The high refractive index of diamond gives this stone a brilliance unmatched by any other gemstone. Although diamonds have many industrial uses, they are most popular as gemstones for wedding or engagement rings. Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring mineral on earth, and number 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness. It is a pure form of carbon. Some diamonds are harder than others, and heat and high pressure can be applied to those diamonds to make them even harder. The excellent hardness of diamonds make them valuable as abrasives and as a thermal conductors. But by far the most popular use of diamond is in a wedding or engagement ring. For those fortunate to be born in the month of April, the diamond is their birthstone.
Diamonds were first mined in India six thousand years ago. Their use for engraving other stones also goes back many thousands of years. Curious legends have surrounded the diamond since its outstanding qualities were discovered by human beings. The Greeks said they were the tears of the gods. Hindus used them as the eyes in religious icons. Ancient philosophers maintained that diamonds were actual living beings.
Formed very deep within the earth in the cores of volcanoes, diamonds are brought to the surface during eruptions. They can also be formed in other high pressure impact events such as meteor strikes. Some diamonds may have been formed extra-terrestrially and brought to earth by asteroids. White dwarf stars have been discovered to have cores of crystallized diamond measured in the billions of trillions of carats.
Colorless diamonds are the most common, but they can also be yellow, brown, blue, green, black, translucent white, pink, violet, orange, purple or red. No matter what the color of a diamond, its high refractive index gives it a fiery brilliance unmatched by any other gemstone.
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