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Diamonds are perhaps the most well known gemstone in the world. Diamonds are extremely popular and valuable, due to their many beautiful and strong attributes. Diamond is made out of pure carbon; most Diamonds were created hundreds of millions of years ago deep inside the earths crust. Most Diamonds formed at least 100 miles in the earth under extreme heat and pressure. Diamonds have emerged through the eons via lava flows and other veins. They are known as the hardest substance known to man and usually come in many different colors, although the most valuable color is that of colorless or the extremely rare blue.
Diamonds are used primarily for two different things, usually clear and sport Diamonds which are Diamonds which include beautiful colors are used for ornamental jewelry, however there are plenty of other types of Diamonds that are usually very dull and do not exhibit the traits most pursued by Diamond lovers, these poorer quality Diamonds (usually about 80% of the Diamonds mined) are used for industrial applications such as saws, drill bits and as heat sinks in microprocessors. These industrial Diamonds are known as bort. Besides mined Diamonds, there is also a method to create artificial or synthetic Diamonds. While these Diamonds are not used for ornamental jewelry, they have many industrial applications.
About 20% of the Diamonds mined are used as ornamental jewelry, usually as stones weighing from 1/32 of a carat to 5 carats or more. Most people give their fiancé a Diamond engagement ring and for special occasions such as birthdays, Valentines Day or as an anniversary gift. While Diamonds are very expensive and usually cost hundreds of dollars per carat or more, clear, high quality Diamonds in sizes over 1 carat can cost thousands of dollars per stone. |
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The Diamond is the best known gemstone and usually the most expensive. While it is not the rarest gemstone available, it is usually the most expensive due to the way in which their supply is strictly controlled.
Diamonds are made from pure carbon, most were formed hundreds of millions of years ago deep within the earth’s crust. Most Diamonds were formed at a depth of about 100 miles and slowly have surfaced throughout the years. They tend to surface with lava flows and sedimentary veins. They also can come up through the sea beds as this is why they are often found loose near the shore line. However for the most part, the majority of Diamonds found are mined currently in South Africa and other sub Saharan African countries.
Diamonds come in a variety of colors, although a clear Diamond is the most commonly known. However the rarest form of Diamond is a blue Diamond which has traces of Borate. While clear Diamonds are usually sold commercially, Diamonds can come in colors called Sports. Sports are rich colors such as canary yellow, copper, black and even red. Diamonds that are clear sometimes have a tinge of yellow in them. The more yellow a Diamond has, the less valuable it is unless, of course it is a sport of canary yellow. Diamonds were first found and used in India and the mention of Diamonds has shown up in writings dating back to 300 years BC. They were used as amulets and ornamental jewelry. For the first 1,000 years AD, Diamonds virtually disappeared from Europe due to two phenomenons, they were shunned by the church, due to their pagan religious preferences and they were mostly found in Asia, which was not a trade partner of Europe at the time. However, as trade grew with Asia, Diamonds once again became popular. |
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