Most people around the world are in agreement in at least one area. They consider diamonds to be one of the true wonders of nature, and are a sparkling gift to mankind to enjoy, revel in and treasure. The diamond is not only stunningly beautiful, it is also the hardest material known to man, both in terms of natural substances and also in the category of man-made substances.



The white, the blue or even the black diamond are much more than just a glittering jewel to enhance and enliven the fine jewelry that adorns women's and men's jewelry pieces. Indeed, diamonds are also put to work in many industrial and technology settings.

They are an essential component in industrial cutting blades which are widely used in manufacturing and construction. Diamonds are also used to help assure the precise movements of timing devices, such as watches and computer clocking devices. There is even work afoot to incorporate diamonds into computer circuitry.

One of the most attention getting aspects of these marvelous gemstones is the manner in which they seem to transform the light that passes through them. They seem to sparkle with an inner light that also flashes in a multitude of mesmerizing colors. Indeed, the diamond, in many ways actually stands alone from the other gemstones because of how it also seems to perfectly express such characteristics as wealth, abundance, strength and power.

Loose and cut diamonds are actually a form of carbon which is a chemical element and is a substance found in many other common natural items. In fact, while diamonds are the strongest, hardest and most durable type of carbon, it is also related to talc, which is the softest form of the same substance, carbon. Other types of carbon are gypsum, graphite and fluorite, to name a few.

The difference between the strength and dazzle of diamonds and other forms of carbons is simply in the formation of the atoms and how they are arranged in the different types of carbon. It is the immense pressure and intense heat that diamonds are exposed to that actually forms the diamonds and makes them into the hardest material found anywhere upon the earth.

The largest diamond that has been found to date is the Cullinan Diamond, which was found in a mine located in South Africa, as recently as 1905. The weight of the diamond when extracted from the earth was 621 grams, which translates into 3,106 carats, or more than six kilograms.

This astounding gem was later cut into nine separate gemstones, the largest of which came to be known as the Star of Africa with a weight of 550 carats. The Star of Africa is currently mounted as the centerpiece of the British Royal Scepter and is secured in the Tower of London, as part of the Royal British Crown Jewel collection.

It is estimated that about 80 percent of all diamonds brought out of the mines are not of high enough quality to be shaped, polished and set into jewelry pieces. The diamond that makes its way through the inspection, cutting, polishing and reinspection process will have undergone many steps and phases before it becomes part of a piece of fine diamond jewelry.