Information About Diamonds

Earth gives us a lot of beautiful and useful resources. One of the most valuable resource is the diamond. It has been adapted to many uses due to its physical characteristics. While a woman loves to wear a big shiny diamond on her ring finger, a diamonded drill bit will go through the hardest stones. As natural diamonds are expensive and hard to find, people created synthetic diamonds for industrial use.

What is a Diamond?

A diamond is a hard natural substance composed of carbon atoms. It is the hardest mineral of the world. A diamond takes form at high temperature and pressure, conditions found deep into the crust of the Earth. The flawless diamonds are highly valuable gemstones. The diamonds used in industries are small and have impurities and flaws. The weight of a diamond is measured in carats (a carat is about 0.113 drams).

Etymology

The name of "diamond" comes from the Greek word "adamas", which means unalterable, invincible. The name refers to the diamond's qualities given by its hardness.

Sources

Natural diamonds can be found in kimberlites or in placer deposits. A kimberlite is a pipe-like formation resulted from volcanic and tectonic activity. A placer deposit is an accumulation in the stream sands where valuable minerals are deposited by water. A diamond ends up in a placer deposit if it is weathered out of the kimberlite and washed away by a river.

The synthetic diamonds are manufactured in laboratories and are created for industrial use.

Industrial Grade Diamonds

Most diamonds can't be used as gemstones and are sold for industrial use. The less expensive industrial diamonds are called bort, due to their poor quality (no clarity, flaws, small size, rounded shape). Industrial grade diamonds are produced in Brazil, Russia, China, Botswana, Congo, South Africa and Australia.
Despite the fact that most natural diamonds are destined for industrial use, there are more synthetic diamonds used for industrial purposes than natural ones.
Diamonds can be used for polishing, cutting and wearing away any other materials (including diamonds). Powdered diamonds are used as abrasives.

Gemstones

What makes diamonds popular is their use as gemstones. Diamonds can be used to make many types of jewels like rings, earrings, bracelets, tiaras and necklaces. Diamonds are used to such an extent that they are attacked to watches, mobile phones and even denture.

The four C's (carat, clarity, color and cut) are the qualities that make diamonds more or less valuable. The cut is important for light reflection, while the color for dispersion of the light in multiple colors. The colorless diamonds are the best ones as they allow the light to pass through easily and disperse it in all the colors of the rainbow. The flaws of the diamond determine its clarity and the weight determine the carat.

References

• Diamond
• The Four C's of Diamonds

Resources

• Diamond Info