Couples looking for diamond rings often ask why colored diamonds are so expensive and what makes them unique from other diamonds. Simply put, the amount of colored diamonds that are found on the Earth’s crust is relatively a lot less when compared to other diamonds. So the rarity of such gemstones, along with their unique color tones, make them a lot more valuable and expensive than colorless diamonds.

Colored diamonds are usually formed when nitrogen, boron, hydrogen, or other impurities gets trapped within the crystal lattice of a diamond during the crystallization process of the stone. However, diamond miners and manufacturers claim that only one in 10,000 naturally mined diamonds are colored. In that, red diamonds are the rarest ones, which is why they come at a much higher price tag.

Another interesting thing customers might not know is that there are only a few colored mines in the world. In fact, the number of currently active colored diamond mines across the world is estimated to be around just 50. Among that, some of the top mines that continue to discover large quantities of colored diamonds are the following.

The Jubilee Mine

As you would probably know, Russia is currently the largest producer of diamonds by value. The Jubilee Mine, which is considered as one of the top diamond mines in Russia, is one of the leading producers of colored diamonds. This Russian mine is owned by a diamond mining company named as Alrosa, which dominates the diamond production sector in the country.

The Jubilee Mine, which was originally established in the year 1986, contains around 153 million carats of recoverable diamonds. In addition to that, 1 million carats of diamonds are reported to be present in the underground of the mine. The amount of diamonds produced by the mine in 2017 was estimated to be around 1.4 billion dollars.

The Jwaneng Mine

Botswana is the second largest producer of diamonds in the world. In fact, approximately 20 percent of the diamonds we get in jewelry stores in the US are produced by this country. What’s more, the Jwaneng Mine, which is situated in south-central Botswana, is the richest diamond mine in the entire world.

The Jwaneng Mine is owned and operated by the De Beers Group of Companies. The company recently revealed that they are planning to use the mine until 2040. The open pit mine is located on top of three kimberlite pipes that cover approximately 520,000 square meters at the ground level; it is reported that the Jwaneng Mine produces around 9.3 million tons of diamonds every year.

The Venetia Diamond Mine

South Africa produces approximately 5 percent of the total diamonds in the world. One of the best diamond mines in the country is the Venetia diamond mine. The diamond mine, which was established in 1992, is also owned and operated by the De Beers Group of Companies. The Venetia diamond mine had also achieved ISO 9002 quality management certification a few years ago.

Diamond miners expect to continue surface mining in this open pit South African diamond mine for more than twenty years. However, the feasibility of continuing underground operations at this diamond mine is currently being investigated by experts. Reports indicate that approximately 7.1 million carats of diamonds were produced by the Venetia diamond mine in the year 2004 alone.

The Catoca Diamond Mine

The Catoca diamond mine is situated in the Lunda Sul province of Angola. This famous African diamond mine is ranked as the 5th biggest diamond mine in the entire world by reserve. The expected mining life of the Catoca diamond mine is estimated to be around 30 years. This open pit mine is currently owned and operated by the Sociedade Mineira de Catoca Company.

The Catoca diamond mine had produced approximately 6.7 million carats of rough diamonds in a single year. In addition to that, the large deposits of colored diamonds found in the mine are suitable for making jewelry. The probable diamond reserve in the mine is currently estimated to be around 130 million carats.

The Argyle Mine

The internationally renowned Argyle diamond mine is located in the East Kimberley region in the north of Western Australia. This diamond mine is the world largest producer of diamonds in terms of volume. In fact, the Argyle diamond mine is the single largest source of red and pink diamonds. Approximately 90 percent of the pink and red diamonds available in the market are mined from the Argyle mine.

This Australian diamond mine continues to produce 17 million carats of diamonds every year even though the resources in the mine have slowly started to get exhausted. The authorities have decided to operate the mine until the year 2021. However, several reports claim that the Argyle diamond mine might get closed before 2021 due to implications that concern the underground expansion of the mine.