Recently, the commodity of Gold, which used to have a higher value, had taken a downward spin due to the surplus of gold that had flooded the markets. It is determined that the recent recession in the USA was the cause for this. People began to sell their gold or pawn them, or simply trade them in for cash, in anticipation for a price hike that was not as high as they expected. Other precious commodities then eventually rose in the market. The concept of having diamonds be a better investment compared to gold has been accepted by many people.
For the diamond industry, only one company had the monopoly throughout the years. DeBeers held 90% of all the market shares for diamonds, all due to their solid foundations. This was mainly due to their extensive proprietorship in the diamonds that originate from Africa, where Kimberlite deposits (a compacted mass of minerals containing diamonds) are known to be prosperous. Unmatched by any other company, DeBeers owned most of the mines fully or at least to some extent.
Lately, though, numerous Kimberlite deposits have been located worldwide. Specifically the countries of Canada, Russia, and Australia are on the list. With companies like Stornoway and Petra Diamonds, whose mines are based in the Kimberlite deposits in Canada and on international locations, respectively, DeBeers slowly began to lose its control over the market for diamonds. Choosing to do things differently, Stornoway and Petra Diamonds have opened their market shares to the general public. With this, diamonds for sale have become more accessible to the average person, as well as more prominent with the new sources of diamonds. DeBeers slowly began to lose its stock as their diamond exchange sources became scarce in comparison to the freshly uncovered Kimberlite of the other two companies.
All of these events caused the public, as well as the companies, to appeal to the United States Patent Office for a standardization of all the precious gems, particularly diamonds on a GIA diamond quality chart. Similar to the Gemological Institute of America, which utilizes their 4 C’s of diamond verification, the appeal called for a standardized value for the weight, shape and other attributes of each diamond, that basically constitute the 4 C’s with additional attributes to verify the diamond’s quality. It also stated that the primary verification standards for every diamond and precious gem will be set by the GIA as well. The petition was, essentially, to have diamonds be given a definite monetary value with applied rules similar to that of gold, except with the additional attributes for verification. At some point in the appeal, it also indicated that the diamonds be a legitimate form of payment in terms of monetary value, again, much like gold. To sum it up, the appeal was to simply standardize the gems for easy change into monetary value, thus making it easier for the consumers as well as some of the entrepreneurs to market these commodities.
