Everything you wanted to know about diamonds.
Diamonds have a wide variety of uses since they are the toughest substance to date on Earth. However, under normal circumstances they are not any good for conducting electricity unless they are of the rarer form type IIB. Diamonds can however be used to conduct heat.
Diamonds are formed from carbon that is held deep in the Earth under great pressure and heat. The altered carbon is then forced up to the surface from the mantle in a uniqe form of magma called kimberlite which erupts from diatreme and pipe volcanic vents.
Due to the tightly compacted atoms and electrons in the composition of a diamond, it has the ability to reduce the velocity of light that passes through it. This is what gives a diamond its unique lustre.
It was first discovered to be carbon in 1796, and it took more than 150 years from that time until a method of diamond synthesis was invented.
Since diamond is so hard that only a diamond can cut other diamonds, it has many uses in industry. Diamond is a fundamental industrial material that is used to cut, grind, and polish most hard substances and therefore is used mainly in the cutting heads of industrial rock drills. Diamond, however, is also a high-tech super material for our technological age and will be showing up in more and more products in the future, probably in your home electronics, appliances, and automobiles.
Diamonds are also very popular as jewellery as they portray a classic look in design. Diamond jewellery is used throughout all forms of celebration from weddings, engagements, anniversaries and even sometimes for awards ceremonies.
Diamond jewellery is made using 18KT of gold because gold must have certain hardness for setting diamonds.
Diamonds have been recognised as a symbol of love, joy and romance since the 15th Century. This all came from a romantic gesture by Archduke Maximilian of Austria giving Mary of Burgundy a diamond ring on their engagement. Since this time, all forms of diamond jewellery have been deemed to show everlasting love and affection. Diamonds are also used to portray great wealth, status and success and are worn to show this.
Although diamonds are measured by carat, unlike gold, this is not the main factor in deciding the cost of the diamond. Diamond prices can differ quite a lot based on color, clarity and cut.
Not all diamonds are colorless. However, the colorless diamonds are more valuable than those that have a colored tint to them, since these colors are caused by impurities. Amazingly enough, one of the main contributing factors to the value of a diamond is the only human contribution to a diamond's brilliance and that is how a diamond is cut. Cutting can be performed in a number of ways such as deep cut, shallow cut and perfect length. Cutting colored diamonds is a different process to clear diamonds though, as the diamond needs to be cut to maximize the color.
A diamond displays the maximum amount of reflectance for a transparent substance, displaying what is called an 'adamantine' lustre. However, it cannot be polished again and again as it loses its properties.
Take a look at our website to learn more about buying diamond jewellery, and for more details on how you can easily start a diamond selling business.
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