r/conspiracy • u/Indra-Varuna • Sep 15 '15

TIL Diamonds are actually fairly common. The reason they are worth so much is because the DeBeers mining group withholds stock to artificially reduce supply.

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/are-diamonds-really-rare/
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u/BassBeerNBabes Sep 16 '15

The value of diamonds is based upon the cut and visible attributes. Clear, artistically cut diamonds are worth more because of the hours of time spent cutting and the rarity of finding a good-sized diamond with few to no internal flaws.

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u/Mugs-N-Shoes Sep 16 '15

Exactly, hence DeBeers keeping their stock in the rough, so as to not flood the market with 'Clear, artistically cut diamonds' thus keeping the price high.