For a long time, micro diamonds were considered worthless because of their small size because they were not useful for jewelry making.

Nowadays, micro diamonds are traded as raw materials for industries because, in most technical applications, only tiny crystals are required. 

Also, the shortage of materials means that diamond manufacturers are forced to process micro diamonds in larger quantities than ever before.

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Diamonds can be found in many regions of the world, for example, in Australia, Russia, India, Canada, or China, but Africa is considered to be the home of diamonds. Many countries on the African continent play an important role in the global diamond market, including Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. 

Brazil is increasingly becoming the favorite destination of treasure hunters who search the vast and undeveloped tropical areas for gemstones.

Undeveloped diamond deposits are also suspected to exist in the Russian Ural Mountains, which can hardly be mined even with the latest machine technology. In history, however, India is considered the country of origin of the passion for diamonds.

It was one of the great dreams of researchers and alchemists from an early age to create a diamond in the lab. However, the artificial production of diamonds is an achievement of modern times. It was not until 1953 that synthetic production was invented, which was strictly based on the natural process of how diamonds are formed. 

However, a lot of effort is also required for artificial production. It takes several weeks until graphite becomes a diamond under massive pressure and temperatures above 1500 degrees Celsius. However, it should be noted that synthetic diamonds do not have the fascinating properties of a real diamond, like, small errors or inclusions from past millennia.

Diamonds are witness to the history of our Earth and an integral part of human culture. The first diamond discovered in India is said to have been recorded as early as the fourth century BC. The ancient Romans also viewed diamonds as particularly valuable status symbols.

However, diamonds were not only valued as jewelry; their use as a tool has been handed down from the time around the birth of Christ.

Mechanical processing of diamonds began in the 13th century, and before that, it was strictly forbidden to touch the magic stones. Diamond shortages first occurred in the 18th century when Indian and Indonesian mines ran out.

We always relate our success, achieved through hard work and difficult times to diamonds, because of how diamonds are formed under immense pressure and temperature. After being successful, one also has great value in society, just like the diamond.