The twinkle of holiday lights has faded away, but another season continues to shine bright: The so-called engagement season is in full swing, lighting up social media with sparkling new diamond rings.
About 40 percent of marriage engagements occur between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, according to industry marketplace WeddingWire, an exciting period for the wedding industry and perfect reason to coin the term. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show a consistent spike in retail jewelry sales in the winter months, too.
Despite a market that accounts for more than a third of global demand for the gemstone, the U.S. does not have any natural diamond resources within its geographical borders. Instead, Russia supplied about a third of the total carats mined in 2015.
[RELATED: Explore Russia in photos.]
Diamond production levels have remained steady in recent years, but industry analysts have predicted a dip in demand due in part to shifting preferences among millennials. The generation is getting married later, if at all, and has unique preferences.
In October, the Diamond Producers Association — a group of seven major diamond retailers, including De Beers and Canada’s Lucara — launched an advertising campaign targeting millennial consumers called “Real Is Rare.” The industry organization, founded in 2015, even got celebrity Nick Cannon involved.
[RELATED: Millennials say these are the best countries.]
But diamonds may not be as rare as the trade organization makes them out to be. After a drop in production between 2008 and 2009, more than 120 million carats of diamond have been produced each year by a handful of countries, largely concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, there are also “substantial” reserves of the gemstone around the world.
Here are the countries that produced the most diamonds in 2015, according to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a collaboration among government and industry organizations.
| Country | Diamond Production in 2015 (in carats) | Average Value Per Carat |
| Russia | 41.9 million | $101 |
| Botswana | 20.8 million | $144 |
| Dem. Rep. of Congo | 16.0 million | $8 |
| Australia | 13.6 million | $23 |
| Canada | 11.7 million | $144 |
| Angola | 9.0 million | $131 |
| South Africa | 7.2 million | $193 |
| Zimbabwe | 3.5 million | $50 |
| Namibia | 2.1 million | $591 |
| Sierra Leone | 500,000 | $309 |
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10 Countries That Produce the Most Diamond Gemstones originally appeared on usnews.com
