Getting to know a girl’s best friend: Diamond Facts
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but how much do you truly know about them? Beyond their blinding brilliance and appeal, there is more to diamonds than meets the eye.
We’ve compiled the following diamond facts to give you some background behind the sparkle.
We’ve compiled the following diamond facts to give you some background behind the sparkle.
A fitting name…
The word diamond comes from the Greek word adamas, meaning indestructible, unbreakable or unconquerable.
4 Cs
A diamond is always categorised by the 4Cs: carat, colour, clarity, and cut, amongst many other characteristics. Focusing on just one of these elements is a big mistake: a diamond could have a high carat weight but still not sparkle as much as a smaller diamond with better clarity, colour and cut. Our expert team find the perfect balance and never purchase an item for the Rich Diamonds collection without viewing it with expert eyes, resulting in a showcase of the most exquisite diamond jewellery.
What’s your perfect balance?
A diamond is categorised by each element, the combination of which will determine its value. When choosing the ultimate diamond, it’s best to find the right balance for you, your ring and your personal style.
Written in the stars… a romantic history
Diamonds are billions of years old; the ancient Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds were tears cried by the gods or splinters from falling stars. Romans even believed that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds - arguably the earliest association between diamonds and love. How romantic!
Hardness of Diamonds
The diamond is the hardest natural substance found on Earth. To produce a single one-carat diamond, 250 tons of earth will need to be mined. Despite the amount of effort that goes into finding diamonds, 80% of the world's diamonds are not suitable for jewellery. The largest diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3106 carats, found by the miner Thomas Evan Powell in 1905.
The rise of colours in diamonds
Diamond is the traditional birthstone for the month of April, meaning that April-born ladies have a good reason to ask for gifts of sparkling diamond jewellery. However, not all diamonds are white. Diamonds can be a shade of blue, red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, green and even black.
In their pure state, diamonds are colourless. Red and green are the rarest coloured diamonds, with yellow and brown being the most common. When you get into colours like pink or very intense shades of green, purple, blue or red, the rarity is vast which means the value is significantly increased.
The 31.06 ct. Wittelsbach-Graff is one of the largest historic blue diamond’s ever fashioned. In late 2008, the diamond was sold at Christie’s, London to jeweller Laurence Graff for just over $24.3 million.
The desire of diamonds
The fascination with diamonds will never die. Their true beauty and stunning sparkle make them the ultimate addition to any collection. Diamonds are highly desirable as jewels; they polish well and are virtually scratch resistant, so much so they can only be scratched by another diamond.
As well as these diamond facts, to help you on the quest for your perfect diamond, we have created the Rich Diamond’s Diamond Cut Guide. Click here to view more.
We are diamond specialists. As such, we are experts at curating the best diamonds for you, and most importantly at the correct price. Please visit Rich Diamonds at 74 Bond Street when considering a gift purchase or investment.
We are delighted to say our diamond collection is expanding... our prices are not. Call us on 020 7491 0042 for a reliable, trusted shopping and selling experience. If you would like to buy or sell, email us at selling@richdiamonds.com
Back to News List