If you were to ask what the most popular stone in the world is, without even adding the word precious, most people are going to say the diamond. These sparkling gems have been captivating humanity for centuries, and their popularity only seems to grow!
The diamond is easily the most popular choice for jewellery, and high-quality stones like the gorgeous hearts on fire diamond are a favourite gift for a cherished loved one celebrating a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. But, have you ever wondered what it is that makes diamonds so unique and special in a world made of rocks? Let’s take a closer look through our jeweller’s loupe at everybody’s favourite stone!
The name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek word adamas, a word that connotes indestructibility, and indeed the stone comes close to living up to its name! The reason for its incredible durability is that a diamond is made of one single element, carbon. The diamond is a group of carbon atoms crystallised in a cubic arrangement, making it the hardest mineral on Earth, and completely scratch-proof, and it can be used to scratch practically anything, even steel!
If you have a stone you think is a diamond but aren’t sure if it’s real or not, the first thing to do is to examine it through that jeweller’s loupe to see if there are any scratches on it. If there are, it’s probably made of glass, a common form of costume jewellery. If you still aren’t sure, you can try putting it through a test by fire! Hold the stone with a long pair of tweezers over a candle flame for thirty seconds, then drop it in a bowl of ice-cold water- if it’s a real diamond it will be completely unharmed, if it’s a fake it will shatter into tiny shards! It’s probably best to make sure the stone’s owner gives you permission first, even a piece of fake, costume jewellery can have value, even if it’s just sentimental!
So, where on Earth do diamonds come from? The actual question to answer is where in the Earth do they come from, as they are formed deep underground, between 120 and 200 kilometres beneath the surface! The Earth’s upper mantle has rocks made of carbon atoms that slowly sink deeper within. When the carbon rocks hits the main mantle below, a very hot place indeed, the carbon rocks melt and if the conditions are just right in terms of pressure and temperature, the rock’s carbon atoms will bond into diamond crystals.
Once that happens, the diamonds begin a slow journey back to the surface as the tectonic plates shift, a trip that can take thousands of years, which is part of why diamonds are so rare! The diamonds are then carried up by magma in volcanos! If you are very lucky you might stumble across one while hiking around an ancient lava field, but for the most part, we have to dig down in mines to find them, which also makes them so expensive!The diamond really is one of the world’s natural wonders, a stone that looks like ice, but is born from fire!