Almost 80% of the worlds diamond production and rough supply is managed by "De Beers". This is not a single company but rather several different entities hiding behind the one name. These companies are involved in every step of a diamonds life, from extraction to polishing and on to the point of sale.

All sorted and valued diamonds go to London to the Diamond Trading Company. They are then put into lots to be sold at a fixed price. You cannot make partial purchases, a full lot must be bought.

There are currently only 120 individuals accredited by the Diamond Trading Company who are allowed to purchase diamonds. These diamond buyers can purchase the lots at ten selling events a year, in London Lucerne and Johannesburg. The resale of the diamonds is carried out by direct buyers normally on diamond exchanges, which are basically large diamond markets.

All the diamonds that De Beers brings on the market are first classified into one of the 16,000 different standards of quality, based on their form, quality, colour, and size. There are sorting houses in London, Lucerne, Gaborone, Windhoek, and Kimberley. In the valuation of diamonds colour, cut, clarity, and carat are the four c's used to decide it's value.

Only about 20% of all diamonds are classified as "gemstone quality" and used in making jewellery, the rest are sold to industry as "industrial diamonds" for drilling, cutting, and milling purposes. Due to its extreme hardness, diamonds can cut through almost any surface and are vital to most industries.

They make excellent abrasives as they can only be scratched by other diamonds. The hardest diamonds in the world are from New England in Australia, and are used mainly to cut other diamonds. There are other uses for diamonds, including both semi-conductors and insulators, depending on the properties of the diamond.