Shine bright like a diamond this April
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Those born in the month of April are fortunate enough to have one of the most prized and regal gems as their birthstone. For all those April babies, diamonds really are a girl's (and boy's) best friend.
From the Greek word "adámas" meaning "unbreakable", diamonds have been the desired gem for centuries; arguably as early as 4 BC due to its unique characteristics and qualities. Historically diamonds first became popular in India where the Imperial Colony and moguls mined diamonds from deposits along three major rivers.
Diamond is made of pure carbon and it is the way that these carbon atoms are arranged and the process of forming well below the Earth's crust and being forced upwards that gives a diamond its value.
Diamonds are the hardest gemstone with a carbon structure that is 58 times harder than anything formed in nature, lending it its toughness. Today, the diamond is widely known as the stone given in an engagement ring but is also appropriate for everyday wear due to its ability to withstand daily wear and tear.
The unique characteristics of diamonds mean it has the greatest lustre of all gemstones and can split light into the colours of the rainbow, known as dispersion. It is this that gives diamond it's characteristic "sparkle'.
Whilst many think of diamond as a white or colourless stone, they can come in almost any colour of the rainbow, including yellow, red, pink, blue, and green, ranging in intensity from faint to vivid.
Out of these colours, yellow and canary-coloured diamond most common whilst blue, pink and green diamonds are rare. Since fancy-coloured diamonds are highly desirable, specific colours are introduced in the laboratory to produce colour-treated diamonds.
For centuries, diamonds have been adorned and admired and hailed as symbolising eternal and lasting love. The spiritual, mythological and etymological history adds both physical and sentimental value to diamonds.
Historically, diamonds have been believed to increase its wearers' liveliness, happiness and wealth. Whilst the exact roots of diamonds still remains much of a mystery to many geologists, many ancient Greeks believed diamonds to be crystallised lightning and the "stone of immortality".
This could be why this gemstone nowadays is hailed with the famous saying "diamonds are forever"!
Image and source credits: Pinterest, gemrockauctions, americangemsociety
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