Fun and Useful Facts About Diamonds and Diamond Jewelry

1/2 carat diamond ringThere is a famous saying: “diamonds are a girls’ best friend”. Diamonds are often adored by women; however, it is not only the girls who love having it, but everybody. Who doesn’t want this very precious gem, right?

Basic Diamond Facts

Diamond is probably the most wanted gemstone in the world. But what do you know about diamonds? Here are some fun diamond trivia to enjoy when wearing diamond jewelry.

  • Diamond is the hardest substance in the earth. However, with its astounding resistance to scratches, it is also very brittle that it will break into pieces when you hammer it.
  • The land of South Africa is the major producer of diamonds. Sixty five percent of the total quantity of diamonds came from this country.
  • Diamond contains carbon which is also the same in carbon found in pencil lead and charcoal. It is usually colorless and more like a crystal one and shaped like a rounded pyramid.
  • The biggest rough diamond ever extracted is over three thousand one hundred carats. It was discovered in a particular mine in South Africa on the 26th of January 1905.
  • Diamonds existed for over three billions years ago. The “recent” ones are over a hundred million years old.
  • Majority of diamonds are formed hundred miles below the ground and some of them reach for almost four hundred miles.
  • There are so-called extra-terrestrial diamonds. These are formed by an asteroid impact. These diamonds are called carbonado.
  • Just like other minerals on earth, majority of the diamonds are used in the industry, the minority of it are set in jewelry.
  • Long ago, diamonds were only found in riverbanks.
  • Romans used to wear diamonds as talismans—to protect themselves from evil spirits.
  • During the 13th century, France implemented a law that only kings can wear diamonds.

Other Uses for Diamonds

This remarkable mineral is not only known for its beauty and prestige of ownership, it also has plenty of uses just like other minerals in the world, just like the following:

  • Diamond is the best tool for cutting glasses. No doubt that those “one-hour” glasses use this.
  • This is also used during the Venus exploration. Diamonds was used as windows of spacecrafts because of its ability to withstand extreme temperature and acidic condition.
  • Because of diamond industry, many children in the world can have their deserved education up to their age of 13.
  • In India, around one million people are employed because of diamond industry.

How to Tell if a Diamond is Fake or Real

  • A fake diamond is heavier than the real one when they are the same size.
  • A fog test is also a useful method to distinguish the genuine diamond. A fake one doesn’t repel heat immediately unlike the real one.
  • Using a diamond tester to examine a diamond is one of the better ways to verify if a stone is a diamond

Diamond Colors

Aside from its crystal clear characteristics, diamonds also have different colors and kinds.

  • Hope Diamond – a grayish blue diamond that originated from India. This precious stone is currently at the Smithsonian National Museum.
  • Blue Diamonds – a very rare kind of diamond that is originally white in color. But due to heating, it can turn into blue.
  • Black Diamonds – these are also called the “carbonado”. They come in pea sizes unlike other diamonds.
  • Pink Diamonds – natural ones are very rare. Often these are painted or irradiated
  • Yellow Diamonds – these are called “fancy” or “canary” diamonds. These are rare, but are more common than pink or blue. Different colors of yellow diamonds are on the diamond grading charts — the deeper the yellow the more expensive.

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7 Comments

  1. Posted December 7, 2008 at 6:26 am | Permalink

    There are many things that have been written about diamonds – facts just like these. But it is a refreshing change to read about diamonds being a source of life and hope for people especially the children.

    “Because of diamond industry, many children in the world can have their deserved education up to their age of 13…In India, around one million people are employed because of diamond industry.”

    For me, these things are what really make diamonds our “best friend”!

  2. Posted February 26, 2009 at 11:10 am | Permalink

    With all the talk about the negative side of the diamond trade, it is very nice to see the facts on the good that the diamond trade does globally.

  3. Posted April 27, 2009 at 6:58 am | Permalink

    One more interesting thing about diamonds is that many stones have been used as substitutes for diamonds. The idea is to get the similar look at a much lower price. In this context you would come across 2 stones namely zircon and cubic zirconia which are often used to replace diamonds. The interesting thing is that though these 2 stones have similar sounding names, zircon is a natural stone that is mined from the earth. On the other hand cubic zirconia is produced in a factory.

  4. Posted August 12, 2009 at 12:31 am | Permalink

    Great post with interesting facts, there are always the good and bad behind diamonds however diamonds will always be a girls best friend, they are the most beautiful stones out there and I have to say that, I have now fallen in love with the black diamond and I would love to have that as my engagement ring if only we could afford it. I am just loving this blog.

  5. Posted August 26, 2009 at 2:22 am | Permalink

    How stunning are the Black Diamonds, they really are very unique, when I first saw them I though no way they could possibly be diamonds and how ugly they were, but now they have grown on me

  6. Posted September 3, 2009 at 2:39 am | Permalink

    We here in South Africa, are lucky to have some of the most beautiful diamonds around, but people have to be aware of the fact that even in this day and age there are diamonds out there known as “Blood Diamonds” meaning that people have died and are slaves to mining these diamonds so make sure when buying diamond that you get a real certificate of proof that these are mined in the correct way.

  7. Posted September 21, 2010 at 5:24 am | Permalink

    That’s interesting, I didn’t even know that black diamonds existed, or that they are ‘extra-terrestrial’ formed probably by a meteor explosion. I wonder if black diamonds are worth more or less than the clear, crystal diamond…

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