What is Diamond ?

One of the crystalline forms of carbon. It is historically known as a gemstone, however, it is the physically hardest substance known and is now widely used as an abrasive in high productivity tools in industry. & Also Jewellery.

History

Diamond is the birthstone for month of April and anniversary gemstone for the 10th and 60th years of marriage. The name 'DIAMOND' comes from the Greek word 'ADAMAS'. It means unconquerable - suggesting the eternity of love.

Since ancient times in Greece, diamonds have been the traditional symbol of love. The ancients believed they were hardened dew drops, splinters from crystallized lightening. A diamond, the hardest substance known to man is crystallized carbon with unique powers of light reflection. Because it is composed of a single element, diamond is the purest of all gemstones.

Diamond is a colorless stone. But sometimes colours are YELLOW, BLUE, RED, AMBER, PINK & GREEN. The history of diamonds dates back millions of years. Actually, it takes many years to create a diamond. Diamond is actually coal that was crystallized in the earth's depths under tremendous temperatures and pressure. That's why diamonds are called the hardest substance

Diamonds can also be found from the sea especially where there is a coral formation. Diamonds were first found in India in Karnataka state. Since then, loads of diamonds have been discovered, especially in Africa and Australia.

Today most of the diamond mines are centralized in Africa and Australia. The most precious diamond is the one which is colourless. Similarly, to increase the value of a diamond, achieving a very fine cut is also important. Diamonds are all the more expensive since cutting the diamond is a delicate and tedious procedure. Of course, the marquise and heart shapes are less expensive.

Thus, the most expensive diamonds will be coloured like water and be in a rounded shape.

Diamonds are graded by four characteristics: Cut, Carat, Clarity, and Colour. All four of these properties determine how much a diamond is worth.
 

Diamond Process

Find Rough Diamond Mines è Rough Assortment è Planning, Marking & Cutting Diamond è Polish Processing è Diamond bruiting Actual (Round Shape) è Pavilion Polishing Facet è Crown Facet è Ready

Since we see the results every day in jewelry stores, we know that rough diamonds can be cut, but only by other diamonds -- usually in the form of diamond dust. The rough diamond in the photo below is an excellent specimen of an octahedral crystal, the most common of the many shapes of rough diamond. This is called the habit of diamond crystal.

When such a crystal is fashioned into a brilliant jewelry gemstone, the diamond cutter takes the stone through many detailed steps, the most important of which are:

Cleaving
When a rough diamond is determined to be suitable, it is carefully studied for every detail of its structure. It will then be marked and given a sharp blow with a special hammer to separate the stone into two carefully planned parts. This is a risky undertaking, and only used in rare cases since the advances in mechanical cutting devices allow even the most difficult stones to be cut with little attention.

Cutting
In most cases, a diamond will be cut with a saw blade. Since diamonds are the hardest material known (which means they cannot be scratched with any other substance), only diamonds can cut diamonds. So the diamond is securely mounted and held against a thin alloy blade impregnated with diamond dust and covered with linseed oil. As the blade turns, it carries small particles of new diamond dust which sticks to the oil and continues the process until the entire diamond is split in two. This can take several days for a diamond over 1 carat or more.

Bruting
After a diamond is the height and width desired, it is crudely shaped into the round or other shape by rubbing it against another diamond on a high-speed lathe specially designed for the purpose. The bruter takes the rough from an octahedral shape to a more rounded shape in the case of many round brilliant diamonds.

Faceting
Then the long and precise process begins to create the many facets that you have seen on diamonds in stores. Each facet is created by grinding the diamond on a horizontal blade as it spins with diamond dust and linseed oil, similar to the cutting blade.

First, the large facet at the top is ground until level and smooth. Then the major facets are created on the bottom (called the pavilion), followed by the large facets on top (called the crown). Then the pavilion facets are refined into more facets, followed by the crown facets. The final touch is often the tiny flat facet at the point of the pavilion, called the culet.

The finished round brilliant diamond, for instance, will have 58 facets, including the tiny culet and large table facets.
 

Cut
What is the proportion of the diamond? Round brilliant diamonds are commonly cut with 58 facets. The better proportioned these facets are on the diamond, the more light will be reflected back to the viewer's eye. This is extremely important. When cut properly, the diamond will sparkle more. Diamond cuts are measured by the table percentage with a good table percentage remaining between 55-60%. Cut also refers to the shape of the stone such as round, pear or oval. If you are having a diamond mounted, write down the measurements of your stone. Measurements never change. Measure the stone after its mounting and verify that it matches the appraisal certificate and the measurements you noted.

Carat
How big is the diamond? Larger diamonds often cost more per carat due to their size. There are 100 points to a carat. Hence a 50 point diamond is 1/2 a carat. (There are 5 carats to a gram.) Always get the actual point size of a diamond rather than a fractional weight. Sometimes jewellers will try to sell a .90 diamond as a 1 carat diamond. A .90 diamond would be substantially less expensive.

Clarity
How clear is the stone? Clarity ranges from flawless (perfect) to I (included). Here is a chart: Flawless: perfect inside and out. Internally Flawless: may have minor blemishes on the outside VVS1, VVS2: may have very, very small inclusions. VVS1 inclusions can only be seen through the pavilion while VVS2 inclusions are more visible. VS1, VS2: might have very small inclusions. VS1 inclusions are harder to see than VS2. SI1, SI2, SI3: have small inclusions I1, I2, I3: have inclusions visible to the naked eye

Colour
Diamond colours generally range from D - X for white and yellow diamonds. D is the whitest. Around S they become "Fancy" yellow Diamonds. One can also find green, pink, red, blue and brown diamonds - though these are usually irradiated. Be certain to ask for a colour and clarity guarantee of the stone that you are purchasing. Many states allow dealers to be off by one colour and/or clarity.