Diamonds

Often the subject of the wildest dreams and the most obsessive quests, the diamond is the hardest and most brilliant of all gems. And yet, its composition is the simplest possible: carbon in crystal form.

Diamonds are rare. No more than 350 tonnes have been sifted from the sands of time. They are notoriously difficult to obtain because 250 tonnes of minerals have to be extracted and processed for each 1-carat (0.20 gram) jewellery-grade diamond. The main diamond-producing countries today are: Australia (33%), Zaire (23%), Botswana (15%), Russia (14%) and South Africa (11%). The main diamond centres are India, Israel, Belgium (Antwerp) and the United States (New York).

Diamonds

Words fail to capture the beauty, brilliance and attractive power of diamonds. They are easily recognizable because they outshine all else. Did you know that the quality of its cut determines a diamond’s brilliance, lustre and inner beauty? The brilliant round shape is the most common, but many other cuts exist including the oval, marquise, heart and pear. Fashions change over the years and these days, we often see rectangular cuts such as the emerald and baguette.

A diamond’s purity is relative since all stones have infinitesimal inclusions or remnants of crystallization that are generally hard to see with the naked eye. These inclusions aren’t defects; they are Nature’s fingerprint in its creation. It makes each diamond unique.

Diamonds come in many colours, but for the most part, the colour is uniform. They range from yellow or maroon to truly colourless, which is admittedly rare. There are also green, red, blue and amber-coloured diamonds.

Famous Diamonds

Cullinan

At 3106 carats (over 600 grams), the Cullinan is the largest diamond ever found, conferring great renown to the Premier Mine, near Pretoria, where it was extracted. The story goes that when South Africa offered it to King Edward VII of England, it was simply mailed via parcel post whereas its glass copy was sent under escort. The Cullinan was cut into 9 huge stones and 96 brilliants.

Vargas

At 726.6 carats, the Vargas is the largest faceted diamond in the world and the third largest of all. It was found in Brazil in 1938. The 726-carat Jonker diamond is the fourth largest.

Jonker

The 726-carat Jonker diamond is the fourth largest.

Jubilee

Cut from a 655-carat rough stone, the Jubilee diamond’s 245-carats are resplendent in an 88-facet cut. Christened for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, it now belongs to a rich Parisian.

Koh-I-Noor

The 600-carat Koh-I-Noor, or “Mountain of Light,” is part of the Queen of England’s crown and is kept in the Tower of London.

Incomparable

On display in an American museum, the 407-carat Incomparable is the largest finished cut diamond.

Grand Mogol

Discovered in the XVIIIth century, the magnificent 280-carat Great Mogul Diamond is named after Shah Jahan, who built India’s Taj Mahal. It is believed that in its rough state this stone weighed nearly 800 carats. It disappeared and has yet to be found.

Orlov

The Orlov diamond, offered by Count Orlov to his lover Catherine the Great of Russia, is a magnificent 189.6 carat blue-green tinged stone from India. Legend has it that it was stolen from a temple near Madras (Chennai) by a French soldier and changed hands many times. It left a trail of crime and murder. It finally wound up in the Russian Imperial Sceptre where it remains one of the most prized jewels of the Kremlin Treasure.

Coloured Diamonds.

Coloured Diamonds.

Natural coloured diamonds are sometimes found and are displayed in museums these days.

Diamonds can be coloured through irradiation. Yellow diamond (which is not particularly valuable) is heated to obtain various colours such as pink, green, yellow, red, etc., depending on the amount of heat.