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How to determine which mine a diamond came from

MrsDrP

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
112
Is it possible to determine the specific diamond mine a diamond came from? The diamond in question has GIA certification. I'm not worried about it being a conflict diamond, just curious. I find the whole process of diamond synthesis and extraction very interesting! The idea of wearing something that is billions of years old is awesome! It would be cool to know where it came from :)
 

Archerp

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
13
Some diamonds come with certificates showing which mine they came from. I have a Canadian diamond that indicates the mine. Maybe certain brands may use rough from certain mines. But if you have a diamond with no such paperwork or link back to where the rough came from, no, I don't think you could make that determination by merely examining the diamond.
 

Miss Sparkly

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
1,664
No, and some things really are better left unknown. National Geographic did a good documentary on the diamond mining process in Africa if you are interested - it is not pretty.
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
40,225
Infinity might be able to tell you about what mine their diamonds come from.
 

MrsDrP

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
Messages
112
Good point...I will look into that documentary! I hope to God that my diamond isn't a blood diamond :snore: Perhaps we will make a donation to a relevant charity just in case!

My diamond is a Henri Daussi cushion. They *guarantees* 100% that all diamonds they use are absolutely, postively, conflict free. Is this BS? Is is really possible to know that for certain? In fact, of the 9 diamonds they sent me to look at, 1 of them wasn't certified at all. Is that sketchy?
 

John P

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
May 1, 2008
Messages
3,563
Gypsy|1314866286|3007201 said:
Infinity might be able to tell you about what mine their diamonds come from.

We certainly can in some cases. Our chief gemologist, Lieve Peeters, has tremendous skill in that area. She has shown me how alluvial rough that has been transported by the Orange river has telltale signs, as does rough from certain other sources, whether primary or secondary. When buying the most important thing to us, however, is the integrity of the mining houses we do business with. Whether Russian, African or Canadian we're thorough in vetting the people as well as the origins and chains of custody when it comes to sourcing rough.

With that said it is undeniable that the system is not perfect. Greed and corruption aren't confined to a single continent, country or region. Rogue elements may be able to smuggle dubious materials out-of or into practically anywhere in the world...even into Canada where "conflict free" is a national slogan.

It's hard to change politics and governments, but responsible manufacturers and retailers do their utmost to protect clients and themselves. We follow strict regulations in rough purchase and select our partners with great care. The leaders of primary trading houses are committed to the process of certification. Primary cutting, trading and selling entities (as well as countries like Belgium and the USA) insist on written conflict-free guarantees and certification from people committed to the process. We've joined hands and do everything in our power to guarantee our diamonds’ conflict-free provenance just as our conscientious peers do.

Remember that "conflict-free" just scratches the surface of the issue though: The industry works hard to ensure conflict-free provenance for the end-user and for many consumers that is enough. The only drawback is that it overlooks the real issue which is those who still suffer where resources are rich and people are poor - not only over diamonds but rubies, oil, gold, coltan and, historically, rubber, cocoa, even coffee.

More discussion along these lines can be found here:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/country-of-origin.122257/
 

ame

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
10,869
I have been to a couple of the Infinity Meet the Cutter events here in STL, and I think John and Paul both said something about how Lieve can identify a mine/area of the world based on the "crust" of the rough. Oh how I wish I could do that.
 

partgypsy

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Messages
6,622
John Pollard|1314934237|3007980 said:
Gypsy|1314866286|3007201 said:
Infinity might be able to tell you about what mine their diamonds come from.

We certainly can in some cases. Our chief gemologist, Lieve Peeters, has tremendous skill in that area. She has shown me how alluvial rough that has been transported by the Orange river has telltale signs, as does rough from certain other sources, whether primary or secondary. When buying the most important thing to us, however, is the integrity of the mining houses we do business with. Whether Russian, African or Canadian we're thorough in vetting the people as well as the origins and chains of custody when it comes to sourcing rough.

With that said it is undeniable that the system is not perfect. Greed and corruption aren't confined to a single continent, country or region. Rogue elements may be able to smuggle dubious materials out-of or into practically anywhere in the world...even into Canada where "conflict free" is a national slogan.

It's hard to change politics and governments, but responsible manufacturers and retailers do their utmost to protect clients and themselves. We follow strict regulations in rough purchase and select our partners with great care. The leaders of primary trading houses are committed to the process of certification. Primary cutting, trading and selling entities (as well as countries like Belgium and the USA) insist on written conflict-free guarantees and certification from people committed to the process. We've joined hands and do everything in our power to guarantee our diamonds’ conflict-free provenance just as our conscientious peers do.

Remember that "conflict-free" just scratches the surface of the issue though: The industry works hard to ensure conflict-free provenance for the end-user and for many consumers that is enough. The only drawback is that it overlooks the real issue which is those who still suffer where resources are rich and people are poor - not only over diamonds but rubies, oil, gold, coltan and, historically, rubber, cocoa, even coffee.

More discussion along these lines can be found here:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/country-of-origin.122257/

Would you still be able to identify a diamond after it has been cut?
 

kelpie

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
2,362
I think some exceptional diamonds can be reasonably have their origin narrowed down after cutting by their crystal growth structure and their impurities...I'm thinking of Galconda and Argyle mines. They would definitely be the exception to the rule. I agree it's super neat! I have a warm European cut which were popularly referred to at the time of production as "cape yellows" so I have a pretty good idea it's from the South African Cape. If we're talking a recently cut near colorless diamond I don't think there's any way to know unless there's a chain of custody documenting it.
 

John P

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
May 1, 2008
Messages
3,563
kelpie|1314996715|3008571 said:
If we're talking a recently cut near colorless diamond I don't think there's any way to know unless there's a chain of custody documenting it.

Agreed.
 
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