3 Diamond Facts That Will Blow You Away

The ancient Greeks believed diamonds were tears of the Gods fallen from the sky. Now, we know that’s not true. 

Have you looked at your engagement ring and asked yourself, “How does this beautiful, gorgeous, and sparkly diamond made its way to my finger?”.

You’ve come to the right place because we’ve found amazing diamond facts that most people don’t know. 

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1. Diamonds Are Billions of Year-Old

It takes time (a lot of time) and a little bit of luck for nature to form a diamond. More specifically it takes 1 to 3 billion years for a diamond to fully form 100 miles beneath the earth’s surface. The combination of temperature and pressure should be just right for a diamond to grow. Not only that, diamonds are actually stuck below the earth’s surface and only a set of improbable circumstances lift them closer to the surface.

If you’re wondering what natural phenomenon brings diamonds closer to the surface, we are talking about rare volcanic eruptions that give them a free ride up to the surface in clusters of rocks called Kimberlite by way of magma. The rocks settle just a short of the surface leaving diamonds just under the surface for men to find.

2. Diamonds Are Not as Sparkly in Their Natural Form

Newly mined diamonds don’t come out instantly sparkly. In the old days, diamonds are set in pieces of jewellery with very little polishing. Their natural shape is called octahedron. The idea of cutting diamonds and polishing didn’t come around until the Middle Ages.

Stonecutters improved their craft and started adding more facets and kept changing proportions to achieve a more brilliant effect. This time is in the Post Middle Ages when the demand for diamond jewellery started to boom. The most notable cuts are the Old European, Old Mine Cut, and the Rose Cut. Today’s diamond cutters no longer use these cuts but these stones are slowly making a comeback.

3. Carats and the Round Brilliant

In the Middle Ages, the seeds of the carob tree were used as the gold standard for weighing precious stones. This was centuries before our modern day scales came about. Thankfully, we’re no longer in the Middle Ages. People back then didn’t seem to consider the shine factor. Anyway, “carats” came from the name of the seeds.

As we gain more techniques, thanks to modern technology, we can now cut and shape the smallest of diamonds. Unlike before, diamonds of 0.01 of 1 carats has to be cut into very simple cuts called ‘single cuts’. Using today’s cutting machines and techniques, cutters can shape diamonds that are 4 times smaller, into a full 58 facets brilliant cut – the most popular diamond cut. This is why your jewels are more sparkly than your grandmother’s.

Looking for the perfect diamond ring?

Monty Adams Jewellery Concierge specialises in clear and pink diamonds. We can customise your diamond engagement ring down to the finer details. Contact us today.