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 home learning library diamond
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Fast Facts
| Diamond is the hardest known gemstone on earth. |
| In 1477, Archduke Maximillian gave his betrothed a ring set with a diamond as a love token, making it the first recorded diamond engagement ring. |
| Diamond comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning invincible. |
| Some beautiful purple color garnets will often be found in kimberlite (blue ground) soil samples in diamond rich areas and called diamond indicators. |
 As diamonds are formed by nature, most naturally develop minute imperfections known as inclusions. A diamond is considered “clean” if a trained eye cannot see inclusions when viewing the diamond through a color corrected lens at 10 times magnification. |
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Diamond is crystallized carbon, the only gem composed of a single element. The most popular diamonds are traditionally colorless, but they can also be found in yellow and brown colors. Although much rarer, diamonds known as “fancies” also come in blue, red, pink, green, orange, black, lavender and purple. On Mohs’ scale of hardness, diamond is the world’s hardest substance at 10. It has a high luster and primary sources include South Africa, Namibia, Australia, Botswana, Russia, Zaire, Brazil, Ghana, Angola, Central African Republic and Canada.
Color
The most popular diamonds are traditionally colorless, but they can also be found in yellow and brown colors. Although much rarer, diamonds known as “fancies” also come in blue, red, pink, green, orange and black.
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| Learn more about this and other gemstones, by reading one of the many fine gemstone books available from Jewelry Television®. |
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