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 The
mere mention of a diamond inspires thoughts of luxury, love and
beauty. But why? The answer is in a combination of the diamond's
natural characteristics, the expense of mining diamonds and mankind's
customs and legends involving diamonds.
Although diamonds
are simple in composition-they're made of carbon, just like pencil
lead or charcoal-they are the hardest mineral on earth. They formed
billions of years ago under great heat and pressure many miles below
the earth's surface. Volcanic eruptions have pushed diamonds closer
to the earth's surface. Mining diamonds can be incredibly expensive.
The ratio of earth that must be processed to find a gemstone-quality
diamond is 250,000,000 to one. Of all the diamonds mined, only twenty
percent are gem quality. The rest are used for industrial purposes.
After being mined,
diamonds must be cut and polished before they can be used in jewelry.
To unlock a diamond's hidden beauty a skilled cutter must correctly
decide the final shape that will best fit the stone and then cut
with incredible precision. Often 50 percent of the stone is lost
during the cutting process. Even as far back as the ancient civilizations
diamonds were believed to be symbols of good fortune and true love.
The Greeks saw the light in the center of a diamond as the eternal
flame of love. In the 15th century, European royalty started the
custom of presenting their betrothed with a diamond ring to celebrate
marriage, a ritual that has been carried on through western culture
to the present.
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