Fun and Interesting Facts About Diamonds

If you’re lucky enough to have been born in April, you get to claim the diamond as your birthstone. Whether you have an April birthday or not, this glamorous gemstone is a favorite of many. Test your knowledge of diamonds, the official birthstone of April. Scroll down for the answers — but no cheating!

1. Diamonds are a naturally occurring allotrope of what element?
2. Diamonds are formed deep inside the Earth’s interior when carbon is crystallized over a long period of time. What two factors cause the crystallization?
3. Diamonds are appraised and priced according to the 4Cs: color, clarity, carat weight and cut. What organization created this standard grading system?
4. Diamonds were first mined in India around 800 BC. Today, what are the four top diamond producing countries in the world?
5. A state park in Arkansas is the only diamond-producing location in the world that allows the public to dig for and keep the diamonds they find. What is the name of the state park?
6. Marilyn Monroe famously sang “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in what 1953 film?
7. In the 1963 film, The Pink Panther, Peter Sellers played clueless police inspector Jacques Clouseau on the trail of a jewel thief known as “The Phantom.” In the movie, what is the name of “the largest diamond in the world?”
8. In December 2011, Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned jewelry collection was auctioned at Christie’s in New York. One of her most famous pieces was the Taylor-Burton diamond ring, given to her by husband, Richard Burton. How many carats is it, and what is its estimated worth?
9. In James Cameron’s movie Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, what is the name of the fictional blue diamond lost to the ocean?
10. On December 10, 2012 at the final lot of Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction, a new world auction record was achieved for a reddish-orange fancy colored diamond. What was the diamond’s carat weight, and what did it sell for?

Diamond Quiz Answers:

1. Carbon
2. Heat and pressure
3. The 4Cs grading system was created by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
4. Australia, Zaire, Botswana, and the former Soviet Union
5. Crater of Diamonds State Park
6. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
7. The Pink Panther
8. The Taylor-Burton diamond is a 69.42 carat pear-shaped stone estimated to be worth $3.5 million. Taylor sold the diamond in 1978 following her divorce from Burton to fund her charity work.
9. “The Heart of the Ocean”
10. The rare 3.15 carat diamond is the largest reddish-orange diamond ever graded at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and sold for $2,098,500, setting a new world auction record for a reddish-orange diamond and a new per-carat record price of $666,200.

Large Diamonds Unveiling Scientific Discoveries About Earth

In celebration of April’s birthstone, the diamond, we’re sharing an interesting new discovery about diamonds, courtesy of Michelle Graff and nationaljeweler.com.

In February, the Lucapa Diamond Co. in Perth, Western Australia announced that it has discovered the largest recorded diamond ever found in Angola: a 404.2-carat stone that has tested as Type IIa and D color.

The diamond was recovered from Alluvial Mining Block 8 at Angola’s Lulo Mine,  which has produced more than 60 large, special diamonds since they started mining there just last August.

The company reported that the 404.2-carat stone is the 27th largest recorded diamond in the world, and the biggest diamond ever discovered by an Australian mining company. It also is the fourth 100-plus-carat diamond to be recovered from Lulo to date, as well as the 114th largest “special” diamond--meaning it weighs more than 10.8 carats--recovered from the mine.

Of further interest is the scientific work that geologists are doing on the unique properties of large Type IIa diamonds similar to the ones being found at Angola’s Lulo Mine.

Evan Smith, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Gemological Institute of America specializing in diamond geology, and his colleagues are trying to better understand Earth’s mantle, which is beneath tectonic plates and, as such, largely inaccessible for scientific observation.

As you may already know, Type IIa diamonds have very little to no nitrogen, which is what makes white diamonds so exceptionally colorless and fancy color diamonds so vibrant. Large Type IIa diamonds that make headlines also tend to be irregular in shape, rather than the nice, symmetrical octahedrons like so many smaller stones. They often have a surface that’s rounded and somewhat dissolved, “almost like a lollipop after someone’s been after it for a while,” says Smith.

The fact that these big, beautiful diamonds are different has not escaped the attention of earth scientists, who have wondered for years if they form in a different way, in a different part of Earth’s mantle, and thus tell us something different about our planet.

In order to conduct the study, though, Smith and the other researchers could not limit themselves to these kinds of large and exceedingly rare diamonds. Instead, they studied Type IIa diamonds of all sizes that came through the GIA lab, including some that were smaller than a carat.

After examining 52 Type IIa stones (and one Type Iab) of all sizes at the GIA lab, Smith and the other researchers found that in nearly three-quarters of the diamonds (38 out of 53), the inclusions weren’t graphite but metallic, a solidified mixture of iron, nickel, carbon, and sulfur.

This is significant because it changes the way scientists think about how different elements, like carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, are distributed. It also has broad implications for understanding the behavior of the deep Earth, including the recycling of surface rocks into the convecting mantle.

Smith said this discovery verifies what geologists have been theorizing for 10 or more years: that the Earth’s deeper mantle environment has a “light peppering” (up to 1 percent) of metallic iron.

If you're looking for a diamond but don't want to pay retail prices, visit Adina’s Ebay store where you can rely on the diamond experts at Adina Jewelers. You'll find fine a vast selection of fine certified diamonds and get a buying experience that’s above your expectations.

To read more about this study, read Michelle Graff’s interview with Evan Smith at nationaljeweler.com.

April Birthstone Q&A Quiz: Diamond

Are diamonds your best friend? Before you answer, take this quiz and test your knowledge of official birthstone of April! Scroll down for the answers — but no cheating!

1. Diamonds are a naturally occurring allotrope of what element?
   
2. Diamonds are formed deep inside the Earth’s interior when carbon is crystallized over a long period of time. What two factors cause the crystallization?
   
3. Diamonds are appraised and priced according to the 4 Cs: color, clarity, carat weight and cut. What organization created this standard grading system?
   
4. Diamonds were first mined in India around 800BC. Today, what are the four top diamond producing countries in the world?
5. A state park in Arkansas is the only diamond-producing location in the world that allows the public to dig for and keep the diamonds they find. What is the name of the state park?
   
6. Marilyn Monroe famously sang “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in what 1953 film?
   
7. In the 1963 film, The Pink Panther, Peter Sellers played clueless police inspector Jacques Clouseau on the trail of a jewel thief known as The Phantom. In the movie, what is the name of “the largest diamond in the world?”
   
8. In December 2011, Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned jewelry collection was auctioned at Christie’s in New York. One of her most famous pieces was the Taylor-Burton diamond ring, given to her by husband, Richard Burton. How many carats is it, and what is its estimated worth?
   
9. In James Cameron’s movie Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, what is the name of the fictional blue diamond lost to the ocean?
10. On December 10, 2012 at the final lot of Christie’s “Magnificent Jewels” auction, a new world auction record was achieved for a reddish-orange fancy colored diamond. What was the diamond’s carat weight, and what did it sell for?

Diamond Quiz Answers:

1. Carbon
2. Heat and pressure.
   
3. The 4 Cs grading system was created by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
   
4. Australia, Zaire, Botswana, and the former Soviet Union.
5. Crater of Diamonds State Park.
6. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
7. “The Pink Panther.”
   
8. The Taylor-Burton diamond is a 69.42 carat pear-shaped stone estimated to be worth $3.5 million. Taylor sold the diamond in 1978 following her divorce from Burton to fund her charity work.
   
9. “The Heart of the Ocean.”
   
10. The rare 3.15 carat diamond is the largest reddish-orange diamond ever graded at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and sold for $2,098,500, setting a new world auction record for a reddish-orange diamond and a new per-carat record price of $666,200.

If you’re lucky enough to have been born in April, you’re even more lucky to claim the diamond as your birthstone. An April birthday or not, you wouldn’t be alone if the diamond is your favorite gemstone. If you’re looking for diamond jewelry, shop Adina’s eBay store for a magnicent selection of estate and vintage diamond jewelry, including a vast collection of rings, necklaces and bracelets as well as other precious and semi-precious estate and vintage jewelry, gemstones and more.