The Desire of Diamonds

What girl about town does not love a bit of bling… a few rocks, a bit of ice on the finger.  The colour, the glint, the pizzazz, the desire, the sense of occasion it brings, the sense of envy it conveys.

Diamonds, nature’s hardest material, are also one of it’s most desired. Bling is the thing and the diamond doesn’t show any signs of losing its allure.

Anything extremely rare is also precious and diamonds, especially big ones, are pretty rare indeed…and a girl with style….well let’s just say it does something for her. Some girls say it’s because of the sign of commitment, others, because of the whole pretty sparkliness of them, and still others that they hold an intangible mystery.

Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometres, deep in the Earth’s mantle. That’s certainly some mystery.

Of course the ultimate girl of all, HRH Queen Elizabeth II (on behalf of the Brits) owns one of the biggest and most expensive diamonds in the world – the Koh-I-Noor. Translating as “Mountain of Light” from the Persian it’s a whooping 105 carat monster of a rock. Originating from the Andhra Pradesh state in India it was owned by various Sikh, Mughal and Persian rulers but now resides in the Tower of London and is of course a hugely popular tourist attraction.

 

Big as the Koh-I-Noor is, it’s a grain of sand when compared to the one that some believe lurks at the core of Neptune – kind of the whole centre of the planet -according to Ray Smith at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Crown Escorts have two other favourites. Damien Hirst’s infamous diamond skull artwork, ‘For The Love Of God’ and who wouldn’t want a diamond encrusted Mercedes. Definitely a prezzie for the boy who has everything

 

 

But size isn’t everything, as every gentleman knows. But where diamonds are concerned the four C’s are what really matters.

Colour: This is where Australia can really step up with its legendary Argyle mine producing 90% of the World’s pink diamonds. So rare are these little beauties that a whole years production of pinks would fit into the palm of your hand. Look out too for Steel Gray, White, Champagne, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, Brown, Pink Champagne, Pink Rose, Pink and Purple Pink.

Carat: Based on the weight of the seeds of the carab tree, like all other precious stones , diamonds are weighed in carats. Now the standardised weight of a carat is 0.2 grams. One carat is divided into 100 points. So a diamond of 30 points would weigh 0.3 carats.

Clarity: One of the most delicious things about diamonds is their inclusions – minute traces of non-crystalized carbon or small non diamond crystals. These little beggars, mostly not visible to the eye, are nature’s fingerprint. Every diamond is unique because of its inclusions. However the fewer there are the rarer the diamond.

Cut: The Cut is the C most influenced by man. The fire and sparkle and the brilliance of the flicker are largely determined by the skill and precision of the cut. The polisher can work miracles and we applaud him or her for services rendered to love and desire.

Desire diamonds and you desire the ultimate status symbol, the ultimate financial security and the ultimate gemstone.