Fun facts about diamonds

Fun facts about diamonds

Impress your friends at the next party with a few fun facts about diamonds. Enjoy!

Diamonds reduce the speed of light: The speed of light is 299 792 (two hundred and ninety nine seven hundred and ninety two thousand kilometres) per second. The refractive index of diamonds is 2.4 and that reduces the speed of light by almost 60% to 125 000 kilometers per second. 

IF YOU COULD TRAVEL AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT YOU COULD TRAVEL AROUND THE EARTH 7.5 TIMES IN ONE SECOND

The word diamond comes from the Greek “A-damas” and is a combination of A which means “not” and Damas, which means “untameable”. Perfect description for the hardest natural substance on earth!

The biggest diamond ever found comes from Cullinan, a small town east of Pretoria. It weighs 3106 carats and was found in 1905. The then Transvaal government bought it and gifted it to the king of England. The diamond was sent via ordinary mail and survived the sea journey.

The word carat is derived from the seed of the carob tree. All carob seeds weigh about the same and became the measurement unit for gemstones. One carat equals 0.2 grams, so a five carat diamond will only weigh 1 gram.

In South Africa, it is illegal to be have rough diamonds in your possession if you are not a licenced rough dealer. The legal term is IDB (Illicit Diamond Buying) and you can spend quite a bit of time in jail if caught.

The value of white diamonds is worked out according to the 4 C’s: Carat weight, colour, clarity and cut. The colour grading of diamonds is done by using letters of the alphabet, starting with the letter D, being the whitest. This system was started in the late 1930’s. 

Not all diamonds found can be used for jewellery. More than 80% of diamonds are used for industrial purposes. Henry Ford was one of the first people to uncover industrial uses for diamonds and sponsored research into suitable applications by  the manufacturing sector.

We hope you enjoyed these fun facts. Let us know if you would like to know more and we will be happy to dedicate another blog to this topic.