You know I love a good fun fact, but when they’re about diamonds it makes it that much more fun. I’ve collected five of the most amazing facts about this gemstone that are going to make you love them way more than you already do.
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Diamonds are more than a billion years old! What?! Yes, diamonds are created about one hundred miles under the earth under high pressure and high temperatures, but who knew they would take up to three billion years to form. If you have the chance to look at these precious natural gemstones, you will appreciate them way more by knowing everything they underwent before they came right before your eyes. Oh, and deep volcanic eruptions is what brought them to the surface. Pretty cool, right?
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Diamonds can only be scratched with other diamonds! Since they are the hardest natural substance known to men, with a 10 on Mohs Scale, they can only be scratched with other diamonds. Hardness is the resistance of scratching, bending, cutting, or abrasion, and diamonds beings the hardest of them all, they are to last you a lifetime. If you don’t know if your diamond is real or fake, try scratching it with sandpaper... if it does, bad news! It is definitely not a diamond.
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Diamonds as engagement rings can be traced back to 1477! Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy with a gold ring set with diamonds that spelled a letter M. M for Maximilian or Mary, though? We don’t know, but it was certainly a strong move as 500 years later we are still using diamonds as the main symbol for eternal love and commitment.
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Diamonds were thought to cure illnesses! Wow. In the Middle Ages, diamonds were thought to have healing properties, and rituals were made with them in the hope to heal mental illnesses and fatigue. They were ingested and used as talisman in the belief that they had magical powers to fight evil, too! The wearer would be protected in battles and more, which is why the swords of soldiers had diamonds on them. Moreover, they were of course used as adornments and as cutting tools because of their hard properties. All in all, who would say a diamond is not the most magical substance we know?
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The word “diamond” derives from the Greek word “adamas”. Adamas means invincible or indestructible, which is what a diamond is in essence. A diamond is the hardest substance known to men, 100% pure carbon with a tight atom structure that is resistant to scratching and bending. Also, wearing it kind of makes you feel invincible too, doesn’t it?