Diamonds

The meaning of the word Diamond - very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem, not a very glamorous description of something so beautiful.

The word "diamond" comes from the Greek word "Adams," meaning unconquerable. Diamonds are the hardest known substances on earth being one hundred and forty times harder then its nearest equal., which is how they earned their name. Because of their strength, they were initially used for such purposes as engraving other gems, such as sapphire, cameos, and for drilling holes in hard stone beads. In France in the thirteenth century only the king could wear diamonds. They were not used as jewellery in Europe until the late 13th century.

They were born about 3.4 billion years ago and only became available to man through volcanic eruption about 70 million years ago. Not all diamonds mined are of gem quality, only about 50%.

Even fewer are large enough to be polished into diamonds that are much bigger than the head of a match.

Before the sixth century India was the only known source of diamond and the predominant source for over 2,000 years, until the mid eighteenth century. Romans inherited the belief from Indian mythology. that diamonds had the power to ward off evil and wore talismans.

In Greek mythology diamond were said to be tears of the Gods. Whatever the meaning the evolution of this dazzling jewellery is awesome. Who would believe that one of the softest materials on earth, carbon, changes into a beautiful sparkling diamond? Mind you this happens between 75 to 120 miles below the earth