The play of light in a diamond

Aside from its extreme hardness, the diamond is characterized by a number of distinctive properties:

Almost all diamonds contain foreign atoms. The most commonly occurring example of this is nitrogen, which is responsible for a yellow color tinge that is visible in many stones. A perfectly pure diamond is completely colorless and non-fluorescent.

Transparency: The transparency of a diamond varies from completely clear to completely opaque. Only the clear stones are used in jewelery. Other diamonds are used for various, although usually industrial purposes. A stone that does not sparkle after it has been cut and polished is known as a "dead" stone.

Clarity: Pure diamonds are extremely rare. Almost all rough diamonds contain impurities or "inclusions," which are traces of non-diamond materials that were ‘trapped’ in the mineral during the stone’s formation. Many inclusions are removed during the cleaving, sawing, cutting and polishing of the diamond275149_med[1].

Color: Most diamonds are referred to as "colorless," which in diamond terminology ranges from really colorless to yellowish. A small percentage of diamonds have a distinctive color—from yellow & champagne to black, through blue, green, pink and even red. In this respect they resemble colored gemstones. These so-called "fancy colors" are very rare and highly desirable. Since their intense appearance is fashionable, color is sometimes produced artificially using modern technology. Artificially colored diamonds are less valuable than naturally colored diamonds.

Fluorescence: Like other gemstones, a large number of diamonds radiate visible light when exposed to ultraviolet light. This fluorescence is usually blue, but it can also be white, violet and sometimes yellow, green or orange.

Diamonds versatility makes it a favorite of jewelry designers and connoisseurs alike, lending itself to jewelry both classic and contemporary. This king of gems satisfies any taste and remains the most desirable of all precious stones. 

Diamond Jewllery

In India, the diamond has traditionally enjoyed great fame as a talisman, thanks to its exceptional hardness and other properties. Its unique properties, conspicuous even in a barely worked stone, have shrouded the diamond in a veil of symbolism, mysticism and mystery. And from mystery to superstition is but a small step. The Romans, for example, believed that the stone would protect them against poison and plague. There were those who believed that insomnia, enchantment, fear and pain could all be overcome with the help of a diamond. As a symbol of the love between partners, diamond was also called "the stone of reconciliation."

Romantics would have it that the love darts of the Roman god Cupid were made of diamond. Less romantic was Catherine de Medici’s habit of getting rid of her adversaries with poisonous ‘inheritance powder’ made from finely ground diamonds.

Today, the diamond has grown to become the symbol that defines important emotional events such as an engagement, birth or anniversary, or to immortalize personal achievements.