Diamonds are associated with luxury and wealth. In fact, these are cut diamonds, which, in turn, are a rare mineral carried by lava flows from the depths of the earth's crust. It is interesting that the “relatives” of diamonds are graphite (the one found in pencils) and coal. But due to pressure and temperature, diamonds look completely different.
Origin
It is impossible to say with certainty when diamonds were first discovered, because their appearance is associated with the origin of planet Earth. But when faced with the find for the first time, the man realized how valuable it was. Moreover, we are talking not so much about the issue of the cost of the stone, but about its natural properties, which in one way or another influence people.
Thus, the first mention in history says that diamonds were found in Indian rivers in the 4th century. BC e. But the date of the actual discovery of the stone belongs to 1867 in Kimberley. Today, South Africa remains the primary location for the gemstone.
Interesting facts
A real pure diamond can only be recognized by an experienced jeweler or gemologist who studies minerals. Moreover, it becomes a diamond only after appropriate processing.
However, in nature there is an analogue of a precious stone that, even without cutting, sparkles like a real diamond. This is the so-called Herkimer diamond, discovered in New York State, North America.
It is also sometimes called the Herkmayer Diamond because a deposit of rock crystal, polished by Mother Nature, is located near the city that bears this name. It is difficult to distinguish it from a diamond by its appearance, especially if it consists of homogeneous crystals.
Local residents who discovered this semi-precious stone value the Herkimer “diamond” no less than the real thing. In their opinion, it, like its expensive brother, has healing and magical properties.
“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” these were the words in one once popular youth song. Some poet came up with this to please the times when spiritual values began to be replaced by material ones. Firstly, these jewelry befits mature or married ladies. And secondly, no matter how wonderful they are, they can never replace live friendly communication.
Artificial Diamonds
Artificial diamonds are called synthetic, i.e. grown artificially. Data from geological processes, pressure, and temperature are taken into account, and as a result, a person receives an analogue that is barely distinguishable from a natural diamond. The crystals have a similar structure, but the synthetic sample has no defects or inclusions.
Artificially grown diamonds are usually used in industry, because devices for equipment, optical materials, and electronics are created on the basis of diamonds and diamond chips. In the jewelry niche, synthetic diamonds make up 3%, but the cost is much lower than natural samples.
A little about diamonds
Diamonds, especially clear ones, are the most famous gemstones. Their beauty, mysterious powerful force, and abundance of advantages have led to the fact that they are now used in almost all areas. A diamond is a diamond processed in a special way, which is one of the hardest materials in the Universe. It is known that diamond, which is very important in jewelry, is widely used in various types of production. But that’s not all: the magical and healing properties of diamonds are also of great importance. Read more about what is the difference between a diamond and a diamond →
This mineral comes in different colors - from white to black. The exact information about its origin is unknown.
Diamonds can be either natural or artificial. Let's talk about the first option.
Medicinal properties
Even though modern people are accustomed to receiving diamonds as a sign of attention, in ancient times they attached great importance to the stone, since they observed its healing effect on the human body.
- Diamonds help normalize sleep;
- Calm the nervous system;
- Helps improve dermatological ailments;
It was believed that the jewel strengthens the immune system and improves the functioning of human organs and systems. Diamonds helped ancient women who had lost hope of having a child to conceive, bear and easily give birth to offspring. In addition, the gem slows down the aging process.
Who to wear: people born under the diamond light
Let's see which zodiac sign diamonds suit. In astrology, according to the horoscope, the stone is closest to Aries. He brings love and financial prosperity into their lives. Lambs wearing such jewelry on their bodies achieve success in all endeavors.
Taurus are considered very vulnerable. Whoever's zodiac sign suits a diamond is for them, because the stone is able to drive away nervousness and doubts. Cut diamonds will become the best friends of all fiery representatives of the eastern horoscope, including Leo. For them, jewelry will enhance ambition and the desire for leadership.
Suspicious Libra feeds on diamonds for confidence that promotes success. Active and persistent Sagittarius wearing such jewelry can count on good luck and quick resolution of complex issues. But, the diamond is most suitable for Capricorns, giving them additional energy for new achievements.
Magic properties
People have been associated with diamonds for a very long time, and they observed some patterns that were difficult to explain in simple language. There are some signs associated with them, confirmed by eyewitnesses.
- Since ancient times, diamonds have been taken for hunting, which resulted in a rich “catch”;
- believes that the jewel helps to sharpen hearing and vision, and this was tested during the same hunt;
- In addition, the diamond protected the owners, who, by the way, if they had the stone with them, did not get into trouble, no matter how big or small.
Diamonds are a symbol of love - mutual, sincere and faithful. Giving jewelry to your chosen one was not just a romantic gesture - the pebble became a talisman of relationships.
Water element
Fish
Diamond is also suitable for water signs, but not for everyone. So, Pisces and diamonds are completely incompatible things. A stone with such strong energy will suppress soft and pliable Pisces, oppress them and put them into a state of depression.
Scorpion
The stone will bring neither harm nor benefit to Scorpios. For those representatives of the sign who have a particularly quarrelsome and complex character, it is better to avoid wearing jewelry with this stone altogether - it will strengthen such traits as intolerance and harshness.
Cancer
Cancers can wear diamonds, but not white, but pink, smoky or blue.
How to spot a fake
In the jewelry industry, there are so-called legal analogues of diamonds, be it a synthetic sample, cubic zirconia, mussanite (and their analogues). However, the documentation must contain information about the characteristics of the stones.
The most common methods for identifying a fake are:
- a diamond will easily scratch glass if you run a jewel across it;
- the pebble will be absolutely intact if you try to scratch it.
However, the surest way to verify the authenticity of a stone is to check its certificate, so it is better to purchase it in jewelry stores.
Air element
Scales
A diamond and the zodiac sign Libra are a good combination if the latter choose a yellow stone as their talisman. It is best to enclose it in a ring or ring. With such a stone, Libra is not afraid of career troubles and problems in relationships with people.
Aquarius
For Aquarius, a diamond will be an assistant in achieving their desired goal. But representatives of this sign cannot wear jewelry with it all the time - this will bring disharmony and a constant feeling of anxiety into their lives. Advice - Aquarius should wear this jewelry only in those moments when a difficult meeting is ahead or an important fateful issue is being resolved.
Twins
Geminis should not wear diamonds. For most of them, the stone will not bring joy; on the contrary, their mental balance will be disturbed, they will begin to doubt the correctness of any of their actions. In particularly difficult cases, you can develop neurosis and various nervous problems.
How to wear and care
Esotericists claim that wearing a diamond ring on a certain finger can have a great influence on a person:
- index finger: endows the owner with leadership qualities, determination, courage, helps a person in a leadership position;
- medium: suppresses impulsiveness, balances the wearer, gives inner harmony;
- unnamed: allows lonely people to determine their creative impulses, and will become a talisman for relationships for lovers;
- little finger: makes the owner eloquent, prevents confusion, for example, suitable for people associated with trade.
Who is suitable according to their zodiac sign?
Even in Ancient Egypt, it was believed that precious stones were directly related to the patron planets and the human horoscope. A correctly selected stone can positively affect the life of the wearer.
The diamond contains the energy of the sun, which connects it with the fire signs of the zodiac. These include:
- Aries;
- Lviv;
- Streltsov.
The diamond nourishes representatives of fire signs after strong emotional events and prevents them from falling into depression. It’s as if the world is once again painted in bright colors, and all illnesses and failures pass by.
But who should not buy diamonds are representatives of the air element. Libra, Aquarius and Gemini have their own energetic characteristics that do not correlate with the energy of the stone.
Cleaning
Whenever possible, contact of the diamond with human skin should be avoided, both when wearing and when cleaning.
- cleaning is carried out with a lint-free cloth or a piece of soft velvet;
- wet cleaning is carried out using a weak, low-alkaline soap solution, into which the stone is dipped for a couple of minutes, the water should not exceed 40 degrees. Soap can be replaced with an alcohol solution;
- After removing it from the solution, wipe the diamond dry and repeat the procedure if necessary. Do not leave it in the open sun.
Varieties and colors
Nature generously rewarded the royal stone with multi-colored shades. And although the color scheme is not the main characteristic of a diamond, it affects the classification of its varieties:
- The main and most common type is white transparent gems. Sometimes they have a yellowish tint due to the impurities they contain. Diamonds of impeccable quality deserve comparison with the crystal transparency of spring moisture. They are called “pure water” stones.
- Another variety are precious gems obtained by cutting black diamonds, called “carbonado”. Not all gemologists are ready to call this diamond a diamond due to the fact that nuggets are most often opaque. They do not have the traditional properties of a diamond - brilliance, sparkle and “game”; they are able to reflect light only with a polished surface. However, among the “carbonados” there are rare, quite transparent specimens. They are able to transmit light through themselves and refract it into a diamond shine. Due to their exceptional rarity, such diamonds have a very high price.
- The next group includes the so-called fancy diamonds. They got their name due to their varied colors. This includes very rare pink and blood red nuggets, which have a fairly high price. In this same variety there are truly amazing stones, both in size and in their extraordinary color. Among them there are blue, gray, green, yellow and brown minerals.
Regardless of size and color, each diamond is unique, so it easily finds its buyer.
HISTORY OF THE STONE
A ring with a diamond
The history of the diamond is shrouded in many secrets, mysteries and intrigues. There is a popular belief that the first diamond was found in India more than six thousand years ago. Both then and subsequently, until the 15th century, a diamond was valued almost less than all other stones. This is due to the fact that a rough diamond itself is not at all attractive. It acquires its beauty after careful cutting.
For the first time, they learned how to polish diamond faces in Ancient India. The most important diamond cutting center to this day is Amsterdam. A properly cut diamond can distribute the rays of light in such a way that a small wonderful rainbow is formed on all sides. Now there are several types of cutting. The best of them is French. Thanks to this treatment, the stone can shine like the sun. The fashion for wearing diamonds also came to us from France. The first court lady who noticed the wonderful aesthetic properties of a processed diamond and began to decorate her appearance with such precious stones was the favorite of King Charles VII named Agnes Sorel. This happened more than 500 years ago.
But even earlier, the diamond was popular, especially in ancient times. Julius Caesar considered him his talisman. Subsequently, Napoleon became very fond of this mineral. In Russia, the stone has been used in jewelry since 1500. Catherine the Great became the trendsetter for jewelry with this jewel. In 1905, in one of the colonies of Britain, namely in the Transvaal, the largest diamond in the history of mankind was found. This nugget had unique properties: it was completely transparent and did not include foreign impurities. Subsequently, it was broken into pieces and cut. One of the large diamonds produced from this diamond now adorns the British crown.
Mining locations
Since the discovery of the stone, diamonds have been mined by hand, from placers of various rocks in river sediments. This was the case until the 19th century, when scientists discovered diamond-bearing rocks in kimberlite pipes - underground passages filled with igneous rocks due to the explosion of volcanoes. For the first time such pipes were discovered in one of the villages of South Africa. Later, deposits were discovered on all continents of the planet, with the exception of the South Pole.
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Today the diamond mining areas are:
- Russia.
- Brazil.
- Kazakhstan.
- Botswana.
- Namibia.
- SOUTH AFRICA.
- USA.
- Australia.
- Canada.
Diamonds are also found in India, but today the deposits of the mineral there are almost exhausted. The global market for the extraction, processing and supply of gems is controlled by three monopolistic companies in Brazil, Russia and Africa. They also set the market value of the stone.
BRIEF MINERALOGICAL INFORMATION
At its core, a diamond is a cut diamond. An uncut mined mineral has visual defects and is not crystal clear. The processed diamond is transformed, takes on a different, “well-groomed” appearance, turning into a precious stone - a diamond.
Diamond in the Rough
Composition and physical properties of a diamond
The mineral diamond, which is then turned into magnificent diamonds, is nothing more than pure carbon. However, it may also contain some impurities:
- nitrogen;
- silicon;
- calcium;
- magnesium;
- boron;
- aluminum;
- sometimes - iron, copper, barium, etc.
Diamond has unique physical properties:
- It has no analogues in nature. Its density is 3.5 g/cm³, so the gem is so strong that it can scratch glass. No substance in the world can compare with a mineral according to this criterion.
- Jewelry diamonds are excellent heat conductors: three times more efficient than metals.
- Diamonds cannot withstand high temperatures and begin to melt at 4000 C°, turning into carbon dioxide (graphite). Therefore, diamond jewelry is stored in fireproof safes.
- In nature, diamond crystals have an irregular geometric shape. Gems with perfectly straight edges are extremely rare.
One of the biggest misconceptions is the myth that diamonds cannot be broken. Despite its phenomenal strength, a diamond can crack along its edges if it hits a hard surface.
How is it formed and mined?
Diamonds are gems that end up on the shelves of jewelry stores after long trials.
Diamond mining
It all starts with diamond mining.
- Millions of years ago, when the earth's crust was forming, fiery lava erupted from volcanoes, forming a so-called kimberlite pipe. Here, in the area of ancient craters, blasting operations are carried out.
- A huge mass of minerals, similar in appearance to crushed stone, is transported to the factory in trucks. Tons of mined rock are crushed into pieces measuring two to three centimeters each.
- Huge crushing devices process exclusively soft minerals and do not damage diamonds. The mined minerals are sorted from impurities, washed with abrasives, and jewelry samples are separated.
- Further processing is carried out by special robots. The work involves interaction with caustic acids, and people are not allowed to do it. Future diamonds are sent to be weighed: the stones are cut and then polished.
- At the very end of their journey, the diamonds are sent to the marking procedure in such a way that waste is minimal.
- Minerals are cut with a diamond-coated tool and sent to the workshop for turning. The polished gem is sent for cutting. This is how a magnificent diamond appears.
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Place of Birth
Modern diamonds are mined in two types of deposits: primary (kimberlite) and placer deposits.
Diamond mining in South Africa
The most famous diamonds were discovered in placers. The latter were located in India: at the moment these deposits are depleted.
- The leaders in diamond mining on the African continent are South Africa, Angola and Botswana. A kimberlite pipe discovered in Canada in 1991 allowed this state to take third place in diamond mining in the world.
- In the 50s of the last century, three kimberlite deposits were found in the Soviet Union on the territory of Yakutia: Zarnitsa, Mir and Udachnaya. This discovery allowed the USSR, and then Russia, to take an honorable second place in world diamond production.
- The record holder for extracting pink stones from the depths of the earth is Australia with its Argyle deposit.
