A player breaking diamond ore blocks with a diamond pickaxe. There are 3 diamonds floating above the ground.

Minecraft: Where to Find Diamond

May 18, 2022 - 3 min read

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Marshall Gunnell

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Key Takeaway

The best ways of finding Diamonds are to mine deep underground, trade with certain Villagers, or loot the Chests of naturally-generated structures.

Diamonds are one of the rarest and most valuable resources in Minecraft. There are 3 main ways of finding them: mining, trading, and looting Chests. You should use all of these to get as many Diamonds as possible.

How to Find Diamonds by Mining

A player mining diamond ore blocks underground with a diamond pickaxe.

Diamonds begin spawning at level 15 and below. This is 15 layers up from the level of Bedrock that makes up the bottom of the overworld. As such, the levels between level 1 and level 15 are the best place to look for Diamond Ore blocks.

How Diamond Ore Blocks Spawn

It’s possible to find Diamond Ore blocks both by themselves and in small clusters. However, there is an initial cap on how many Diamond Ore blocks spawn per chunk.

When land generates at the beginning of a new world, there are set amounts of Diamond Ore blocks inserted into the first few batches. Although, this varies between the Java and Bedrock Editions.

In the Java Edition of the game, Diamond Ore blocks initially spawn in 2 batches:

1st Batch: Diamond Ore blocks will try to spawn 6 times in clusters of 0 to 5 blocks throughout nearby chunks
2nd Batch: Diamond Ore blocks will try to spawn in about 11% of new chunks in clusters of 0 to 23 blocks

In the Bedrock Edition of the game, Diamond Ore blocks initially spawn in 3 batches:

1st Batch: Diamond Ore blocks will try to spawn 7 times in clusters of 0 to 5 blocks throughout nearby chunks
2nd Batch: Diamond Ore blocks will try to spawn in about 11% of new chunks in clusters of 0 to 23 blocks
3rd Batch: Diamond Ore blocks will try to spawn 4 times in clusters of 0 to 10 blocks throughout nearby chunks

Keep in mind that as you explore and the world generates new chunks, the spawning of Diamond Ore blocks becomes random. There will be no predictable batches, however, Diamond Ore blocks will continue to spawn at level 15 and below.

How to Mine Diamonds

Your best bet for mining Diamonds is to use an Iron Pickaxe. Gold, Stone, and Wooden Pickaxes can break Diamond Ore blocks, but will not cause them to drop Diamonds.

To maximize how many Diamonds you get per Diamond Ore block, you should put the Fortune enchantment on your chosen Pickaxe. For every level of the Fortune enchantment (max level 3), you can get 1 additional Diamond from a mined Diamond Ore block. As such, with Fortune 3, you can potentially get up to 4 Diamonds per Diamond Ore block.

However, keep in mind that the chances of getting bonus Diamonds are somewhat randomized. While it’s possible to put this enchantment on an Iron Pickaxe, it’s recommended to put it on a Diamond Pickaxe instead, as the latter lasts much longer.

Be wary of mining with a Pickaxe that has the Silk Touch enchantment. Instead of giving you Diamonds when you mine a Diamond Ore block, a Silk Touch Pickaxe will instead give you a block of Diamond Ore.

How to Find Diamonds by Trading

An armorer villager, who is wearing thick leather gear and a metal helmet, is standing next to a farmer villager, who is wearing a straw hat.

Another way to get Diamonds is to trade with specific kinds of Villagers. However, who you can buy Diamonds from—as well as their prices—varies between the Bedrock or Java Editions.

In the Bedrock Edition, here are the Villagers that can sell you Diamonds:

Armorers (expert-level) will trade you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald
Toolsmiths (expert-level) will trade you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald
Weaponsmiths (expert-level) will trade you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald

In the Java Edition, here are the Villagers that can sell you Diamonds:

Armorers (journeyman-level) have a 40% chance of having the trade option to sell you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald
Toolsmiths (expert-level) have a 66% chance of having the trade option to sell you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald
Weaponsmiths (expert-level) have a 100% chance of having the trade option to sell you 1 Diamond for 1 Emerald

How to Find Diamonds by Looting Chests

A simple yellow chest in a dark red brick room of a nether fortress.

There are many naturally-generated structures that can have Diamonds as loot in their Chests. As such, when you’re exploring, be sure to check every single Chest! Just beware of those that are rigged with traps.

Here’s a breakdown of all structures that can contain Diamonds as loot in their Chests:

Bastion Remnant: 15% to 16% of containing 2 to 6 Diamonds in each Chest
Desert Temple: 6% to 7% of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in each Chest
End City: 12% to 22% of containing 2 to 7 Diamonds in each Chest
Jungle Temple: 12% to 13% of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in each Chest
Mineshaft: 8% to 9% of containing 1 to 2 Diamonds in each Chest
Nether Fortress: 18% to 19% of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in each Chest
Shipwreck: 14% to 15% of containing just 1 Diamond in each Chest
Stronghold: 7% to 8% of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in each Chest
Village: 16% to 17% of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in Weaponsmith Chests and 9% to 10% chance of containing 1 to 3 Diamonds in Toolsmith Chests

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