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

Did you know? - A few interesting facts about jewelry

• Did you know that even though a Diamond is known to be the hardest material mineral known to man, if you hit it with a hammer you would crush it to a powder? This so called “hardness” relates to it’s ability to scratch other materials. 

And by the way: Never test a diamond by scratching a glass surface, it will damage the surface of the diamond. Even an imitation glass diamond will scratch the surface of glass.

• Did you know that Platinum is one of the world’s strongest metals? It weighs 60% more than karat gold. Just holding it in your hand, you can feel the difference. 

Not everyone can own Platinum jewelry because there simply isn’t enough of it in world. For example: all the Platinum ever mined would fit in an average sized living room.

• Did you know that the largest gold nugget found in the U.S.A. was in California and it weighed 195 pounds? 

• Did you know that gold in it’s pure form (24 carats) is so soft that it bends easily like lead metal and has to be mixed with other metals to make durable jewelry? That is why gold comes in 18  carat gold, 14 carat gold, 10 carat gold, 10 carat gold being the one with less gold in it.

• Did you know that colored Diamonds are called “fancies” and are rare and those with pronounced colors are worth more than the finest white varieties?














Text: Sandra Kemppainen, photos: wikipedia, freedigitalphotos.net

Birthstones – Gemstones that tell about you January, February, March

Text: Susan Fred; photos: Sandra Rugina, Pasi Torkkeli

Are sapphires lucky for you and when will you benefit from using them the most? Do you know your birthstone?

For every month, there is a gemstone that is set to describe the person thatis born in during the month. Birthstones include precious gemstones, like diamonds, and semiprecious gems, for example turquoise. Birthstones describe the twelve months and people that are born in certain month the same way than horoscopes do.

All the birthstones are believed to have healing powers for different illnesses and health problems. All the birthstones also have different good features in them, like creativity or happiness. Birthstones are believed to bring extra luck on its own chosen month, so if you feel like you need some extra help with your lottery numbers, read on what gemstone will benefit you the most.

The twelve Birthstones:

1. January - garnet

2. February - amethyst

3. March - aquamarine

4. April - diamond

5. May - emerald

6. June - pearl

7. July - ruby

8. August - peridot

9. September - sapphire

10. October - opal

11. November - orange topaz

12. December - turquoise.

January: Garnet

Garnet is a gemstone comes almost in every color from red to yellow. It is

believed to bring Truth, Faithfulness, friendship and purity to the person who carries it. Some say, that Garnet brings commitment and awareness and also helps to remove negativity. This beautiful stone will help with blood, infection, lung and heart related health problems.

February: Amethyst

Amethyst is a beautiful Lilac Quartz. This gemstone is believed to bring inner strength, courage, peace, balance and sincerity to who uses it. In the ancient times the Greeks and the Romans thought that Amethyst helped to prevent drunkenness. Amethyst will help with health problems related with different addictions, insomnia, pain relief, issues concerning circulatory system and general healing.

March: Aquamarine

Beautiful blue aquamarines are the birth stone for March.

The properties that are linked to Aquamarines are friendship, courage and faithfulness. Aquamarines are believed to help with communication problems, awareness and responding time. This gemstone will help with health issues that include stress and throat related problems.

We will write about the other birthstones in each upcoming issue of Design Jewelry and Accessories Magazine.