Pure carbon makes up the mineral known as diamond. It is the most well-known gemstone and the hardest material that exists in nature. Diamond is utilized in many significant industrial applications, such as cutting and polishing equipment, because to its exceptional hardness. The diamond is a rare gem because of its hardness and shine. The diamond is the birthstone of April and is seen in gem symbolism as a representation of unwavering love. Due to their close arrangement, diamonds can become contaminated by many impurities.
Diamonds’ color is a result of minute imperfections or impurities. For example, brown color from flaws, blue color from boron, etc. In addition to these, diamonds can also be found in the colors pink, red, purple, and yellow. Both its refractive index and optical dispersion are high in diamond. Carats, or 200 mg per carat, and points, or 0.01 carat every point, are used to weigh diamonds. Diamonds can be produced artificially or naturally.
How are diamonds created?
When carbon is deposited 150–200 km below the surface of the Earth, diamonds are created. Here, the pressure and temperature are extremely high. While many rocks take millions of years to form, some can do it in a matter of days or months. When trace elements—small amounts of chemical elements—interact with one another during the diamond’s production, colorful diamonds are created. Furthermore, the presence of these minerals helps pinpoint a diamond’s exact age, which is practically hard to ascertain from a single diamond.
The majority of natural diamonds are thought to be millions of years old. The fact that diamonds don’t always form continuously is a fascinating feature about them. Temperature and pressure variations can halt the formation of a rough diamond. It could take hundreds or even millions of years for the environment for gemstone growth to be favorable.
