Diamonds are the hardest material on Earth — and finding one in nature is comparably tough. For thousands of years, humans have dug deep into the Earth in search of diamonds, creating some of the world’s largest manmade pits in Russia and South Africa that descend as much as 625 meters below the ground. The intensive process has an impact on both nature and people, with dangerous working conditions and practices that damage ecosystems. But mining isn’t the only way to source diamonds.
It can then either be sold to jewelers and designers, or turned into a jewelry piece designed in-house. A global gem Currently, the US, China, and India dominate LGD production, with the latter two accounting for over two-thirds of global output, according to Paul Zimnisky, a diamond industry analyst and consultant based in the US.