Minecraft wiki entry for Diamonds, associated text: The player needs an iron, diamond, or netherite pickaxe to mine diamonds (and any gold, emerald, or redstone they find, as well). Although it may be tempting to use stone tools for digging to save the durability of iron tools, remember that diamond ore does not drop diamonds when mined with a wood, stone, or gold pickaxe. Use an iron pickaxe (or better) at these low levels for anything that looks unusual.