How is a diamond formed?

In ancient Greek, ‘diamond’ means “unbreakable”. It is very rare yet it consists entirely of crystallized carbon, a very common element on our planet. Why are then diamonds so scarce? Diamonds are scarce because carbon can only crystallize under extremely high temperatures and pressure. The conditions necessary for the formation of a diamond can only be found 150km under the surface of the earth.

By the time a diamond is set into jewellery, it will have lost about half of its weight. A mined diamond is not yet a polished diamond. To a naked eye, a diamond will resemble a dull piece of glass. Here we are speaking about a rough diamond.  A diamond must be processed to achieve a shine and sparkle. Since diamonds are the hardest mineral on earth, they can only be modified by other diamonds.  A rough diamond will be designed, cleaved or sawn, cut and polished before it finally ends up in a piece of jewellery.

The unique properties of diamonds are also commonly used in industrial applications where the natural toughness of this material comes in handy. Industrial diamonds, called carbonado (commonly known as the ‘Black Diamond’ – the toughest form of a natural diamond), are of great importance for tools (drills, cutting tools).