It is diamonds that can rightfully be called the most famous gemstones. Diamonds, more precisely, are what they are called after cutting. However, these minerals are in demand not only in jewelry, but also in other areas of industry. That is why they are so expensive.
Pure emeralds without impurities and defects weighing more than 5 carats are more expensive than diamonds of the same weight and size. The earliest references to these minerals date back to 3000 BC. Diamonds were known even to the ancient Greeks, Arabs, Romans and Hindus. Interestingly, the name of the stone in different languages sounds different, but usually quite similar. For example, the Romans called the diamond, the Arabs – Almas, and the Greeks – Adamas or Adamantos. Only 80% of all diamonds mined are suitable for processing and turning into diamonds. The philosopher Plato wrote about diamonds. The ancient Greeks believed that heavenly spirits were hiding in stones. And the ancient Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds are tears of the gods. As a rule, a diamond is associated with a transparent color. However, diamonds are found in a wide variety of colors and shades, ranging from pale yellow and pink to dark brown. The most expensive are considered red diamonds. Due to the rarity and high cost of colored diamonds, stones are often painted artificially.
Heated to extremely high temperatures diamonds burn in a pale blue flame. Of all the gemstones, only diamonds consist of just one element, carbon. Miners have to process about 250 tons of ore to get diamonds weighing only 1 carat. For a long time, it was believed that diamond is the hardest material on Earth. But in 2005, the German physicist Natalya Dubrovinskaya synthesized a substance that is 11% superior to diamond in hardness. The substance received the very expected name – hype diamond. If you put the diamond in a vacuum, then it will begin to slowly turn into graphite. True, this process will take many millions of years. The first evidence of a diamond discovery was discovered about 4.5 thousand years ago. At that time in ancient China they were used to polish ceremonial axes. The axes were made of corundum and therefore succumbed only to diamond processing. All diamonds in the world are mined only by hand. The tradition of giving a diamond ring to a wedding dates back to the 15th century, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria presented his bride with such an ornament in confirmation of serious intentions. Since then, such gifts have become a tradition, including in Russia.
Diamonds are rarely found on the surface. Such findings account for only about 0.02% of world production. Diamonds come to the surface mainly with kimberlite – an ancient magma that once burst to the surface through a kimberlite pipe – a relatively narrow, slightly expanding vent to the top. The pipe and mineral are named after the South African city of Kimberley, near which the first such pipe was opened in the 19th century. According to some estimates, less than one percent of women in the world have a diamond weighing one carat or more. Most diamonds are mined in Africa. In second place is Yakutia, in which every fourth stone is mined. Of all known diamonds, the Cullinan diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905, is considered the largest. Its weight is 3106 carats, which corresponds to 621.2 grams! Blue diamonds highly valued by jewelers and buyers are very rare. This is exactly the same stone, but painted with a small admixture of boron. Boron is even lighter than carbon, and its presence at greater depths at which diamonds are formed is even less likely. In world history, the Hope diamond is considered the most unlucky. It is blue in color and weighs 45.52 carats. When ultraviolet rays hit it, it begins to shine with a bright scarlet color.
Despite their bewitching appearance, all its owners or members of their families were victims of accidents. The world’s largest transparent diamond is the Star of Africa. Its weight is 530 carats. Blood diamonds are sometimes called stones that were mined in the territory where military operations are being conducted. Often the money from their sale goes to finance the rebels. Typically, this applies to diamonds mined in Africa. Nevertheless, almost two thirds of all these stones are mined in Africa. On Saturn and Jupiter, it rains from diamonds. This is due to the chemical composition of the atmosphere on these gas giants. In the process of cutting, these stones, turning into diamonds, lose from 50 to 70 percent of the mass. At a distance of 50 light years from Earth, in the core of a pulsating white dwarf, is located a diamond weighing 1.1 times the mass of the Sun. They called him “Lucy” in honor of the popular Beatles song. For the first time, information about diamonds came to Europe during the campaigns of Alexander the Great. The flame of an ordinary candle consists of millions of tiny diamond crystals, but they can only be seen using spectral analysis. Artificial diamonds are created in special chambers where graphite is subjected to an enormous pressure of 5 GPa and a temperature of one and a half thousand degrees Celsius.
