There is nothing quite like a diamond. For many they are the ultimate “I love you” gift, and jewellers will tell you the ultra-hard stones have unmatched “fire” and “brilliance”. The sentimental and aesthetic value of the gems is matched by their price, which can run to tens of thousand dollars per carat – and even more for coloured diamonds, especially if they are blue, green, violet, orange, red or pink.
But why are diamonds so expensive? How do they form? Do we really find diamonds in volcanoes? What is the link to supercontinents and ancient lifeforms?
In new research published in Nature Communications, we answer some of these questions by studying the world’s largest diamond deposit, Argyle in Western Australia, the source of more than 90% of pink diamonds.
