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DIAMONDS

Diamonds Encompassing fact and fiction!

He was an abandoned infant lying by the banks of river Yamuna. He was found by

the daughter of the lowly mahout and taken to the royal court. He was distinctive

because he had a large diamond attached to his forehead. He was none other than

Karna the legendary son of Surya. And the diamondwas the one that came to be

known as the Kohinoor.

For centuries and generations, diamonds have captured human imagination and

fuelled myth. A diamonds tantalizing beauty coupled with its magical quality and

strength has been used to convey sentiments ranging from sublime romance to

indomitable courage.

Diamonds are one of the most valuable gems known to mankind. History and lore

invoke the romance and allure of diamonds. Diamonds have also been referred to as

vajra in Sanskrit. Vajra meaning thunderbolt as they were believed to be

formed by lightening ! The word diamond comes from the Greek work adamas

meaning unconquerable.

Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond engagement ring to his fianc,

Mary of Burgandy, thus starting the tradition of a diamond being the favored

gemstone for engagement rings.

A diamond is a mineral made of crystallized carbon and is the only gem that is made

of a single element. Gem diamonds are typically 99.95% pure carbon and the

balance 0.05% are impurity elements that in some cases influence the shape of the

crystal or impart colour. Nitrogen, for example imparts a yellowish colour and

boron a bluish colour to the diamond. It is the combination of the chemical

composition and crystal structure that produce the optical and physical properties

that make diamonds and most gemstones, durable, beautiful and valuable.

Diamonds are formed between 120 and 200 kms below the earths surface where the

necessary temperature and pressure to create diamonds exist. They are brought to

the surface of the earth by volcanic eruptions. After reaching the surface, somediamonds settle back into their volcanic chimneys or pipes, known as kimberlite or

lamproite pipes and some after many years of erosion, get washed away into rivers

and streams creating alluvial deposits. Its outstanding resistance to physical and

chemical erosive agents has made it possible to find diamonds in secondary deposits

and therefore making it almost impossible to establish any relationship between

present deposits and the place of origin.

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Diamonds were first discovered in India before 500 BC. India was the only major

source of diamonds for more than 2000 years. The famous Indian Mines were The

Kollur Mines in Golconda. Many famous diamonds bear their origin to these mines

like the Kohinoor Diamond, The Hope Diamond, The Black Orlov and several

others. These mines have since been exhausted. In 1631 Jean-Baptiste Travernier,

a French jeweller and traveller, visited the Indian mines and documented the Indianmining techniques. He also took back with him several diamonds to France and was

thus the first European trader who bought and sold gems and opened the diamond

trade between India and Europe. India is no longer a significant producer of

diamonds, however, the Diamond Cutting Industry is flourishing. Bombay, (along

with Surat) is one of the five major Cutting Centers in the world. The other four

centers are Antwerp in Belgium, Tel Aviv in Israel, Johannesburg in South Africa

and New York in U.S.A.

In the early eighteenth century, diamonds were discovered in Brazil, a Portugese

Colony at the time. The Brazilian diamonds were not easy to sell because it was

believed that they were inferior Indian Diamonds that had been shipped to Brazil.These diamonds were then sent to the port of Goa in India (which was a Potugese

colony at that time) and reshipped to Brazil and sold as Indian diamonds.

Diamonds in Brazil were discovered in Diamantina (formerly known as Tejuco in

Minas Gerais. Some of the famous diamonds from Brazilian Mines are the English

Dresden and Eugiene.

In 1870 diamonds were discovered in South Africa. South Africa became the major

source of diamonds. Some of the famous mines in South Africa are Jagersfontein

Mine, the Kimberly Mine, The Wesselton Mine, The Finsch Mines and the Premier

Mine where the largest diamond was found. The diamond was named Cullinan

after the owner of the mine, Thomas Cullinan, and weighed 3106 carats in rough.

Other famous diamonds from South Africa include The Excelsior, Eureka, Great

Chrysanthenum, Taylor-Burton, etc.

Diamond deposits are also found in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Sierra Leone,

Angola, Russia, Australia, China and Canada. Australia is the largest source of

diamonds today. Although Australian diamonds are small they include a range of

fancy colours like brown, pinks and purplish reds. The main source of diamonds

from Australia is the Argyle Diamond Mine.

Diamonds , like most gemstones are measured in metric carats one carat being

equal to 0.2 grams. As weight increase, so does the price. Since large diamond

crystals are rare, the price per carat would be higher (by a large margin) for larger

gemstones.

Clarity is the degree to which a diamond is free of blemishes and inclusions.

Inclusions have a greater impact on the value, beauty and durability of the

gemstones than do blemishes. Inclusions provide valuable information about how

diamonds are formed. They also help the cutter decide how to deal with a rough and

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most importantly, they help separate diamonds from its simulants. Diamonds

without inclusions are very rare and command very high prices. A flawless diamond

would be described as a diamond showing no inclusions or blemishes when observed

under 10x magnification.

Diamonds are found in many colours but most diamonds sold in the jewelleryindustry range from colourless (very rare), near colourless to very light yellow or

brown. Slight colour differences in diamonds of comparable weight and clarity can

make a huge difference in price. Fancy colours which include yellow, brown, pink,

purple, blue, orange and red make up a small but exotic part of the diamond

market. Reds and greens are the rarest of the fancy colours, followed by blues and

pinks. Diamond is the only gemstone where the absence of colour makes it more

valuable.

Many diamonds and some other gemstones glow when exposed to ultraviolet rays

such as the sunlight and fluorescent light. The most common fluorescence colour in

gem diamonds is blue, others being white, yellow and orange. Many colour termshave been used to describe stones from different mines. Colourless diamonds with a

blue fluorescence were called jagers (pronounced as yagers) after the

Jagersfontein mine which produced many such stones. River was used to describe

colourless diamonds with no fluorescence. Cape was used for distinctly light

yellow stones from the Cape of Good Hope; Premier from the Premier Mines was

used for yellow stones with a blue fluorescence and Golconda was an old trade

term used to describe exceptionally transparent, colourless diamonds. Today, we

have a more standardized colour grading system.

The colour of metal used for mounting diamonds can either mask or enhance the

colour of diamonds. Yellow metal masks the colours of blue stones but makes

slightly yellow diamonds appear more colourless while darker yellows and browns

(fancy) look darker and richer. White metal on the other hand, makes slightly

yellow or brown stones look yellower and browner but enhances the colours of blue

stones.

Nature gives each crystal a unique character. Much of the potential beauty and

value of the finished stone lies in the rough crystal, however, it is cutting - the

human contribution - that makes each stone look its best. Cutting is the art that

transforms a rough diamond into a dazzling gem. Even the most efficiently cut

diamond retains only about 40-50 percent of its rough weight.

Modern cutting is so precise and standardized that most diamonds are cut with

proportions that create an attractive display of a diamonds optical characteristics.

The standard round brilliant with its 58 facets is the most popular cut as it

produces an even display of brilliance, fire and scintillation. This cut was perfected

by Marcel Tolkowsky, a member of the Belgium cutting family. Diamonds cut close

to the Tolkowsky model are slightly more expensive as they result in more weight

loss from rough than stones cut to other proportions. Today diamonds have larger

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tables than Tolkowsky originally proposed. All shapes other than rounds are

known as fancy shapes and these would include oval, heart shaped, triangular, the

emerald cut, marquise, pear and baguettes.

It takes more than 200 tons of earth to be processed to get one carat of diamonds.

Only a quarter of the diamonds mined every year become jewellery, the rest is usedfor industrial and scientific purposes.

Carbon with its humble beginnings goes through a grueling transformation under

intense pressure and excruciating heat spread over millions of years to yield the

magnificence of a diamond. The awe and wonderment that a diamond evokes lies

not in the extraordinary mining effort but in the fact that perfection was attained by

nature.