What Makes a Diamond a Diamond?

When most people outside of the diamond trade think about diamonds what they usually visualize is a nicely cut diamond on a ring, pendant, broach, earring, necklace or other piece of jewelry. But how do those diamonds find their way from some far off obscure diamond mine to their final destination as part of a beautiful piece of jewelry? After all what we are talking about here is a chunk of carbon not all that different from a lump of coal. Whats so great about the rocks we know as diamonds?

The finished diamonds journey begins shortly after being removed from the ground where for eons a piece of carbon enduring immense heat and pressure finally emerges as a rather lackluster rock. It's next step in it's journey is to undergo a thorough examination. At this point it is decided if a particular rough diamond will make the final cut. (Please excuse the pun, but a full 75% of rough diamonds will never reach the stage where they are cut into the final shapes we are familiar with).

It would not be correct to label the 75% of failed jewelry quality diamonds as failures. These stones which are among the hardest substance known to exist make their way into industry. There hardness makes it possible for oil drill cutting tips to cut through rock. Applied to special saws these diamonds will spend their life cutting granite and other extremely hard material. Your dentist may improve the dazzle of your teeth with the use of a diamond drill.

You probably have spent hours using a phone or computer without realizing that in many cases that is only possible because of the diamonds ability to conduct heat and excel as insulators. Once these qualities of the diamond were widely recognized extensive research began to learn how to produce man-made diamonds. This research has been successful and many industrial diamonds are now man made.

Lets get back to the journey taken by the 25% of those diamonds that progress through the final stages of a finished diamond. The potential diamond must pass inspection for qualities of transparency, brilliance, sparkle, and color

Once these qualifications are met the stone will be hand split by a diamond cutter and then finished ground into it's final shape. The method of grinding the facets that produce the shape and sparkle of the finished stone were not perfected until the early 20th century when a system devised by a mathematician by the name of Marcel Tolkowsy began to be used to grind the finished facets.

Because this treasured diamond is made of carbon it will like us humans meet it's demise. It may be millions of years before this occurs but it is really not correct to state that "Diamonds are forever" despite what 007 James Bond movies would have us believe.