Did you know? - A few interesting facts about diamonds

  
1. The word “Diamond” comes from the Greek word “Adamas” and this means “unconquerable and indestructible”.
2. In 1477 the Archduke of Austria gave a diamond to Mary of Burgundy. This was the earliest record of man giving diamond to a woman.
3. Diamonds worn in ancient times were believed to promote strength, invincibility and courage.
4. To produce a single one-carat diamond, 250 tons of earth will be mined.
5. The diamond is the hardest natural substance found on the earth.
6. Diamond is a birthstone for people born in the month of April.
7. Diamonds were first discovered in India and then in Brazil.
8. Diamonds have very large melting point of 3820K (3547’ C/ 6420’ F) and a boiling point of 5100K (4827’ C/ 8720’ F).
9. Most diamonds found in nature are between one to three billion years old.
10. A single diamond of two carats is worth more than twice a much as 2 one carat diamonds.
11. On average, each stone will lose 50% of its original weight during cutting and polishing.
12. Diamonds are carried to the surface by volcanic eruptions.
13. Although the US accounts for less than one-percent of total global gemstone production, America buys more than half of the world’s total gem quality diamonds - accounting for the world’s largest diamond market.
14. There are white dwarf stars in space that have a diamond core. Biggest diamond known in universe weights 2.27 thousand trillion trillion tons which is 10 billion trillion trillion carats, or a 1 followed by 34 zeros.
15. The largest diamond ever found was the Cullinan at 3106 carats.
16. 80% of the world’s diamonds are not suitable for jewelry.
17. Color of diamond is usually pale yellow to colorless, but can also be brown, blue, green, orange, red, pink and black.
18. The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is the worlds only diamond mine open to the public — this is a dig-for-free operation for tourists and rock enthusiasts. Since as far back as 1906, there have been more than 70,000 diamonds discovered in the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas — this includes the 40.23 carat “Uncle Sam Diamond” — the largest diamond of its kind ever found in the US discovered in 1924.
20. In traditional Hinduism diamond with some kind of flaw or flat or incut should be avoided because it carries bad luck.
21. Greek historian Pliny wrote that “diamond baffles poison, keeps of insanity and dispels vain fears”.
22. The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen on the earth.
23. Romans believed that diamonds had the power to ward off evil and wore them as talismans. They inherited this belief from Indian mythology.
24. A law in Thirteenth-century France decreed that only the King could wear diamonds.

Sandra Kemppainen

Photos: wikipedia, freedigitalphotos.net