This upcoming Valentine’s Day, we decided to celebrate the shining diamonds and the glittering gems by gathering a few interesting facts about their source and their history.
The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds are the tears of the gods, and the Romans believed that cupid’s arrows are similar to diamonds. This is perhaps the earliest connection between diamonds and love.
In fact, diamonds are billions of years old. Diamonds were created tens of kilometers under the ground, and they rose to the surface as a result of deep volcanic eruptions.
Almost 100% of a diamond is carbon. Diamonds are created due to the connections between carbon atoms, which occur under planet earth’s surface because of the enormous heat and pressure over there.
These connections between the carbon atoms result in the beautiful crystal structure of diamonds.
The word diamond derives from the Greek word for invincible or indestructible.
Diamonds are the hardest natural substance, and the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.
Diamonds have been appreciated for thousands of years, as it is proven by the evidence that they were gathered and sold in India way back in the 4th century B.C.
In addition, there is a quote of Pliny the Elder, who said in the first century A.C. that
“The diamond is the most precious thing, not just amongst the gems, but also amongst all of the things in this world”.
The ancient Hindus used diamonds as the eyes of their religious sculptures, and they believed that a diamond can protect who wears it from danger.
In many ancient cultures, there was a belief that if you wear a diamond on your clothes during battle, then your clothes will receive strength, and in fact a few ancient kings wore diamonds on their armor when they went to war.
Throughout history, the main sources of diamonds have changed. For example, India was at first the main source for diamonds and its diamonds were sold in Venice and in other trade centers across Europe. In the year 1700 the supply of diamonds from India decreased, and Brazil became the main source in the world for diamonds until the end of the 19th century, when a huge reservoir of diamonds was discovered in South Africa.
Today, diamonds come from many places in the world, such as the diamond mines that are in Canada, Botswana, Namibia and Russia.
Credits to the Privet Diamond Club
The largest diamond that was ever discovered was a diamond that weighed 3,106 carat and it was called the Cullinan Diamond. This Diamond was discovered in a South African diamond mine in the year 1905. The owners of the mine gave the diamond to King Edward the VII. The Cullinan Diamond was cut into nine large diamonds and into 100 smaller diamonds.
The first known use of a diamond engagement ring was in the year 1477, when the Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave Mary of Burgundy a gold ring that in it the letter “M” is embedded with diamonds.
Diamonds that are created in the laboratory have the same chemical structure and physical traits as diamonds that were mined from the ground. Even professional gemologists can’t distinguish between laboratory diamonds and real diamonds without a comprehensive examination with special equipment.
Although diamonds give joy to those who receive them, they also brought a lot of suffering to people in countries in Africa, where there are diamond mines. Therefore, there are people who prefer to purchase handmade diamonds.