Diamonds have been a source of fascination for men and women centuries. They are the hardest, the most imperishable, and the most brilliant of all precious stones. The word “diamond” comes from the Greek word adamas, meaning “unconquerable” or “untamed” and diamonds have managed, with time, not only to increase their hold on our imagination and culture but also increase in stature in terms of how they are perceived.

Technically, a  diamond is a transparent gem made of carbon, one of the earth’s most common elements. The formation of diamonds began very early in the earth’s history, when the condensation of solid matter into a sphere caused the centre of the planet to become subjected to incredible extremes of temperatures and pressure. This changed the crystalline structure of carbon to something far more dense than anything else encountered on the planet. There are two things which have been born out of this, one is an inspirational saying and the other is a paradox. The saying goes: “A diamond is only coal made good under pressure” – it means that any of us, under pressure, can become something far better than we currently are. The paradox is that diamond, the hardest material known to man, able to be cut only by another diamond, or our most powerful lasers, is organic and, as a result, can actually burn.

In the beginning then it was these conditions that caused deposits of carbon to begin to crystallise deep in the earth. As the earth’s surface cooled, volcanic activity forced streams of magna (liquid rock) to the surface, carrying with it the diamond crystals. Later, the diamond-bearing rock hardened, encasing the diamonds in vertical volcanic “pipes”.

But not all diamonds are found where they first came to the surface. Subsequent erosion of the topsoils over millions of years washed some of the diamonds into streams and rivers, and sometimes as far away as the sea. It is highly probable that they were first discovered in areas such as these, far away from their original location. There was additional tectonic movement, floods and even earthquakes all of which served to fracture some of these volcanic pipes into segments and move them laterally under the crust of the surface.

The atomic structure of a diamond gives it the property of being the hardest substance known to man whether natural or synthetic. The diamond is thousands of times harder than corundum, the next hardest substance from which rubies and sapphires are formed. Even after many years of constant wear, diamonds will preserve their sharp edges and corners when most other stones will have become worn and chipped. This makes them virtually eternal and perfect as cutting tools which never get blunted as they are the hardest of anything around them.

Hardness, however, is not the same as being indestructible. As we have already seen a diamond will burn given a high enough temperature. A diamond can also fracture. A diamond’s crystal structure has “hard” and “soft” directions which depend on the orientation of the carbon crystals within it (think of it as the grain of wood and you get the idea).  A blow of sufficient force, in a very exact direction, can crack, chip, split or even shatter a diamond.

The History of Diamonds

As you’d expect our fascination with diamonds has given birth to many legends about them. From myths about valleys of diamonds protected by snakes, to the production of millions of carats in rough diamonds each year, the history of diamonds is one of mystical power, beauty and commercial expertise.

The Early History of Diamonds

The first recorded history of the diamond dates back some 3,000 years to India, where it is likely that diamonds were first valued for their ability to refract light. In those days, the diamond was used in two ways-for decorative purposes, and as a talisman to ward off evil or provide protection in battle. Those diamonds were still rough in many ways and ancient man probably valued their toughness as a sign of an element from beyond the earthly plane.

The Dark Ages

The diamond was also used for some time as a medical aid. One anecdote, written during the Dark Ages by St Hildegarde, relates how a diamond held in the hand while making a sign of the cross would heal wounds and cure illnesses. Diamonds were also ingested in the hope of curing sickness. During the early Middle Ages, Pope Clement unsuccessfully used this treatment in a bid to aid his recovery from a major illness which eventually killed him.

The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages more attention was paid to the worth of diamonds, rather than the mystical powers surrounding them. Due to the heightened public awareness of the value of diamonds, mine owners perpetuated myths that diamonds were poisonous. This was to prevent the mineworkers swallowing the diamonds in an attempt to smuggle them out of the mines.

The popularity of diamonds surged during the Middle Ages, with the discovery of many large and famous stones in India, such as the Koh-I-Noor and the Blue Hope. Today India maintains the foremost diamond polishing industry in the world.

As the Indian diamond supply dwindled, smaller finds occurred in Borneo and Brazil, but these were not sufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand for diamonds. The mid-nineteenth century discovery of diamonds near the Orange River in South Africa sparked the world’s biggest diamond rush, and helped to satiate the world’s increasing appetite for diamonds, for a while.

Recent Times

During the mid-nineteenth century, diamonds were also being discovered in eastern Australia. However, it was not until the late 1970′s, after seven years of earnest searching, that Australia’s alleged potential as a diamond producer was validated.

On October 2nd 1979, geologists found the Argyle pipe near Lake Argyle: the richest diamond deposit in the world. Since then, Argyle has become the world’s largest volume producer of diamonds, and alone is responsible for producing over a third of the world’s diamonds every year. The other largest producer of diamonds in the world is, of course, South Africa. Its famous diamond fields, for years under the protectorate of Britain, have supplied some of the most famous stones in recent times.

Different Types of Diamonds

It helps to know a little about the different types of diamonds available today.

Pink Diamonds

The pink diamond is the world’s most rare and valuable diamond. The Argyle mine is the world’s foremost source of unrivalled intense pink diamonds, producing 95% of the world’s supply. However, an extremely small proportion of Argyle Diamonds production is Pink colour, in fact less than one tenth of 1% is classified Pink.

The legend of Argyle pink diamond has grown over the past ten years. At the 1989 Christie’s auction in New York a 3.14 carat Argyle pink sold for $1,510,000. Privately, Argyle has sold pink diamonds for up to $1 million a carat.

For years the white diamond was considered the world’s most beautiful diamond, until the discovery of the Argyle mine heralded the arrival of the Argyle pink diamond. Never before had pink diamonds displaying such intense shades of colour been seen. The pink diamonds of India, Brazil and Africa were characteristically light in colour and paled even further when placed beside the intensely pink Argyle diamonds. The natural colour diamonds have in fact been around as long as the classical whites but in much smaller quantities and never in great demand.

The Argyle pink diamond comes in shades ranging from delicate pastel rose to robust raspberry and full-blooded purple-reds. The prices per carat are determined by the intensity of colour. Argyle selects only its most vibrant pink diamonds for polishing at its head office in Perth. There, the stones are polished in a wide range of cuts, such as round brilliant, marquise, oval and pear, to enhance their natural beauty. Polished pink diamonds are available in the same size ranges as traditional commercial sizes.

White Diamonds

White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The white diamonds recovered from the Argyle mine in Australia are particularly brilliant and of high quality.

Champagne Diamonds

Champagne diamonds are naturally coloured diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colours from light straw to rich cognac.

The 4C’s of colour, cut, clarity and carat weight apply to coloured diamonds just as they do to colourless diamonds except the intensity of colour, not lack of it, plays a greater part in the valuation.

Pink Champagne Diamonds

Attractive champagne diamonds with secondary pink colour are also available and command a higher price per carat than champagne diamonds. These stones display slight to bold flashes of pink in their fire.

As pink is one of the rarest colours found in diamonds, even secondary colours demand a higher price depending on depth and strength of colour.

Yellow Diamonds

Fancy yellow diamonds come in a broad range of shades ranging from light yellow to a rich canary colour.

Blue Diamonds

Fancy blue diamonds are available in a wide range of shades, from the blue of the sky to a more “steely” colour than sapphire.

Green Diamonds

Fancy green diamonds are also available. Usually, penetration of the colour is not very deep and is often removed during the fashioning of the stone.

Diamond Simulants

Because diamonds are so expensive there are, of course, stones which often serve a similar function as diamonds in jewelry. They are never to be confused with the real thing. Knowledge of them helps.

Cubic Zirconia

Cubic Zirconia (CZ) is the most commonly encountered diamond simulant. All commercial CZ is formed in laboratories however, it is also found in nature. In both its synthetic and natural forms, CZ is colourless but colour can be introduced. A thermal pen tester can quickly and easily detect CZ.

Synthetic moissanite

Synthetic moissanite is a new diamond simulant to join the long list of products that imitate diamonds. Although moissanite is being marketed as a new unique, synthetic gemstone, some of its properties are close enough to those of diamonds to lead to confusion in the trade.

Natural moissanite was first identified in a meteorite crater at the beginning of the twentieth century however, most is produced synthetically as natural moissanite is very rare. Chemically, it is ‘silicon carbide’, also known as ‘carborundum’, which is widely used for abrasive purposes and for use in the electronics industry.

Synthetic moissanite is a diamond simulant like Cubic Zirconia however, it can be passed as a diamond by the widely used thermal pen testers because it has similar thermal characteristics to diamonds. However, it can be easily identified by other methods.

Diamonds, of course, can easily be detected. Apart from their chemical and thermal characteristics the easiest test of all is the scratch test. A diamond will scratch every other stone’s surface though itself will remain unharmed.

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