Ten Things You Don't Know About Diamonds

Interesting Facts About Diamonds

Most of us think of diamonds as sparkling white gemstones found in jewellery. We know that they are rare, beautiful, almost indestructible and that, as the old advertisements say, "a diamond is forever" or "diamonds are a girl's best friend." Neither of which is true.

Here we share ten facts about diamonds that you probably did not know about. Read on and become an expert in diamond trivia!

1)      Diamonds were almost unknown in Japanese history and culture until an advertising campaign by De Beers, at one time the world's largest diamond miners and distributors, changed Japanese habits forever! The De Beers campaign promoted the idea of using diamonds in wedding jewellery. The campaign was so effective that today, the Japanese buy as much as 7% of the world's jewellery diamond production!

2)      An uncut and polished diamond, as it comes from the ground, is not beautiful. They look like rough grey stones. Only when a diamond is cut, shaped and polished by expert artisans a diamond becomes the thing of beauty that we treasure today.

3)      Only 20% of diamonds produced every year are used in jewellery. 80% of all diamonds are used in industry to make drill parts, abrasives and the like.

4)      Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance on Earth, and, possibly even more surprisingly, it is the only one comprised of a single element – carbon. Of course, most diamonds often include very slight impurities, but the diamond is unique in its pure form.

5)      BUT, diamond lost the title of "the world's hardest material" some time ago. Today there are man-made materials that are harder than diamond; however, this material is not suitable for jewellery and is absolutely not natural. In addition, we have now discovered a couple of extremely rare materials that are harder than diamond, but these come from meteorites. The first of these materials is wurtzite boron nitride which has a similar crystalline structure to diamond, and the second is lonsdaleite, which is also made up of carbon atoms. However, the physical structure is hexagonal. These materials are found in microscopic quantities and only ever in meteorites, and are not naturally occurring on Earth.

6)      As the world's hardest naturally occurring substance, a diamond can be scratched only with another diamond (or hypothetically by one of the man-made or extraterrestrial materials mentioned above.) As well as being exceedingly durable, they are considered fireproof. The melting point of diamond is a whopping 3547 degrees centigrade and needs a massive 4827 degrees centigrade for the melted diamond to boil.

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7)      Diamonds occur naturally in a whole rainbow of colours. Diamonds are found in hues ranging from light yellow, brown, green, blue, red, orange, pink, black and, of course, white. Coloured diamonds are called fancy diamonds; most of the colours are even rarer than white or clear diamonds. Even though there is a multitude of colours from which to choose, almost all jewellery is made using the classic white diamond. A coloured diamond may be impressive in its own right, but a clear white diamond is the real thing! We think that is a good thing. The cold fire of a sparkling white diamond connects to our emotions and desires.

8)      Astronomers have discovered a planet in the Milky Way galaxy composed almost entirely of carbon. The planet discovered in 2004 has been named "55 Cancri e". One-third of its mass is estimated to be pure diamond. Possibly even more impressive, scientists have identified a star entirely made of diamond with an estimated size of ten billion trillion trillion carats. Imaginatively, the star is named "Lucy" after the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

9)      Humanity has valued and enjoyed the beauty of diamonds for millennia. In India, there was active diamond trade almost 2,500 years ago. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, writing in the first century AD, noted, "Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones but of all things in this world."

10)   Diamonds have been valued and coveted for thousands of years. There is evidence that diamonds were being collected and traded in India as early as the fourth century BC. However, in those days, it was not possible to cut diamonds into the sparkling shapes we see today. Instead, diamonds were cut roughly and then laboriously polished to give a high shine. Modern diamond jewellery looks very different to that familiar to Indians 25 centuries ago!

While researching this piece, I found so many exciting items that I just had to add a couple of extra ones!

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11)   The sources for diamonds have changed over the centuries. The first known source for diamonds was India. By the 15^th century, diamonds were being sold in Europe. By the 18^th-century Indian supplies were running low. Fortunately, diamonds were found in Brazil, becoming the world's primary diamond source until the late 19^th century, when huge diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa.

Today, diamonds are sourced from many parts of the world, including Russia, Australia, North America, and all the earlier sources.

12)   The first recorded diamond engagement ring was in 1477 at the betrothal of Archduke Maxmillian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy. Maxmillian gave Mary a gold ring featuring her initial 'M' picked out in diamonds.

We Really Love Fine Diamond Jewellery!

At All Diamond, diamonds are in our blood! We love to share all that we know about diamonds and all the other precious gemstones we sell in our online jewellery store.

All our diamond jewellery is designed and handcrafted in the United Kingdom. We are always ready to help you choose the perfect diamond jewellery – no matter who it is for or its purpose! We back that commitment up with a lifetime workmanship guarantee and a 30 day period in which you can exchange or return any item you purchase.

Please take a moment to browse our collections of diamond jewellery. We are confident that you will find inspiring designs and prices that delight you!