Last night, I watched Inside: DeBeers, a documentary available on Netflix streaming that goes behind the scenes of one of the biggest diamond producers in the world.
The documentary provided some interesting tidbits about DeBeers. For example, did you know that De Beers' employees traveled over 1.3 million miles last year in search of diamonds? That's almost as many miles as it would take to (literally) go to the moon and back three times!
The family business that started My Trio Rings is a DeBeers Site, holder, and many of our diamonds come straight from the mines through DeBeers before being set in our rings!
I found the other facts about diamonds equally fascinating. Have you ever thought about how the diamonds in our wedding ring sets get there? No? Let's dig in:
A Diamond in the Rough
1. In order to get that sparkler on your hand, those diamonds have to be mined. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent on the equipment used to get diamonds from the ground and onto a diamond engagement ring.
2. Only about 20% of rough diamonds are sold and used for luxury items. The rest are used for industrial purposes. Once you get that 20%, the sorting begins.
3. Diamonds can be classified in more than 12,000 categories, but the most important are the 4 C's -- color, cut, clarity, and carat.
4. Each diamond is then analyzed by a machine in order to figure out how the diamond should be cut to yield the greatest value.
5. Finally, the stone is cut, polished, and ready to be sold.
Isn't that fascinating? It's easy to forget that so much work goes into each stone. Now that you know a little about the diamond manufacturing process, check out these other fun facts!
Diamonds are Forever
1. 43% of the world's diamonds come from South Africa.
2, Diamonds are found all over the world: deep on the ocean floor, beneath an arctic lake, etc.
3. DeBeers is actually credited with making the connection between engagements and diamonds after their revolutionary "A Diamond is Forvever" campaign.
3. However, giving a diamond engagement ring isn't the trend everywhere. China and India used to be gold-only markets, but diamonds are now starting to become a part of engagement culture.
4. Diamonds aren't actually the rarest stone -- rubies are.
Check out our glittering wedding ring sets - made with conflict-free diamonds!