Everything you need to know about diamonds

The most desirable, beautiful and majestic "dream stone". In the Arab countries, it was called “almas”, which means “the hardest”, in Greece - “adamas” or “indestructible”. This stone was adored by the great Empress Catherine II, and to this day millions of people on the planet are interested in them. What a diamond consists of, what properties it possesses, where it applies, to whom it suits - all this and much more you will learn about this beautiful stone from the article.

The word “diamond” appeared in the Russian language in the 15th century thanks to the traveler Afanasy Nikitin, who mentioned this word in his book entitled “Going beyond three seas”. So what is it - a diamond?

Diamond is the hardest natural mineral, allotropic carbon modification that is resistant to high pressure.. It looks untreated, that is, without cutting, the mineral is like an unattractive piece of an irregularly shaped crystal. Due to the wide range of light refraction from the usual piece of glass, it differs only in bright light.

Such a description does not correspond to the modern, real understanding of the word "diamond".

In ancient times (almost 3000 years BC) in India, people believed that 5 natural elements were concentrated in this stone, namely, air, water, earth, sky and energy. For his brightest brilliance, people endowed him with certain magical properties and did not consider him precious.

Much later, in the 15th century, the stone was brought from India to Europe, the development of technology allowed people to process and cut this mineral. Then the stone acquired value and began to be actively used in the jewelry industry. In Russia, the gem took the leading position only at the beginning of the 17th century, before that rubies and opals were considered the most popular.

In world history there are several famous diamonds, each of which has its own unique destiny. Each of them also has its own name.

A diamond named “Kohinur” (translated as “The Mountain of Light”) is so named because its weight is almost 800 carats. It was found in 56 BC in the territory of the future India and Pakistan among the riches of the Mughal Empire. During its long “life,” the stone was owned by the Persian Shah, the Indian king, and also in Afghanistan, after which he was in the hands of the British. On the territory of Albion was re-cut and acquired a modern look.

There is another, no less legendary stone, called "Derianur", or "Sea of ​​Light." It was found in India in the 16th century and first cut in the shape of a rose. His weight was about 182 carats. He visited the Iranian shahs, decorated the throne of Shah Jakan. Currently located in the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran.

Diamonds are, in their essence, minerals that are rare and at the same time common, since they are found on absolutely all continents. Until recently, it was believed that diamonds are not in Antarctica, but not so long ago there were found fragments of an iron meteorite with diamonds.

In nature, the deposits of these semi-precious stones are divided into two categories:

1. primary (primary), where diamonds are formed in igneous rocks, in the very bowels of the earth;
2. secondary (placer), where diamonds occur during the destruction of primary deposits.

The primary deposits are kimberlites, and as a result of their erosion placer-type deposits are formed. Kimberlites are volcanic and subvolcanic ultrabasic rocks with an alkaline slope. Basically they can be found on ancient shields and platforms.

Precious minerals were mostly in placers, and almost always it happened completely by accident - no one was looking for diamonds specifically. But after the discovery of the first species in the rivers of South Africa, researchers stumbled upon deposits near the river. Thus, the second primary diamond deposit was found and later called Jagersfontein. The first was the deposit in India, but by the end of the XIX century they were already depleted.

To date, the world's largest diamond deposits are:

• Yubileiny field (Russia);
• Udachny deposit (Russia);
• Mir field (Russia);
• Argyll deposits (Australia);
• the Catoca deposit (Angola);
• Venice field (South Africa);
• deposit them. V.P. Griba (Russia);
• the Jwaneng field (Botswana);
• Orapa field (Botswana);
• field "Botubinskaya" (Russia).

Earth diamond deposits are not really the only ones. There are stones created when a cosmic body collides with the surface of the earth, that is, when a meteorite falls. At the moment of impact, the temperature reaches 3000 degrees, and the pressure is 100 GPa. In such conditions, formed impact rock. Such stones were found in the USA, Yakutia, and also in Antarctica.

Have you ever thought that diamond and graphite are one and the same substance? It would seem that they can not have anything in common. But in fact, in fact, and in another case, it is carbon, simply in various modifications.

By structure, diamond is carbon atoms equidistant from each other at 0.154 nanometers. They form a crystal lattice with four more atoms inside it, which are connected to each other by fairly strong covalent bonds, which makes the diamond the strongest mineral. As an element in the periodic table is designated C (carbon) and is one of the simplest gemstones in its chemical composition, because it consists of only carbon.

Diamond is characterized by a number of important properties.

In addition to carbon, diamond may contain various impurities. The main one is nitrogen, which forms the centers responsible for the coloring of the stone.

Uncut crystals are opaque, belong to type I, that is, they contain nitrogen in the amount of 0.25%. All the rest - to type II, that is, the inclusion of this substance in them does not exceed 0.001%.

Diamonds are not only colorless, but with a particular shade. Among them are purple, yellow, brown, blue, pink, green, milk, gray - up to black. Today it is known that when irradiated by charged particles, the stone becomes blue or green. How to convert it from color to blue is still unknown.

Diamond crystals can luminesce (glow) when X-rays fall on them. And later phosphorescence can be observed, in other words, the afterglow.

The most famous physical property inherent in diamond is, of course, hardness.. On a 10-point Mohs scale, it is a standard, that is, it has the highest value — 10. It is the hardest gem, but it is very fragile. The density (or, as they are also called, the specific gravity) of transparent crystals has a mark of 3515 kg / m3, and opaque and translucent - 3500 kg / m3.

Diamond is a dielectric and does not conduct electricity.. Resistant to all acids, even at high temperatures. It has good thermal conductivity. It can turn into graphite at 1880 degrees and atmospheric pressure. And at a temperature of 850 degrees a diamond can burn, but what is important is that it can only happen in open air.

Many people believe that a diamond, like any other stone, also has a magical side. It is believed that this mineral is a symbol of courage and perfection, which strengthens the strength of the spirit of its owner, emphasizes its masculinity and strength, and also makes it happy, successful and protects it from unkind eyes and damage.

If a person gives another such a stone, it is considered that they bind themselves with the strongest union. A gift in the form of a diamond is considered a symbol of love and loyalty.

No less interesting is the fact that diamonds also have healing properties: they strengthen the immune system, relieve fatigue, heal insomnia and help the body fight infections.

Currently, there are many varieties of diamonds that are known to man. Species are characterized depending on the selected parameter.

So, by weight, diamonds are divided into the following varieties:

1. small, whose weight does not exceed 0.29 carats;
2. medium size, which weigh in the range of 0.3-0.99 carats;
3. large, whose weight exceeds 1 carat.

Please note that one carat in the measurement system (SI) is 0.0002 kg.

Some gems distinguish by type of crystal lattice.

• Board - a crystal with a fine-grained structure, having in its composition grains of graphite, cracks and other defects. From the point of view of the jewelry industry, such a stone is "inferior."
• Carbonado - dark green or grayish-black minerals consisting of amorphous carbon, as well as graphite. They have high resistance and are highly valued in the industry.
• Ballas - stones of rounded shape, translucent, less often - opaque or completely transparent. The color is mostly black, gray, greenish.

There are diamonds and color.

1. Transparent ("cape").
2. Painted in various shades (fantasy). Such stones are pink, yellow, green, red, blue tones. Stones that are most brightly colored are considered as valuable as completely transparent.

Also, diamonds should be distinguished by the shape of the cut.

Round (57 facets). This stone is able to reflect almost all the light that falls on it.

Fantasy:

• "Marquis" has a shuttle form;

• "Princess" has a square shape or rectangular with sharp corners;

• "oval";

• "pear" is a combination of a round shape and a marquis shape;

• "emerald" has a square or rectangular shape with truncated corners;

• "a heart";

• "triangle".

Most of us know that diamonds are most widely used in jewelry making. But few people know that a significant part of the mined stones is not suitable for making jewelry from them. More than 40% of all mined stones are suitable only as industrial composite materials, 45% of diamonds mined are considered conditionally suitable for the production of jewelry, and only 15% are minerals suitable for cutting, from which diamonds can be made.

Cutting is the process of grinding a stone, with which planes are applied to a diamond to give it a certain shape. Note that planes are called facets or faces. Grinding allows you to either show the best properties of diamond (color, shine), or hide its flaws (various defects: surface and internal).

Until the 20th century, the most common form of cut was “rose”; today it is “diamond”. It can be round, classic or "fantasy", which is also divided into types according to shape ("marquis", "pear", "heart", "oval", "princess", etc.).

Distinguish rough diamonds, depending on the technology used for its processing:

• Soblz - these are stones having the correct shape, which it is possible to divide into two large parts and use them as raw materials in order to produce two diamonds;
• Make ups - These are nuggets of irregular round shape, which are processed entirely, not dividing;
• "Cleavage" - These are diamonds that contain cracks (in order to start processing, such crystals are chopped).

The largest world-famous enterprises where diamonds are cut are located in India, Israel, China, Russia and the USA.

It is also important that diamonds are also used in industry. Knives, drills, cutters are made of them. In order to produce cutting and grinding wheels, diamonds are used as an abrasive material.

First you need to figure out what are the fakes, than dishonest sellers trade.

First, zircon, sapphire, which has no color, or crystal are often sold under the guise of diamonds. In this case, to determine whether this is a diamond or not, you need to look through it to the sun. Through a diamond with a cut, it is possible to see only a bright-bright point, and a fake will transmit light.

Many sellers use folk belief that if you put a diamond in water, it will disappear and will not be visible. However, it is not. Since the refractive index of light in water is less than the refractive index of light in a diamond, it will shine even when submerged in water.

Secondly, the development of industry has stepped forward long ago, and people have learned how to produce real diamonds in the laboratory (the so-called synthetic stones). It is not possible to distinguish such a "synthetic" product from a natural product to an ordinary person, since their composition is absolutely the same (synthetic stone also consists of pure carbon). Then you need to remember that a real, natural diamond cannot be cheap. Therefore, the obviously underestimated (tenfold) price should alert the buyer.

Do not forget also that there are certificates of conformity of a diamond, which are issued by an independent laboratory only for stones that do not have rims. Such a diamond should be packed in a blister with the certificate number of conformity.

Stones as a magical element were considered in ancient times, and to this day people believe in their magical power.

Energy diamond is a very strong stone. Since ancient times it was believed that he is male. His unprecedented hardness characterizes the invincible strength of the spirit of a man. Give him courage and courage.

Women should wear diamond jewelry only after 30 years, as the diamond is considered a mature stone. Maturity, as a rule, is not inherent in young, young girls. And after a while the power of the stone will do them good.

Since ancient times, people used stones as amulets. In the people it was believed that a person who is worthy of his amulet should have a balanced character. And only then a person will be protected by his stone from any negative emotions, evil eye and damage. And for people who are impulsive and cannot cope with their emotions, it is not recommended to wear a diamond, as it will only aggravate these qualities.

For centuries, the science of "astromineralogy" has developed, which describes the connections between stones, zodiac signs, and the planets patrons of these signs. Diamond in the traditional distribution of stones by signs is considered the first stone.

In order for the jewelry with the stone in question to remain new for a long time, and the diamonds still sparkling brightly in the sun, it is necessary to observe a number of rules and recommendations of experts.

• If possible, remove the decorations of the house so that the stone has as little contact as possible with aggressive household chemicals.
• It is advisable to store jewelry not just on an open shelf, but in a special container or bag. So on the jewels will settle less dust.
• It is also better that each box has its own box or pouch. So you will prevent friction of one product against another, as a result of which microcracks and chips may be formed.
• It is necessary to perform cleaning every six months in an ultrasonic bath (this can be done with a jeweler). At home, it will be enough to regularly wash and clean the jewelry with soapy water.
• Try not to expose diamond jewelry to mechanical impact and impact. Diamond, though the hardest of minerals, but also very fragile.

• At least 250 tons of diamond-containing ore must be processed to produce one carat of diamonds.
• There are no two identical diamonds - each of them has a unique structure and characteristics.
• The fact that diamonds do not break is a myth. Once mercenaries of King Louis XI captured the jewels of the Duke Charles the Bold. Knowing that diamonds are the hardest minerals, they decided to check their authenticity. They began to hit the stones with hammers, and they all broke. So it was destroyed countless genuine minerals.
• Once, the Austrian duke, who doubted that the beloved would give a positive answer, was advised to give her a jewel with a diamond, thus making it clear that her intentions were more than serious. Thus was born the custom of making a marriage proposal with a diamond ring and became the most popular way.
• About 26 tons of diamonds are mined around the world annually.
• Diamonds often became heroes of works of art ("The Three Musketeers", "The Twelve Chairs", "Titanic").
• The Heart of Ocean diamond has a real copy — a blue heart-shaped diamond. It weighs about 14 carats and was sold at auction for 7,791,000 dollars.
• In the East, it is customary to donate and pass on diamonds. Those stones that are bought, it is customary to begin to wear only after 7 years after purchase.
• During the cut, the stone can lose about half of its weight.
• Diamonds that were found in the territory where military operations had previously taken place are called conflict, bloody.

Interesting facts about diamonds you will learn from the following video.