April Birthstone: Diamond

It is the hardest material known on earth; its hardness reaches the maximum established by the Mohs scale, with 10 being the highest.

It is a carbon formation with a different molecular constitution, formed under conditions of extreme pressure and temperature at depths of 140 kilometers to 190 kilometers, in the Earth's mantle. Thanks to volcanic eruptions, they rise to the surface, and this is where we find them.

The ancient Greeks called diamonds "adamas," which means "invincible, indestructible." Warriors used diamonds because they believed they helped strengthen muscles and made them invincible.

The Greeks believed that diamonds were made of tears of gods, the Romans that diamonds were parts of star rings that had fallen to Earth, and the Indians believed that diamonds were formed when lightning struck a stone.

In addition to these fanciful ideas, some surprising characteristics of diamonds are their age: The first diamond deposits surfaced on Earth approximately 2.5 billion years ago, and the most recent ones are approximately 50 million years old...

Their hardness: A diamond is so hard that only a diamond can polish another diamond, but they are not only used for jewelry. Due to their hardness, they are used as an abrasive for tools to carve or drill very hard materials. For example, diamond saws, diamond-tipped drills, and instruments used in subsurface studies. Diamonds with more inclusions and very opaque colors are used for industrial purposes.

Their rarity: More than 250 tons of ore must be processed and crushed to obtain one carat of rough diamond, and only 20% is suitable for use as a gemstone.

Their density: A diamond is so dense that it slows down the speed of light to less than half its normal speed (128,720 km/s).

Fluorescence: 30-40% of diamonds emit flashes of blue light when exposed to ultraviolet light; some appear green, yellow, white, and less frequently, red.

Do you know the difference between a brilliant and a diamond? It's the cut! A brilliant-cut diamond is a round cut with 58 facets. There are other cuts for diamonds: princess, asscher, cushion, baguette... Do you know them?

Do you know how much a carat weighs? It weighs 200mg, and a carat is abbreviated as ct. Special scales are used to weigh gemstones and determine their exact weight.

Definitely, due to its unique characteristics, it's my favorite stone. What's yours?

Here are some examples of pieces we've made with diamonds.