First thing that comes to your mind when thinking about diamonds is probably
jewelry. But why are diamonds so expensive and why do people use them for jewelry? Answer
is quite simple; diamond is a mineral composed of pure carbon and the hardest known
natural material which combined with his high dispersion of light makes it very suitable
for jewelry.
But jewelry is not the only thing where diamonds can be used since theyre
also quite useful in industry as well. For instance diamonds make excellent
abrasives since they can be only scratched by other diamonds; therefore they hold a polish
remarkably well as well as retaining their shine.
The name diamond itself has its roots as most words in Greek word adamas
meaning invincible which probably refers to their supreme physical qualities. Although
diamonds were being held as treasure from ancient times, their full exploit started in
19th century thanks to combination of increasing demand and improved cutting and polishing
techniques.
Almost 50 % of all diamonds originate from Africa (mostly central and southern)
and about 130 million carats (26000 kg) are mined annually and about 100 000 kg are
synthesized annually. Although Africa is by far the richest continent when it comes to
diamonds, some other countries on other continents are also having decent amount of
sources like for instance Russia, Australia, India and Canada.
But diamonds are not luxurious in all points of view, especially for workers in Africa and
are often subjects of controversies when it comes to the mining and distribution. Diamonds
are formed deep in the Earth thanks to extreme pressure and temperatures over the long
period of time and are mined from kimberlite and lamproite volcanic pipes.
Diamonds vary in color from colorless all the way to black and they can be also
transparent, translucent or even opaque. Lots of African paramilitary groups raise their
funds thanks to diamonds and exploit of poor workers that are forced to mine them for
their military purposes.