A diamond is the hardest material on Earth and has long-since been recognized for its beauty as a gemstone. Some 142 million carats of diamonds were estimated to have been produced from mines worldwide in 2019. Diamonds were a scarce resource, found only in riverbeds in India and Brazil. The intrinsic value of diamonds results only from their physical properties which make them suitable for industrial applications. The world diamond market is represented by diamond mining and trade in rough diamonds.

The diamond market is conventionally divided into three segments:

• Industrial Diamonds  Natural and synthetic diamonds that are used in a wide range of manufacturing processes for their physical properties;
• Jewelry Diamonds Rough diamonds cut for use as gemstones in jewelry.
• Investment Diamonds High quality large gemstones, often with special characteristics, purchased for investment.
  

The world`s largest producers of natural diamonds are Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Botswana, all together accounting over 60% of the global diamond production.