Diamond

Girl’s Best Friend, Man’s Worst Nightmare

We have all heard of the saying that diamonds are a girl’s best friend but have you heard the follow-on to that? It is “a man’s worst nightmare.” Shopping for diamonds is one of the most stressful events that will happen in a man’s life. Get it wrong and you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of complaints. This article together gives you a brief history of the diamond, its uses, and where it is produced. Knowledge will be your best friend when on the hunt for the best diamond.

What is a Diamond?

A diamond is a native element of the carbon group. It is non-metallic and is mainly used as a gemstone. It is one of the hardest substances found in nature. A diamond is a transparent crystal with a clear and colourless appearance but small impurities can bring other various colours into the spectrum, like blue, pink, pale yellow, green, brown, purple, orange, black and red.

Where are Diamonds Found?

Diamonds are a polymorph of carbon and are found in the Earth’s mantle, they are brought close to the surface through volcanic eruptions solidified through magma into igneous rocks called kimberlites and lamproites.
Diamonds were first discovered in the Krishna River Delta in Southern India making it the biggest diamond producing country until diamonds were discovered in Brazil and later South Africa.Today most diamond deposits are mined in Russia, Australia, South Africa, Botswana, the Congo, Canada, India and Brazil. Arkansas still operates as a digging ground for natural diamonds.

How are Diamonds Used?

Besides being the most popular gemstone used in jewellery design, diamonds are thermally conducive, even more so than silver. Their hardness makes them most suitable for industrial uses, like:

• Diamond-tipped drill bits and saws
• A powder abrasive
• Containment for high pressure experiments
• High-performance bearings
• Specialized windows
• Future possibilities include microchips and heat sinks in electronics.

Information courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond

Conclusion

Diamonds don’t come cheap but they have an array of positive attributes that justify their expense. These attributes include extreme hardness and stability, broad colour range, high refraction, the highest melting point, very low reactivity to chemicals and of course its rarity. Besides all of this, buying the right diamond size will make you the man for years to come.

If you would like to learn more about minerals and mining visit our Mining and Metals page.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.