Diamonds have never been rare in modern times. They are controlled by cartels and kept in massive warehouses to keep the supply low artificially. Not rare enough to justify the absurd costs anyway.

De Beers maintained a monopolistic hold over the diamond market for several decades, controlling 75-85% of the diamond rough supply. They carefully released only enough rough diamonds to satisfy then-current demand, while continually adjusting the degree of rough diamond availability. Of course, this made prices escalate and reinforced the perception of diamond’s rarity. De Beers actually mined considerably more rough diamonds than they sold. They maintained a large warehouse of uncut diamonds in London. As a result, they weren’t allowed to do business in the United States and a few other countries.

• international gem society