Diamonds aren't as rare as you might think, scientists say

Diamonds are a girl's best friend — but they aren't as rare as you might think, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University.

"Diamond formation in the deep Earth, the very deep Earth, may be a more common process than we thought," Johns Hopkins geochemist Dimitri A. Sverjensky, said in a news release.
But don't expect sales at Zales just yet.
The report, published today in Nature Communications, adds that the diamonds being formed are so deep into the Earth that they're virtually inaccessible.
These diamonds "are not necessarily the stuff of engagement rings," either, the report adds. In fact, most are microscopic, measuring just a few microns in diameter.

SEE MORE:Who cares about diamonds? This man proposed with a ring made from his wisdom tooth

The discovery, however, refutes common beliefs about how diamonds form from rock.
Until now, scientists believed that diamonds are formed through a "redox" reaction involving the movement of fluid by the oxidation of methane or the chemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Oxidation results in a gain of electrons.

The recent research proved that water, as it becomes more acidic, could produce diamonds while moving from one type of rock to another.

"The more people look, the more they're finding diamonds in different rock types now," Sverjensky added. "I think everybody would agree there's more and more environments of diamond formation being discovered."

See photos of a diamond deposit in Arkansas:

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