Diamond, Everyone's favourite!

Diamonds are the most beloved Gemstone of them all. The reason is that the diamond is not only a simple status symbol but also an interesting stone in itself. Its origins, its properties and its looks all are simply enchanting ! Let us enjoy 10 Fun and enjoyable facts about the translucent gemstone below!

1. The Largest Diamond Ever Discovered

The largest diamond that has ever been discovered was unearthed from Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa in 1905 and was named the Cullinan diamond. It weighed a staggering 3106 carats! The South African leaders and the mine owner agreed to part with the diamond and gifted it to King Edward and the Cullinan Diamond was then cut by expert jewellers into 100 small diamonds and 9 larger ones. The 3 largest of which are displayed at the Tower of London and are now part of the Crown Jewels. This massive diamond is the all-time record holder until today! Pretty impressive feat especially when you consider that it was not only a big diamond, it was also the biggest gem-quality diamond ever discovered! To give you a sense of scale 3106 carats are approximately 621.2 grams or 1.37 pounds! Insane isn't it? [caption id="attachment_1281" align="aligncenter" width="220"]The Cullinan Diamond The Cullinan Diamond[/caption]

2. Diamond Myths, Beliefs and Truths

Diamonds have many myths and cultural folklore surrounding them. Ancient Romans and Greeks were said to believe that diamonds were tears dropped by the Gods that fell on earth and crystalised. Ancient Romans believed that Cupid's arrows were diamond-tipped as well. In Antiquity, diamonds were believed to have healing abilities and they were hailed as a cure-all when worn. People of the Ancient Hindu Civilisation used diamonds as eyes for devotional statues to mark their holiness and religious values. Diamond, due to its scarcity has always been treated as a special, powerful stone in folklore and myths. And partly, it is true, its rarity and beauty gives it a mythic allure.

3. The Venerable Gemstone

The process of diamond creation is a slow one and happens deep in the earth's crust. Diamond is another form of Carbon (allotrope) that occurs through complex and slow reactions of extreme intensity, making carbon take crystalline form. Tremendous pressure and temperatures make diamonds form about 100 miles below ground. It is theorised that they have been carried to the earth’s surface by deep volcanic eruptions. This slow formation takes billions of years to occur. Some diamonds are believed to be over 3 billion years old!

4. Diamond's name has a meaning!

The word diamond derives from the Greek word “adamas,” which means indomitable, the one that cannot be tamed or subdued. This statement makes absolute sense if we think that diamonds are famous for their amazing hardness. Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring substances ranking 10/10 on the Mohs hardness scale due to the strong tetrahedral bonds of the carbon atoms. Even though Diamonds can be shattered when hit repeatedly on their weak point it is difficult to manage this feat! A weak point is a certain point on the stone that may have an inclusion or inconsistency thus making the diamond vulnerable to damage.

5. The First Diamond Engagement Ring!

Many people know this story but it still remains a fascinating one because of the romance involved!  The first historically recorded time anyone had ever given a diamond ring to his other half was when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond engagement ring to the love of his life, Mary Burgundy (as pictured below) in 1477! This is so romantic and ahead of its time so we believe it deserves to be mentioned in our list! [caption id="attachment_1282" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Maximillian and Mary Burgundy next to the Ring[/caption]

6. Diamond is the most imitated gemstone.

Diamond is the gemstone with the most known substitutes! People tend to think substitutes are fake diamonds, but it all depends on the context and the type of store selling the stones. People consider everything that resembles a diamond but isn't, a fake diamond, including glass crystal, cubic zirconia, moissanite, and synthesised diamonds.  But all of them are different and serve a different purpose. Cubic zirconia is crystalline zirconium oxide, crystal glass bears no chemical resemblance to diamonds and moissanite does not bear any resemblance to them as well. Synthesised diamonds on the other hand are almost identical (apart from the fact that they do not have inclusions), but are created in a lab and not mined from the earth.  Since all of them are totally different in properties they should be advertised and sold as entirely different gemstones. But if they are sold as natural diamonds, this changes the entire situation. The problem arises when sellers try to deceive customers by selling or advertising them as natural diamonds!

7. Melting Diamonds might be possible.

Liquid carbon does indeed exist, but perhaps surprisingly, relatively little is known about it. It only exists above around 4000 K temperature and 100 atm pressure, which are not trivial conditions to sustain and probe. Liquid carbon is something we will not be likely to know about for a long time! Fascinating!

8. Distant Star or Diamond in the Sky?

The Diamond Planet, named by the scientists as Lucy was discovered in 2004. It is mostly composed of carbon and it is in the Centauri Constellation, 52.19 light years away from Earth. It is reported that the planet is one-third pure diamond!

9. Caution! Flammable!

The carbon atoms in diamonds as we said earlier are arranged in a strong, tetrahedral structure. Regardless of this fact, both Diamonds and Graphite can be burned under the right circumstances. To burn a diamond, it must be heated to between 1290-1650 degrees Fahrenheit and right afterward dropped in liquid oxygen. This will enable the diamond to react with oxygen and subsequently combust rapidly like a piece of paper!

10. The Weirdest  Use of the Diamond

The ultimate weirdest use of Diamonds must be the DAC device. DAC stands for Diamond Anvil Cell which is a high-pressure device used in scientific experiments. This relatively small device is able to create insane amounts of pressure in the middle of the chamber. This pressure is enough to change the properties of molecules! [caption id="attachment_1294" align="aligncenter" width="563"]The Diamond Anvil Cell The Diamond Anvil Cell[/caption]     These were our 10 fun facts! We hope you enjoyed this list! If this blog post whetted your appetite for diamond earrings, diamond necklaces, or diamond bracelets click on any of the links!