Diamonds
When Marilyn Monroe sang passionately “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953), the female audience was dazzled even more by the sparkle of precious gemstones.
The Hollywood industry knew very well this indissoluble bond and showed off it accordingly. Besides, the Elizabeth Taylor’s myth is based greatly on her fabulous collection of jewels and precious gems… Also, in 1971, Shirley Bassey exalted diamonds by singing “Diamonds are forever” in the famous James Bond’s film...
No one can deny the fact that, in ancient times, diamonds played a very important role in many civilizations especially in China and India, as these people knew in depth the properties of these gems.
Etymologically, the word diamond derives from the Greek adamas that means unbroken, untamed. In other words, the rock cannot be processed because of its hardness. The diamond is a precious mineral rock which is composed of pure crystallized carbon.
The transformation of carbon into a clear transparent crystal requires high temperatures (above 1500 C), enormous pressures (depth bigger than 150 km) and unlimited time (more than 2500 million years). The last element (time) makes the diamond unique as it does not allow to create white and clear diamonds in labs.
Only a small amount (just 3-5%) of pure diamonds is used in jewellery, while the rest is intended for industrial use. Proportionally, from every two tones of rocks only one carat of diamonds is mined.