How Diamonds Are Formed

Diamonds are carbon in its purest from revealed as a crystalline matrix. The same element that is fundamental to all life, that shows up as soft dark compounds like graphite, creates and incredibly dense hard material when found in its most concentrated form of the diamond. Specifically the carbon atoms line up to form crystal habits and in the process forge the bond of toughness we associate with the diamond.

One of the hardest parts of a diamond is finding it. There are about 25 countries throughout the world mining diamonds with South Africa the continued leader in production. Once found, processors use the dense weight of the diamond to sort it out by sinking below the other materials typically in a spinning fluid suspension. The sorting process is extensive as non-gem quality stones are routed for industrial use.

The patterning that occurs naturally in diamonds is also what gives them the beauty of the gemstone. Only a diamond can scratch another diamond, their hardness is almost off the chart because you can only measure it by using another diamond. However, all things can shatter or be fractured, and it is this process that reveals the jewel inside the rough diamond. The organized structure of the crystal creates cleave planes along which the will naturally fracture leaving a smooth surface. The skill of the diamond cutter is finding the planes and using them to maximize the brilliance of the stone.

Recognized for their industrial use as drill material over two thousand years ago, the diamond became a component of the symbol of a marriage about 500 years ago. Today the diamond is still valued for all of its technical components in modern industry and for the undeniable beauty it still offers as an adornment in our world.