Where to find diamonds, How to identify rough diamonds and how to recover raw diamond crystals 

I live in south India, just 50 km from a place famous for finding diamonds (the Kohinoor diamond was supposedly found here). But I never bothered to go and search for diamonds (traditionally after a rainy night) because I knew absolutely nothing on the subject. The information in this video is an eye opener for ordinary people like me. I will try to get your book. Thank you.

Thanks Chris, I really enjoyed this video! Great way to have my morning coffee. Knowledge is power!

Thank you very much for your honesty a very rare quality these days it seems. I've learned more from this one video of yours then I have in a long time, yes you're very informative but it's more in the way of your ability to express your ideas and information for all to Easley understand. Once again thank you very much for making this video.

In 20 years this is the first time I learned about rock diamonds completely and very easily 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

First rough diamond I found was at the Crater of Diamonds - after 4 yearly trips and many buckets dug, found a white one pinhead size. My best diamond finds (2 gold/diamond rings) have been parking lots and at a trailhead (1 earring). Found gold panning at Lotus, on the American River, covered in mercury...sure was a wonderful experience. Will be looking for corundum in WY this year. Love the hobby, metal detecting too. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, look forward to watching more.

Thank you for your great knowledge you you have shared with us.i have been a prospector for many years and still awaiting a good find.thanks!

I've prospected more rough diamond's due to your imeasurable insight Chris. The globe needs more of your awesomeness as a paradise. Shall be a great honor to meet you and learn from your expertise first hand !May God bless you abundantly!

Hi Chris, - you give some great answers to the questions, both the reasonable ones and the... "other" ones. Very enjoyable!

Great video chris you really helped me broaden my knowledge on diamonds. you're the best

I glad to see I'm not the only one who likes the rocks to look nice and shiny but also to keep that natural look and shape of the rock. I just got a tumbler as a gift and have only done a couple batches. I do the chalcedony also. I wasn't sure if I was doing anything wrong wondering if they should be coming out better somehow but I like them. It's crazy how similar yours and mine are. I'm about to start some today and now I feel more confident about what I'm doing after seeing yours. Thanks bud

Thank you Chris. Great video and easily understandable presentation. I have learned a lot and will follow your work

We went to search without knowledge. And now I learned much from your video. Thank you.

Thanks for your video! I worked for 40+ years in Diamond exploration and was working for the Ashton Joint Venture Company that discovered what was to become Argyll Diamond Mine in the north of Western Australia. The type of rock in which the diamonds were found was not in your typical Kimberlite, but, in Lamproite the same type of rock found in the Crater of Diamonds. Even the colours in both these locations are of similar hues, namely Browns, Champagne (or, even Cognac!) and pinks. The Argyll Mine has mostly industrial with up to 90% while the gem quality is probably only 10%. Incidentally, Argyll is actually a massive above ground range and it is only now mined below ground with much smaller results. Someone mentioned that the diamonds in Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas are 30% harder than your usual diamonds and this also is the case for those from Argyll. In fact, because Australia is the oldest continent on Earth, the diamonds found can be up to 3 billion years' old! Macles, which are twinned diamonds, are the hardest of all the diamond shapes. You showed two octahedron diamonds earlier in the video. What's even more interesting is that one of them has tiny triangular indentations on one surface. These are called trigons and are equilateral triangles. Other minerals can also show triangles, but, they are not equilateral like trigons on diamonds. This is an important feature only found on diamonds. On the other octahedron are curved lines along the edges of the diamond. These are called "growth lines" and are another feature of diamonds. These are caused as the diamond is growing and being pushed up through the kimberlitic pipe. There have been many Kimberlites found in Australia, but, all of them bar one were not diamondiferous. I was very fortunate to work for the company which found the first diamond-bearing kimberlite in Australia. It was found in the north of Western Australia and contained 90% gem quality diamonds with beautiful macles. Unfortunately, the quantities were lacking... In the eastern part of Australia, many alluvial diamonds have been found, but, not the sources, similar to the diamonds found in the US, except for the ones in Arkansas. You have to be careful if you're panning for gold and expect to find diamonds. Because diamonds are not very heavy, they can easily float off in water because of their surface tension. Where I worked in a Diamond Lab, sample bags were passed over a WilfleyTable which, along with water shakes the grains into various divisions which are later treated to obtain soil concentrates which are observed under binocular and petrological microscopes to ascertain if there are any diamonds or minerals that are called diamond indicators. Some grains are even processed for further tests on SEM, X-Ray Diffraction machines for more positive results. If people are interested in learning and seeing pictures of natural/rough/uncut diamonds, mindat.org is a good start. Of course, there are textbooks such as Dana's Mineralogy, (the bible of minerals!), Sinkankas's Mineralogy.

Yes, I knew about the Kelsey diamond mine in Northern Colorado. Although, small and industrial grade, I have one very small rough, from there. 👍. Well done video. ☺

Fantastic ! Your explainantion taught most things I needed.

I find this subject fascinating. Proper ways to look for valued items, is knowledge needed for amature as well as professional. Working fun. My favorite fun.

I mine herkimer diamonds myself. They are valuable and beautiful. Ive gotten real good at ming specimens. The debeers comp set the standard for diamonds eons ago. They control the market. Great video.

I have been searching for a video like this for a long time thank you so much

Thanks, I did know much of this BUT I also learnt a lot and you kept it interesting, well presented.

Excellent coverage! Thank you!

i found coarse gold placers in a spring on a hilltop... i was excited but honestly didnt understand exactly what was going on beneath the surface.. you explained everything in your videos..i have found an epithermal deposit.. a closer look at the rocks revealed the evidence and you explained it so well that its all making sense.. im finding precious metals, gemstones, even kimberlite with some small low grade diamonds! Again i cannot thank you enough for helping me understand with your informative videos! You are the man Chris!

Heart warming and well digest information. Found a lot of diamonds in my dream years ago and hoping it comes into reality😊

Thank you for your amazing and instructional video. I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it.

I have grown up in Texas Quartz Country, and we found bucketloads, of ‘Diamonds’, as children! Whose to know now, if we had stubbled across the real thing. I ordered your book and await its arrival... Thank you so very much for sharing your wealth of knowledge with Rookies like me.

Thank you for making the video. You did a wonderful job of keeping me interested (...not an easy task :) ) .

so much respect for what you're saying at 24:00

I love diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, gold, and all gems. I would love to go prospecting. Thanks for the awesome video and education on diamonds.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge- enjoyed it much!

Great video on diamonds, Chris. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us...

Diamonds found at The crater of Diamonds in Arkansas are 30 % stronger than all diamonds discovered today, because they are resorbed. Makes these diamonds very rare and very valuable. Octahedrons are not found at Arkansas. I actually found a tetrahexahedron one side is resorbed!! Maybe 2 have been recovered out of the 100,000 found. Loved this video !! Keep up the great work!

Thank you for this video! I appreciate the knowledge you provide.

much thanks, i looked forward to sharing interesting finds to come as i use some of your experience u shared…. to be continued

Chris, Thanks for sharing this valuable info for diamonds. I will keep my open for them on my claim and sluice cons.

Wonderful video Chris! I would enjoy a follow-up showing how to build and operate a small-scale recovery unit.

New to learning about Gold and Diamonds. Thanks for your video's about finding gold and finding raw diamonds

Thorough and understandable; excellent video! Many thank, learned a. lot.

Many many moons ago, i found a rootbeer brown diamond in the middle fork of the Feather river while dredging for yellow stuff.. Close to where a nice blue diamond and a larger yellow diamond was found. And there were several places around the Oroville region up behind it in the mountains. Cool to talk about . Mainly forgotten history.

Going to the diamond mine in Arkansas tomorrow. Doing research today

Glad I happened on this channel, subed right away.

I have to say, videos like this are awesome to find. Informative x2 absolutely the best diamond video out there. Thank you

Thank you so much for making this video, I'm in Colorado and dimonds can be found in a few of our waterways! This really helps train my eyes out for diamonds while I'm doing gold panning! Have found some nice gemstones in my 1/4" classifier and will let you know if one of us finds one! Thank you for taking the time to explain in detail, much respect and golden smiles for us both!

Thanks I'm up in canada, and I just researched fault lines and have found something interesting where I'm moving too. You video is simple and easy to understand. I look forward to watching your new videos and going over the ones you have already posted. Happy hunting everyone!

Excellent! I watched thru the whole thing spellbound. It answered most of my questions, concerns, and how to do the do. Thank you so very much for sharing this information. I have a bucket list for this summer and this was on it- diamond mining I mean. Again, thank you so much.

It's not very often I enjoy RU-vid documentary type shows, don't get me wrong I enjoy all of them, but in this case your a very sociable speaker. It's a nice change to have someone who's information and knowledge can be confirmed simply by hearing the confidence in your voice. From the first few words I knew I'd learn alot about diamonds from you and [hat you weren't just another putz attempting to speak and teach a popular subject simply for to supplement income and that this is your passion. Thank you for the presentation. I started metal detecting about 4 years ago, now I own my own business in southern Ohio, right below the glaciated line in the center of the southern part of the state. I look out my window and 'an see Kentucky across the Ohio river so, as far south as possible. I've looked into sluicing and panning when it comes to gold and was also aware that diamonds and gold sometimes can be found hand in hand, but again this part of the state is non-glaciated so if possible I do have a question for you, more out of a notion I've entertained than out of real world desire to pan here, my idea is that given how close my county is to the glaciated lines, 10-20 miles dead south, I always thought that the tributaries that feed the Ohio river, of course run north to south, could yield gold/precious stones via those waterways. The Scioto River snakes it's way across the entire state similar to the Amazon, huge, profound turns, doing what water does, finding it's way through. My question, to put it plainly, is follows. Since the tributaries run thru known glaciated areas and flow in my direction, would that river current likely be sufficient to roll heavier metals like gold obviously, thru those extreme 180 turns and the back and fourth Amazonian style or would those turns most likely make it improbable and if so which side of the turns are best to sluice or detect on, the inside turn or apex, or the outter edge of the tributaries? Like I said it's just something I've rattled around with no good solution to the query, thank you and I'm subscribing to your channel. Enjoyed this very much.

Colored diamonds are getting more popular. The browns are really pretty when faceted. Perfect when you want something strong, less expensive and your not wanting a wedding ring.

Great Lesson on diamond prospecting. Thank You.

Great Chris,, thank you for sticking up for mankind. Those are very sweet people.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us, greatly enjoyed your video.

Loved the video didn't know we had so many in Canada. I will be looking out for them next spring. Near my place there are a few places were you can see glaciers that passed by and cut or used up some rocky areas many years ago. I think this could be a nice place take a hike and see. Thanks for sharing your knowledge .

Best "how to where to" on diamonds that I have seen. Love it

I really appreciate this video Chris

mate perfect like everytime thanks alot to you for all of this info bye the way thats not normal information thats a secrret worth money you give for free good in you keep going like this .

Good video, well presented. Appreciated

Thank you again. Cant thank you enough. I've been doing quartz hunting. Didnt ever think about it as diamonds. Gonna double check. Itd be cool to find a daimond! I'm glad I ran into your videos on RU-vid and I subscribed. When I watch "helping me pass tests" on RU-vid i wish I would learn as much and is as interested as i am with your amazing videos. Have a good night. From California ❤🕯🙏

This was the Best video I've seen on identifying diamonds Thank you very much

Enjoyed the video! I have been lucky enough to have found several in Arkansas, it has been a hobby of mine for years. I started a RU-vid channel specifically about it.

Hi Chris, I'm glad that you mentioned India. For it is from this subcontinent where the term Karat originated. Where 1 Karat was equal to the weight of a dried seed of a pepper. Notice also that many of the place names within the region have a "Kara" prefix such as Karachi in neighbouring Pakistan.

I watch a lot of RU-vid and this video was top notch! If I had the money I would have bought the book and hopefully will when I'm able!

This was really really interesting to take in.. so informative and fascinating.👌💚

Very good video for all of us rookies.

I’m always digging around while I’m out and about in the mountains, I just have no idea what I’m looking for. This was cool to watch, thanks! Also, I was told the yellowish ones are champagne, the brown ones are called chocolate diamonds…not according to the GIA, just the jewelry stores.

Great work on making this video Chris!

I'm still a year behind but I'm glad I watched this video I live in Virginia while I was surfing around today I saw something about diamonds had been found in Virginia then you explained it in a way I can understand I appreciate it I feel if I happen across one now I'll have a lot better chance of knowing what I have found Thank You ( I might catch up with you one of these days!) Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the great video. I found a “quartz” when I was a kid that I wouldn’t put in my pocket because it was greasy. I always thought the “grease” is what made my “quartz” look so clear because I never found another like it. Now I wonder if it was a quartz at all. Luckily I have in my favorites rock collection, I will post a pic when I find it. Thank you for sharing.

This is the best information video ever!!! I love your voice too!! New subscriber!

Great information. Thank you so much for the video! 👍

Another awesome video. Thanks bud!

New sub from Wyoming , love your video , can't wait for spring now to go out looking for more hopes ha , ha........dee

Great info! You always have an informative video for every Rock question I have. I'm sitting here with a flashlight looking through all my sluice concentrate pebbles from Wisconsin, and everything clear looks like diamonds to me! Haven't found any triangles yet, but I might have to try the Vaseline idea. There are so many tiny tiny rocks and so many clear and clear yellow ones.

very cool. I am going to look for some diamonds when I look for gold in Indiana in the creeks. Thanks for the great video.

Fantastic video ! Happy New Year !

There were a few points I was hoping you would hit upon. Pyrope Garnet inclusions as an indicator,Alluvial deposits(these can be rounded and cloudy from being tumbled underwater for eons),Hardness testing(I use a large industrial Corundum crystal for scratch testing)and other types of testing. I found what I believe is the center of the local caldera which formed the surrounding mountains about 100 million years ago(I live in Southern BC,Canada).Why that is important is that it is central to several overlapping gem fields with lots of water coming from gold rich deposits upstream close to where the rivers meet the ocean(coincidentally,where diamonds were found in both Australia and Africa by the Kimberly mining company).These gravel bar alluvial deposits which I found by chance looking for Gold(and it took a while for me to realize what I had found and why it was there) kicked off a period of intense research and prospecting and eventually gem cutting(it was more to learn how to identify a gem grade stone in the field and to practice on low grade material that had the proper hardness and to identify internal flaws in the stone,etc.since I had self educated).These local deposits sit upon the oldest exposed bedrock in the entire region(according to some fairly old geo. survey maps I had sourced,the only way I found this information out).Nature classifies everything according to it`s specific gravity,which is important to remember because these minerals are found in fairly specific spots a person could walk by a thousand times without any clue was under foot.There are so many things that can be hit upon because it is such an in depth field covering a range of subjects from different fields of science making it fairly complex to fully understand.My friends just tune me out when the subject of rocks comes up because most of them cannot grasp or believe the fact these things are there,thinking that if so why has no one ever found them before in this area.One answer to that(and there are several logical reasons) was it was because up until that point no one thought to look there or did not know what they were looking at or understand why they would be there in the first place.I met a rock doc(a Ph.D in diamond hunting)and we had an in depth discussion where showed him my specimens that I had found and he was impressed(I am a few years older than he,but the fact I learned it on my own studying the variety of fields gave my a well rounded background not taught in school.This was because I kind of learned it as I went along instead of focused intense applied learning for a degree.That way I was able to have hands on experience with stuff I had found,and with some measure of success,I will add)but due to contractual obligations with the company he worked for in NWT forbade him from doing any outside official analytics or side prospecting,because of mining regulations,etc..My deposits sit on common or crown land and are legal to keep without digging equipment or any form of sluicing,etc.They are found by eye and hand where I casually look through gravel and go home with rocks in my pocket and no one even knows what I am looking for.On a few occasions I had to deviate from the truth because if certain people found out,they would be back right away,digging up everything and destroying what is good,leaving holes garbage and letting greed or the dreams of wealth get the better of their senses.For me,the education was the pay off and material wealth almost irrelevant after the fact.Like you said,a single stone could change your life,but the question is...Is it worth it and are the odds on a persons side to stumble upon it by chance or educated guess?I can only say is look at the ground and learn about what it is you are looking,and if you are lucky you could find some really interesting things from the earth...just remember to respect nature and the sanity of society in general by being discrete as to not create havoc on your special places(hence the vague locality description on this public platform.I don`t mind sharing specific information,however it is proprietary information that is kept on the down low for reasons stated,among other reasons I have not mentioned). I would plug my fb page,but I do not have prior consent,respectfully...

I learned a lot from this video, Sir, and thank you so much. I have a crystal with three lines inside by which the crystal can be split into four pieces. Is it quartz?

Thank you for your informative video. I enjoyed learning about diamond mining.

You are the man. Thank you for sharing your work. Stay safe happy hunting and keep being Awesome!!!!

Thanks Chris. I am interested in Gemmology and wish to study it in my retirement. My dad was a diamond miner in Kimberley in South Africa and then he went to India looking for new mines but wasn't much there to consider. De Beers were a hard family to work with. Dad was a good miner and manager...found millions worth in diamonds but got paid very little. Thankyou very much for the lesson....I will definitely get your book in due course. John from Australia.

Can you find them in fossilized geoodes? I found some that have a thin coat of brown and beige looks like a very thin coat of paint growing in a triangle pattern I've been through several videos but haven't seen anything like it some have the same thing coating but looks more like a calcite pool if bubbles growing pattern.

All I really got out of this is the shape and where they're located on a marco-level. I can definitely tell sir you are a professor due to having gone over the outline of your presentation numerous times. I do thank you for providing the shape does help, however if you do a part 2, covering which rocks or geological formations to look for where diamonds are often found would be a great addition. Thank you again.

Lovely video, watching from Jamaica.

Thankyou for an interesting and informative video! I live in eastern Finland upon a very old and solid bedrock, and recently had a well made for me. That required to nreak a deep hole in the rock, and now I have a pile of debris on my yard and I am curious to see what eas brought up from the eath! Maybe not diamonds but... you never know! Atleast now I know what to keep my eyes peeled for!

I loved the video and found it very informative, but I have a question about one of the maps. At 29:50 the map of verified diamond finds, I'm curious to know whether the small black dots/squares are individual diamond finds or something else? I would assume based on the name of the map that they are diamond finds but that sort of contradicts the yellow marking of states where diamonds were found since 2 of the spots are outside of those yellow states.

I thank you so much. I am always wanting to learn. I went to a lecture. Diamonds are regulated to keep their worth up. They only allow so many out for circulation each year. So I Continue to learn.

Thank you very much ! You made me smarter about what to look for .

New California sub here! Thank you!! About 10 years ago I was learning to mine for gold and one of the first things I discovered were the diamonds I've yet to find any gold but I believe I found a couple of diamonds LOL

I work in a open pit mine in Indiana,,I find really large beautifully formed pyrite in shale,, such beauty in our earth when one just stops and looks at it all

This was FANTASTIC!! Thank you so much for sharing all this amazing information!! I very much enjoyed your production! Celeste 💗💗

Hi Chris, deeply found this informative ! I have a sample of crystals and would love to know if i can send you the video somehow to help me identify if they are diamonds! many thanks

Thanks, I knew NC has precious stones,found a huge emerald & some sapphires about 5 years ago...upper SC is a lot closer to me, was just hoping! Haaa😂 Thanks so much!

Thank you Chris for sharing your videos

Thank you… learned a lot- very thorough information

Thank you for your informative vid. However, it made me a bit sick .. a few years ago my wife and I visited friends in NE Georgia and I waded in the stream along the back of their property and found some of those octahedral stones up to 1.5 cm between points, but I thought they were just brownish quartz and one clear one and tossed them away. Now I am a bit depressed ... lol. Unfortunately, our friends have passed away and the new owners are NOT friendly. Sigh... I sooooo wish I had seen this 5 or 6 years ago.

HEY Chris , I was into fossil hunting and stumbled onto your videos and now I'm out and about and seem to have a really good eye for these things. Where can I get rough Crystal's professionally tested ? A jewler perhaps? also what do you think about the little 20 dollar diamond scanners that measure the thermo conductivity , do those work well ? Also I am curious about the little chemical test kits on amazon for gold and silver and if there useful at all. Thanks so much , about to order your book!

thanks for your honesty!!!

great job on this post....very helpful

Very informative and relaxing to listen to.

A very informative and well-presented video, even with CC. I learned a number of things I hadn't known before. HOWEVER, I strongly disagree with your simplistic characterization of "blood" diamonds. While the scenario of declaring diamonds as blood diamonds could possibly play out as you suggest, the truth is that in a majority of cases these diamonds are mined under the eyes of unscrupulous and brutal individuals and in conditions that people should not have to toil in. As well, the money more often than not is used to fund military actions that further enslave people. Thank you again for your informative video.

I know the spot in Butte county, Lived in Paradise and mined all over the area. Great Video Chris Thank you.

Excellent video with lots of information. Thanks.

I want try find diamonds 💎

The earth farts diamonds, how fancy. 💎😊