Diamond info and trivia

A Diamond is one of the two best known forms of carbon, whose hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful in industrial applications and jewelry. Diamonds are specifically renowned as a mineral with superlative physical qualities, they make excellent abrasives because they can be scratched only by other diamonds, ultrahard fullerite, or aggregated diamond nanorods, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain luster.

Roughly 49% of diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, India, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are generally mined from volcanic pipes, which are deep in the Earth where the high pressure and temperature enables the formation of the crystals. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversial stories. There are also allegations that the De Beers Group misuses its dominance in the industry.
The carat weight measures the mass of a diamond. One carat is defined as exactly 200 milligrams (about 0.007 ounce). The price per carat does not increase smoothly with increasing size.

Diamond cutting is the art and science of creating a gem quality diamond out of mined rough. The cut of a diamond describes the manner in which a diamond has been shaped and polished from its beginning form as a rough stone to its final gem proportions. The cut of a diamond describes the quality of workmanship and the angles to which a diamond is cut. Often diamond cut is confused with "shape."

Because of their extraordinary physical properties, diamonds have been used symbolically since near the time of their first discovery. Perhaps the earliest symbolic use of diamonds was as the eyes of Hindu devotional statues. The diamonds themselves were thought to be endowments from the gods and were therefore cherished. The point at which diamonds began to be associated with divinity is unknown, but early texts indicate it was recognized in India since 400 BCE. It is said Greeks believed diamonds were tears of the gods; the Romans believed they were splinters of fallen stars. Many long dead cultures have sought to explain diamond's superlative properties through divine mystical affiliations.

Trivia

Diamonds Are Forever was a famous Bond movie starring Connery, the song of the film was sung by Shirley Bassey.

Diamonds Are For Heather was the name of a classic epsiode of the BBC's comedy Only Fools and Horses.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was a famous song written by former beatle McCartney.

Gucci two years ago limited edition jeans with diamond studs $4000 a pair, a diffusion range with silver studs for $1000 a pair

The Star of Victoria Fantasy Bra is studded with a total of more than 2,500 carats of diamonds, sapphires, and other gemstones stones. The rose and leaf motif alone on the Star of Victora is made up of 320 carats. It is still up for sale for $10 million!

The world's most expensive teabag was created in 2005. The diamond teabag worth £7,500 has been made by Boodles jewellers to celebrate PG Tips 75th birthday.

The tea bag took three months to make has been hand-crafted using 280 diamonds.

In Coventry during WW2 Italian POWs were often called Diamond Italians because of the big diamonds shaped patches sown onto their trousers.

In 1944, Oscar nominee Jennifer Jones wore a diamond necklace and earrings borrowed from a famed Fifth Avenue jeweller.

Joan Crawford was one of the first celebrities to regularly wear her own diamonds to the award show. She wore the same diamonds to the 1962 Academy Awards ceremony that she had worn in the 1940s. Elizabeth Taylor In 1970 made headlines around the world when she wore the 69-carat pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond (given to her by Richard Burton) as a pendant to the Oscars.

Oprah Winfrey told the Los Angeles Times in 1996, "I only wear my own." She has since worn her "own" to the Oscars on several occasions.

In 1995 when Nicholas Cage was up for Best Actor for "Leaving Las Vegas" he promised wife Patricia Arquette he would buy her a diamond suite she was wearing on loan if he won. Cage took the Oscar that night and Patricia took the diamonds.

In 1999 when Gwyneth Paltrow won an Oscar for Best Actress, "Shakespeare in Love", her father, producer Bruce Paltrow, purchased for her the stunning 40 carat, $160,000 diamond necklace.

In 1999 Whoopi Goldberg, she set an oscar record wearing an estimated $71 million worth of diamonds on stage.

The 15 carat, blue diamond necklace worn to the 1998 Oscars by Best Supporting Actress nominee Gloria Stuart was worth $20 million.

In 2002 Laura Elena Harring's wore $1 million diamond shoes for the oscar ceremony.

Famous people with surname Diamond include

Free Diamonds a pop group from Newcastle.

Anne Diamond, famous GMTV presenter

Dominic Diamond is a Scottish DJ

Zander Diamond Famous Aberdeen FC footballer.

Neil Diamond is a famous singer.

Rushden & Diamonds are a famous lower league English soccer side.

Origin of the surname diamond

For Jewish (Ashkenazic) people it is an Americanized form of a Jewish surname, spelled in various ways, derived from modern German Diamant, Demant ‘diamond’, or Yiddish dime(n)t, going back to Middle High German diemant (via Latin from Greek adamas ‘unconquerable’, genitive adamantos, a reference to the hardness of the stone). The name is mostly ornamental, one of the many Ashkenazic surnames based on mineral names, though in some cases may have been adopted by a jeweler.
In English: the name is often a variant of Dayman. At least in part the result of folk etymology.
In Irish society the name is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Diamáin ‘descendant of Diamán’, earlier Díomá or Déamán, a diminutive of Díoma, itself a pet form of Diarmaid.

Similar sounding names to diamond

Iamonds are shapes made from equilateral triangles. Many have found them a tremendous amount of fun to play with. An IAMOND RING was made by Kadon Enterprises.

The surname Dimon is an Irish variant of Diamond. Although with French it is probably a southeastern variant of Demont.

Dimond is an English and Irish variant of Diamond.

Diemond is another popular surname possibly another variant.

dimond is a neighborhood in Oakland California.

Diamon - Fusion International is a Science company

Foreign terms for Diamond

Diamant = Germany, Sweden, Danish, Holland, and France

Diamante = Spain and Italy

birthplace of British PMs

birthplace of Australian PMs

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birthplace of Irish PMs