Diamonds

The Diamond is the gem that holds first place in the scale of values. The word “diamond” comes from a Greek meaning “the invincible one”. The beauty of this gemstone comes from its fire and brilliancy, as most diamonds are colorless. The few diamonds that do have color, like the Blue Hope diamond and the Apple-green Dresden diamond, are especially valuable. The most common colors of diamonds are brown and yellow. Yellow diamonds, however must not be too pale because the value of the diamond will be reduced. Extremely rare are olive-green, aqua-marine and pink diamonds. Rarer still are the sapphire-blue ones, and finally the red diamonds are the rarest. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials known. Due to their hardness, they are able to resist scratching and chipping. Diamonds can also take a steady, hard pressure without being worn down. But they can easily be shattered by a hard blow.

One of the world’s most famous diamonds is the Cullinan diamond which was found in a South African mine called the Premier Mine in 1905. It is known as the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found. The largest diamond that was cut from the Cullinan stone after it was split into a number of stones is the famous Star of Africa (Cullinan I). It weighs 530.20 carats and was the largest cut diamond in the world until the discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond. The second largest diamond cut from the Cullinan stone is the Lesser Star of Africa (Cullinan II) and is considered the fourth largest cut diamond in the world. Both of these diamonds are now among the British Crown Jewels.