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The Charismatic Diamond. 15 Captivating Facts.

Diamonds are provocative, magical gems with thousands of years of history and lore. We've compiled 15 facts about diamonds, to read more about ethical diamonds visit our Ethical Diamond Education page.

1. Diamonds are all between one and three billions years old. The earth is 4.543 billion years old.

2. A diamond is an allotrope (meaning other form) of Carbon.

3. The word diamond comes from the Greek ‘adameo’, which means unbreakable or indestructible.

4. Diamond is the hardest natural material known to man, and can only be cut or polished by another diamond.

5. Most of the earth’s natural large diamond deposits are found in Africa, but diamonds are found all over the world including the United States and Canada. All of Laura Preshong’s diamonds are ethically sourced from Canada, Botswana and Namibia, read more about ethical diamond sourcing.

6. Diamonds were first discovered around 2500BC, and are at the mystical heart of many tales, legends and myths.

7. In the time of the Pharaohs diamonds were placed in the center of the Ankh, the Egyptian symbol meaning life, for power, courage and truth.

8. The Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds were the tears of the Gods and that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds.

9. Plato wrote about diamonds as living beings that possessed celestial spirits.

10. Jewish high priests used a diamond’s brilliance to determine the innocence or guilt of a person accused of a crime.

11. The Roman poet Plautus chronicled the first known diamond engagement ring, that ring was gifted by Archduke Maxmillian of Austria to his beloved Mary of Burgundy in 1477. The ring was made of yellow gold with the letter M, created out of diamond chips.

12. The oldest diamond cut is the Table Cut, which has been seen in Islamic jewelry dating from the 13th Century AD.

13. In 1919, Marcel Tolkowsky, published a mathematical computation of angles and proportions to maximize a diamond’s brilliance and fire. This cut known as the Tolkowsky, the Modern Brilliant, or the American Ideal, became the standard for American diamond cutters.

14. The United States buys more than 40 percent of the world’s gem quality diamonds – making it the world’s largest diamond market.

15. The largest diamond in the universe is actually the core of a white dwarf star. Positioned directly above Australia, Lucy (from the Beatle’s song Lucy in the sky with Diamonds) is thought to have a diamond core weighing 10 billion trillion trillion carats. The largest diamond on earth is the Star of Africa weighed at 530 carats.

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