The song premiered on September 26, 2012, during the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and was digitally released the following day as the lead single from Unapologetic.

The song's music video was shot by director Anthony Mandler, a frequent collaborator of Rihanna's, and depicts her in four environments that represent the elements of earth, air, water, and fire.

[6] Recalling it, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Blanco commented, "We needed to have it recorded, the beat finished, mixed and mastered in 24 hours.

[17] Def Jam Recordings solicited the single to mainstream and rhythmic contemporary radio formats in the United States on October 2.

[26] Rolling Stone magazine wrote that "the track's production mainly stays out of Rihanna's way, letting the pop star build hooks with layers of her voice.

"[26] In a review of Unapologetic, Stacy-Ann Ellis of Vibe noted that an improvement in the singer's singing is evidenced by ballads such as "Diamonds" and "Stay".

[27] In a positive review of the song, Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave it four out of five stars and praised Rihanna's direction towards a "softer and more prolific edge".

[29] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday said that, although it does not sound like an emphatic hit, the lyrical content of the song depicts a "personal shift" for Rihanna.

[30] According to James Montgomery of MTV News, "Diamonds" is more positive than previous singles such as "We Found Love" and "Where Have You Been", despite its moderate tempo.

[33] In a track-by-track review of Unapologetic, Andrew Hampp of Billboard found the song inspiring and commented that it "finds Rihanna doing one of her throatiest, most impassioned vocals to date".

[35] In a less enthusiastic critique, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times likened "Diamonds" to a James Bond movie theme song, but with "insipid lyrics".

"[39] Black Entertainment Television placed the single at number six on their 50 Best Songs of 2012 list and called it one of Rihanna's most emotive performances.

[41] Irish Independent's Jim Hayes ranked it as the year's tenth-best song and described it as "a laid back slow burner that invades and refuses to leave".

[45] "Diamonds" received the Billboard accolade for Top R&B Song at the 2013 award ceremony held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

[46] At the 2013 BET Awards, the song was nominated for the Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice accolade, however, it lost to "Started from the Bottom" by Drake.

As a result, Rihanna became only the second artist of 2012 to top both the Billboard singles and albums charts simultaneously; the first to do so was English singer Adele.

[72] From its debut, the song remained atop the R&B chart for three consecutive weeks before being deposed of the top spot by Labrinth and Emeli Sandé's "Beneath Your Beautiful".

[74] "Diamonds" debuted at number one in France, becoming Rihanna's fourth number-one single in the country and remaining at the top spot for three consecutive weeks.

[76] The song was placed at number seven on the German 2012 Year-End singles chart and was certified platinum, denoting sales of 300,000 copies in the country.

Images of Rihanna on a bed in a room while singing are shown, with objects breaking, curtains falling and roses burning in reverse effect.

James Montgomery of MTV News called it visually striking and observed a great deal of "evocative imagery (glamorous black-and-white close-ups, thick plumes of translucent smoke, oversaturated hill-scapes, artfully silhouetted stallions)".

[95] Additionally, she found it obvious that the body of a heavily tattooed man's arm, which Rihanna clings to desperately, is a reference to Chris Brown.

Canada felt the video had failed to capture the song's vivid celebration of a love affair and stated, "It seems as though [Rihanna is] in chaos, reflecting on happier times.

New York magazine's Joe Reid said that her performance was the highlight of the show's episode and favored the digitized background in particular, which he described as "overt weirdness" that was ultimately "pretty endearing".

[105] Tess Lynch of Grantland was impressed by Rihanna's "exceptional singing" and wrote that the background imagery was a "powerful" and "crazy spectacle that astonished viewers".

[114] Los Angeles Times' Mikael Wood stated that during the performance Rihanna dominated the stage pointing that she looked like a young version of Grace Jones.

[119] On BBC Radio 1's live lounge, Jessie Ware performed a slightly jazzy version of the song, which Spin magazine's Marc Hogan said was musically reminiscent of the xx and vocally similar to D'Angelo.

[125] On May 14, 2015, coaches Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. covered the song in a mash-up with Bruno Mars' 2013 single, "Locked Out of Heaven" during the final show of the fourteenth season of American Idol.

[129] The official remix of "Diamonds", which featured rapper Kanye West, was released on November 16 as a digital download via SoundCloud and iTunes.

[132] MTV News' James Montgomery wrote that "there's certainly no shortage of Kanye's patented swagger, and the new remix also adds some clubby wallop to the laid-back track.