The Lore and Lure of Diamonds

Diamonds were first used as eyes for Hindu devotional statues. Their brilliance was then used to represent life or fire as implied by one of the 14 names the Hindu used to call the precious gem. Diamonds have been, for ages, sought-after for their hardness and high dispersion of light—hence the saying "diamonds are forever.

Diamonds have been used for hundreds of years as a symbol of true, undying love. Since the 15th century various cultures have used diamonds to seal and symbolize engagements. They remain to this day the most popular precious stone for engagement rings. Their role as the choice expensive gift of wealthy men for the women they are wooing was popularized by modern diamond jewelry companies.

Although it is said that the best diamonds are mined from Africa, the precious gem can be found in many places all over the world. Asia, North America and Oceania all have deposits of this valuable rock. In the United States, there are two known diamond mines: the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas and the Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine in Colorado. However, both locations no longer function as real mines. Most of the demand for diamonds in the United States is sourced from Asia and Africa.

Jewelers in Indianapolis for example, get their stones from diamond dynasties in Israel. The Israeli diamond industry’s principles ensure that no blood diamonds (diamonds produced to fund conflicts) enter their market. Israel is an important world player in the global diamond market.

Israeli wholesalers sell their cut diamonds to jewelers in Indianapolis and in other states for a lower wholesale price without sacrificing the quality of any of the 4Cs—cut, carat, color, clarity—used to determine a diamond’s value. They offer the most affordable high-quality diamonds in the country.

The typical jeweler Indianapolis has to offer would prefer buying from Israeli wholesalers than to get it from anywhere else. That is as long as they are assured that their wholesaler is reputable. To meet this demand, shops that sell Israeli wholesale cut diamonds have opened in the area as fronts for important and trustworthy diamond dynasties in Israel. These merchants are proponents of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme; the world organization that makes sure that blood diamonds doesn’t enter the mainstream market.