Diamonds were discovered in the permafrost of the tundra of the Russian Republic of Yakutia in the 1950s, immediately turning the Soviet Union into an important diamond-mining country. At present, Russia is not only exceptionally rich in these resources, but also an important center for trade, production of diamonds, research and consumption of diamonds.
The very beginning
First, technical diamonds and diamonds of non-jewelry quality were considered an important resource. The USSR viewed diamonds as a vital element of its industrial activities. The discovery of diamond resources on its territory guaranteed the Union independence from Western supplies.
At that time, the USSR depended on De Beers for supplying technical diamonds. He was always concerned that at some point, under the influence of Western governments, De Beers could decide to stop supplying this essential component to its oil-producing and many other industrial enterprises.
The result of this dependence had one surprising, long-lasting and important influence on the world diamond-diamond industry: the creation of diamonds grown in the laboratory. Ironically, Russian diamond resources include a large percentage of gem-quality diamonds (79% of the volume of diamond production in terms of volume) and are known for their beauty and structure (the shape of diamonds).
The first deposit discovered in Yakutia was the Mir tube, discovered in the late 1950s. Over the years, it has become one of the world's largest open-pit mines, and it was closed only recently. At present it is an underground mine - and it is far from exhausted.
In the Mirnyy area, several other deposits were discovered, including the International pipe and several alluvial deposits. Over a number of years, more than ten fields were developed in the country under the leadership of ALROSA, the first enterprise owned by the Russian and Yakut governments together with the diamond miners themselves.
Prosperous Bear
Although at first the attention was focused on the quality of diamonds, jewelry quality was not diminished. Russia developed a large and important branch of polishing diamonds, which gained fame due to the high quality of its faceting and polishing. Among the most famous diamond-producing enterprises in the country are Smolensk Crystal, a manufacturing enterprise that supplies products to some of the jewelry houses that produce the most expensive jewelry in the world.
Although Russia requires that some of its jewelry quality diamonds remain in the country for faceting on the spot, it also signed a marketing agreement with De Beers, then the world's monopoly in the field of diamonds, to sell its products to sightholders on De Beers websites. In 2001, ALROSA and De Beers signed a contract under which ALROSA for a five-year period was to supply De Beers diamonds worth $ 4 billion.
Fully integrated center
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, personal welfare was no longer censured. Russians began to wear smart diamond jewelry as a symbol of wealth, which completed the transformation of the country into a fully integrated diamond-diamond center.
At present, Russia is the world's largest producer of diamonds in terms of volume, having extracted over 36 million carats in 2014. It also ranks second in the world in terms of value after Botswana, and its output is estimated at over $ 5 billion. It produces diamonds, delivers them to customers around the world, cuts, conducts research, manufactures jewelry and has a huge client base brought up by it.
Russian diamond resources provide a full range of stones - all sizes, colors and purity. They are known for their fluorescence, which is usually not very desirable for gem quality diamonds. Another distinguishing feature of Russian diamonds is that they often have the form of a "crystal" with 8 faces and sharp angles. Several Russian mines also produce diamonds of fantasy yellow color.
In view of the fact that the Russian cut is famous, the products of "Russian production" are famous for their very high quality. Having access to a wide range of diamonds, Russian lapidary enterprises also offer a wide range of diamonds. They have long been using automated equipment and robotics and are currently making a big emphasis on this technology.
The ways diverged
Over the past few months, the economy of this global diamond mining industry has been critically analyzed in the pages of this publication. An interesting position in this respect. Under pressure from antitrust authorities in Europe, De Beers lost and said that it would stop all purchases of diamonds from Russia. Therefore, since 2009, ALROSA, the diamond monopoly of Russia, has begun to pave a completely independent path.
The company has gradually created a list of regular customers, and now it has contracts with customers who buy Russian diamonds ten times a year. In 2008, just when the De Beers agreement expired, the crisis in the world economy connected with Lehman Brothers broke out. Although the majority of diamond mining companies decided to reduce production, ALROSA chose a different path. It maintained stable production volumes and sold its diamonds to Gokhran, the State Agency for the Formation of the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones of the Russian Federation, the storage, release and use of precious metals and precious stones. Gokhran, being a branch of the Russian Ministry of Finance, is responsible for the purchase, storage, sale and use of precious metals,
The Russian government provided financial support to its diamond mining industry and bought diamonds for billions of dollars. This served as a buffer for ALROSA and gave it the opportunity to work peacefully during global financial difficulties.
Local diamond production enterprises do not receive exceptionally large financing from banks that limit the ratio between the industry's own and borrowed capital and ensure their safety. In 2011, these companies polished precious stones worth $ 850 million.
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