All About Diamonds

Mike Levine

diamonds1The conditions that created diamonds have not existed on this planet for millions of years. Very early in the earth’s history, as solid matter became condensed into a sphere, the material at the heart of the planet became subjected to unbelievable extremes of temperature and pressure. It was the conditions in those deep layers that caused deposits of pure carbon to begin crystalizing into a diamond. A Diamond consists of pure carbon, and although there is no chemical difference between carbon powder and the diamond, the physical difference between carbon powder and the diamond crystal is both enormous and miraculous.

As the outer layers of the earth cooled, the stresses developed, and the plates of solid rock shifted and split. Streams of liquid rock were forced to the surface in volcanic eruptions, and some of that material carried with it the diamond crystals that had begun to form deep within the earth. As the earth’s surface cooled, the diamond bearing rock turned solid, and it is within this rock the diamonds are now found. Diamond is the hardest natural material found on the earth, and the simplest of all the gemstones in composition

How Diamonds Handle Light

The way a diamond sparkles in the light is called its brilliance and fire. These are not subjective terms, but can be scientifically defined. Suppose the same amount of light should fall on a pile of black carbon powder as on a cut diamond. Both are forms from the same chemical, but clearly they will handle the light in different ways. Click to Download Full PDF – 147k

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