Here's 10 amazing facts about this month's birthstone of the month Diamond!
1. Diamond is a solid form of the element Carbon
2. Most natural Diamonds are between 1 billion and 3.5 billion years old.
3. Diamond comes from the Greek word Adamas meaning unbreakable / invincible.
4. Diamonds are the hardest natural substance. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.
5. The largest Diamond ever mined is the Cullinan at 3106 carats. It was discovered in 1905 in South Africa and given to King Edward. It was cut into 9 large diamonds and 100 smaller ones with the 3 largest on display as part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower Of London.
6. The first known use of a Diamond engagement ring took place in 1477 when Archduke Maxmillian of Austria gave Mary Burgundy a gold ring featuring an M spelled out in Diamonds.
7. By the time you see a Diamond cut and polished it will have lost up to 50% of it's original rough weight.
8. Not all Diamonds are white. Some of the most valuable and rarest Diamonds are coloured. In nature Diamonds come in red, blue, pink. yellow, brown, black, orange and green. Strangely these coloured are caused by a defect! This occurs in the atomic structure caused by another element.
9. Scientists have discovered a star that is essentially a Diamond as it's core is made up of Carbon with the heat and pressure forming a ten billion-trillion-trillion carat Diamond! It's named Lucy after the Beatles song 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'
10. Only about 20% of all diamonds mined have a clarity rating high enough for the diamond to be considered appropriate for use as a gemstone; the other 80% are relegated to industrial use.
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