The story of a Diamond
‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’ or ‘A Diamond is Forever’ has more often than often persuaded us into perceiving this gemstone as a symbol of love and affection.
I have been doing some research into how diamonds are formed and even manufactured in the last decade in labs. It’s all very interesting and sparkly to know that a diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.
Diamonds are formed in the earths that’s subject to extreme heat and pressure. At depths of over 100 miles below the earth’s surface the simple carbon containing minerals were transformed into diamonds by stress of their surroundings. All of this happened between 1 billion to 3.3 billion years ago when the earth was much hotter than it is today. We can’t mine down far enough to reach the earth’s mantle but fortunately volcanic eruptions have done the job for us. These volcanic eruptions brought up diamonds close enough to the surface so that they could be mined and made into memories. Once a diamond is found, it goes through a tough cutting process and this cutting is what gives a diamond it’s sparkle. Depending on the complexity of the cutting process, the shape, the no. of cuts, weight etc. is the price and demand of the diamond.
Un-cut Natural Diamonds
Round Brilliant Cut & Polished Diamonds
Diamonds were considered rare, until some scientists hit a breakthrough in the labs and made synthetic diamonds. Well, we all can now keep calm and shine like a diamond : )
Cultured Diamond with the rapid advance in technology, companies are able to produce diamonds that are identical in hardness, gravity, refraction and chemical composition to the highest quality natural diamonds available. Whereas a one-carat top quality diamond would cost thousands of rupees to buy, the same quality man made diamond could be made for less than Rs.500. Cultured diamonds are virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye, however using spectroscopy, ultraviolet or X-ray labs can still spot the difference between original and man-made. Cultured diamonds are grown from a single crystal by using a technique called chemical vapor deposition. Moissanite and Cubic Zirconia are currently the most popular substitutes to diamonds because to the untrained eye they look identical and are used in jewellery.
Swarovski Crystal
Swarovski Crystal isn’t a gemstone, it’s a form of glass that’s made at high temperatures by melting silicon oxide powders with lead to form what is known as lead crystal. Lead content increases the crystal’s refraction index to resemble that of a diamond. The exact process is one that’s patented by Swarovski. The Swarovski crystals have high quality finish and a surface that has a rainbow like appearance to simulate a sparkle of a diamond. Swarovski is undoubtedly the most cost effective diamond alternative. It’s a brand that’s synonymous with quality and elegance which is why it’s used by so many of the top fashion houses around the world. And what’s more – it’s pretty, elegant and poised.
Some parts of content are sourced from – www.crystalandglassbeads.com
