Diamonds are a girls best friend!

A Diamond is a colorless exceptionally hard mineral (but often tinted yellow, orange, blue, brown, or black by impurities), found in certain igneous rocks especially the kimberlites of South Africa. Diamonds can be used as a gemstone, as an abrasive, and on the working edges of cutting tools. Diamonds are the hardest naturally forming material on Earth, renowned for their beauty, strength, and durability. The most famous diamond bearing country is South Africa and the first diamond was reported in back in 1866.

Where do Diamonds come from?

Diamond is formed at great depth in the earth crust, between 150 and 300 km below the surface and at the incredible pressure and relatively manageable temperatures. They form beneath the continental crust, from pure carbon. This carbon may either come from exclusively non-organic sources, organic sources, or a blend of the two. Most diamonds are over a billion years old by the time they reach the Earth's surface, with some diamonds being over three billion years in age - not much younger than the Earth itself.    Diamonds come to the surface when magma from far below the Earth's surface begins coming up. Since diamonds are found at such incredible depths - three to four times deeper than the depth at which a normal volcano originates - magma upsurges deep enough to bring them to the surface are relatively rare. Once this magma cools, it forms a rock known as kimberlite - or sometimes lamproite - which may be used as an indicator that diamonds may be found in that area.

Types of diamonds:

Pink Diamond: The pink diamond is the world's most rare and valuable diamond.  White Diamond: White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Champagne Diamonds: Champagne diamonds are naturally colored diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colors from light straw to rich cognac. Pink Champagne Diamonds: Attractive champagne diamonds with secondary pink color are also available and command a higher price per carat than champagne diamonds. As pink is one of the rarest colors found in diamonds

Yellow Diamonds: Fancy yellow diamonds come in a broad range of shades ranging from light yellow to a rich canary color. Green Diamonds: Fancy green diamonds are also available. Usually, penetration of the color is not very deep and is often removed during the fashioning of the stone.
Blue Diamonds: Fancy blue diamonds are available in a wide range of shades, from the blue of the sky to a more "steely" color than sapphire.

Extraction and Refining: Diamonds are mined either from the kimberlite pipes below the earth's surface, or from alluvial deposits.

Pipe Mining: Pipe mining refers to the extraction of diamonds from volcanic pipes. Initially kimberlite is dug from the surface of the pipes in rough opencast mining. Once the surface deposits have been exhausted, shafts are sunk into the ground at the edge of the pipes, and tunnels are driven into the deeper parts of the pipes. After the diamond-bearing rock is brought to the surface, it is then transported to a screening plant where the diamonds are separated from the host rock.

Alluvial Mining: This process involves the extraction of diamonds from riverbeds or ocean beaches. In order to extract diamonds from beaches, a wall is built to hold back the surf. Up to 25 meters of sand is bulldozed aside to reach the diamond-bearing level. Once reached, the diamond-bearing earth is removed and transported to screening plants.

Cutting: As every diamond is different, a stone must first be carefully examined by the cutter and then marked for cutting. The rough diamond is divided into two parts by sawing or cleaving. Most stones are sawn across the "grain" (visible evidence of the diamond's crystal structure) by a paper-thin metal disc coated with diamond dust revolving at high speed or by laser. The stones that are marked for cleaving are split along the grain by a single blow from a steel blade.

Polishing: The polishing of the diamond begins; one by one, facets will be ground on to the stone. A facet is the tiny plane or surface that traps the light and makes a diamond sparkle. Most diamond cuts have 58 facets. A well-cut diamond will be fiery, brilliant and beautiful.

What makes a diamond so special?

Whenever we go to purchase a diamond jewelery we look for size and weight of the diamond as the cost of the item depends upon the same. Diamonds are measured in carats. One carat is the equivalent of 200 milligrams. A 3 carat diamond is bigger and expensive than 2 carat diamond. This diagram gives you a representation.

Cut of Diamond: The beauty of diamond is very much dependent upon the cut of the diamond. Cut refers two characteristics of Diamond and thay are shape and how beautifully cutting has been executed.  A diamond's cut is responsible for its fire; the  rainbow colors that come out from within the stone. The cut of the diamond effects it's apparent color. Different cuts reflect light in different angles. A diamond must be cut in a geometrically precise manner to maximize its brilliance.

Grades of diamond: There are different grades of the diamond according to their clarity, as mentioned on jewelbasket.com and they are:

FL (Flawless): Flawless Diamonds are with no flaws on the surface or internally. They are the rarest and most beautiful gems.

IF (Internally Flawless): Internally Flawless Diamonds reveal no inclusions and only insignificant blemishes on the surface under 10x magnification.

VVS1 - VVS2 (Very, Very Slightly Included): Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. These are excellent quality diamonds.

VS1 - VS2 (Very Slightly Included): Only looking through a 10X loupe can pinpoint the inclusions in this category and are nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. These are less expensive than the VVS1 or VVS2 grades.

SI1 - SI3 (Slightly Included): Diamonds with inclusions easily identified under 10x magnification. Finding flaws in this category with the naked eye is difficult. The gems in this category maintain their integrity, depending on the location of the inclusions.

I1 - I3 (Included): Diamonds with inclusions which may or may not be easily seen by the naked eye. The flaws on the stones in this category will have some effect on the brilliance of your diamond.

Colour od Diamonds

Many experts say that color is the most important thing to consider when buying  a diamond. A diamond's color is graded on an alphabetical scale from D-Z, with D being absolutely colorless and Z being light yellow.

Aagin, here is an example of how to determine the colour of a diamond, through a representation only:

Since color differences can be so small, they are impossible to determine by the untrained eye. To grade a diamond, gemologists often place it on a white background next to another diamond that has been previously graded. If all other factors are equal, the less color in a diamond or the higher color rating, the more valuable a diamond becomes.

Diamond is the most beautiful and precious stone. We all know diamond jewelry are a girls best friend. I just can't get enough of them!

(Sources: costellos.com.au, wisegeek.com, madehow.com)