The World of Rough Diamonds
Rough diamonds are those diamonds which are uncut and still in their natural form. Uncut, rough diamonds come in different shapes and sizes. These are Octahedral, Cubic, Macle Twins, Balas crystals and more. When you get used to seeing uncut rough diamonds, you are most likely able to recognize one when you see one in a diamond mine or diamond pit.
Ancient Use of Diamonds
During the older times, uncut diamonds were picked from riverbeds. Kings and nobles already recognize the value of this hard crystal and utilized the diamonds for armor studding in their breast plates. Further on, kings and queens used the rough diamonds as accessories for their crowns and other jewelry. They might not look as beautiful as they do now but they still have their appeal because diamonds were prized even a long time ago.
In this day and age, most diamonds are mined in Africa. In the early 1500's, diamonds were traded from India. When the supply from India petered out people found diamonds in Brazil and this country became the next diamond center for the following years. Eventually, volcanic pipes were discovered in Africa and these contained the most of the best rough diamonds in the world.
The largest of all rough diamonds ever found to this day is the Cullinan Diamond which was found in 1905 in South Africa. It is 3, 106.75 carats and the second largest is the Excelsior Diamond at 995.20 carats, also found in South Africa. Most rough diamonds found in Kimberlite volcanic rock is approximately 1 billion to 3 billion year old.
Up to this day, more than half of the diamonds available in the world come from Africa. Most common available diamond specimens are from South Africa, Australia, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Picking a Diamond
When buying a cut diamond, professionals will advise you to remember the 4 c's. That means Carat, Clarity, Cut and Color, not necessarily in that order. Diamond size may be indicative of its price if all other factors are good. Metric carat, which is .20 grams, is the standard unit of weight for diamonds.
Clarity refers to how clear a diamond is. Most diamonds have imperfections in them. The clarity scales measures how severe the imperfections or inclusions of the diamonds are. When we talk about the cut of a diamond, this means the shape of the diamond, and its proportions and finish, major factors that determine brilliance and sparkle of the diamond. The second biggest factor that affects the price of a diamond is its color. Diamonds come in many colors. Usually, a diamond is colorless or white. A slight yellowish tinge can lower its value, whereas, if it is really yellow then it goes under the fancy color category. Fancy colors of a diamond can range from blue, pink, yellow, red and any others.
|
