(via Diamond Promotion Service) 6. Specific gravity: The diamond has a specific gravity of 3.52 because a diamond weights a little more than three and half times its equal volume of water. This means that it is a very compact gem. The specific gravity of ruby is 4.03; emerald is 2.74. This characteristic is important both for the location of diamond deposits by prospecting geologists and for the separation of diamonds from the other materials with which they are found in nature.
7. Thermal expansion: Many minerals expand and contract with heat and cold. The diamond doesn’t, and therefore is not affected by changes in temperature. A diamond will burn at 1444ºF, which is the range of a blowtorch. It will not melt until the heat reaches 6642ºF. This explains why diamonds can remain unscathed in even the most disastrous of fires.
8. Conductivity: Diamonds conduct very little heat. Most diamonds are non-conductors of electricity. Conductivity is a characteristic more important for industrial diamonds than for gems.
Where Diamonds Are Found
9. Diamonds were first found in India, more than 2500 years ago, along the banks and beds of ancient rivers. Golconda, which has always been a symbol for fabulous riches, was one of the great diamond-producing districts. Travelers brought diamonds from India into the Mediterranean world; diamonds are mentioned in the Old Testament, and they were well-known in Greek and Roman times. For many centuries India was the only source of diamonds, but today it accounts for less than one-tenth of one percent of the world’s natural diamond production.
10. Diamonds were discovered in Brazil in the 18th century, and this new source of supply helped meet the demand for diamonds by the increasingly affluent middle class in Europe. (Diamond had also been found in the East Indies by this time, but in very small numbers). South American diamonds, from Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela, account for a little more than one percent of the world’s production today.
11. The first diamond in South Africa was discovered in 1866, and the mines opened in the next 20 years made a tremendous increase in the supply of diamonds. While South African diamonds were treasured by princes and potentates, they also made it possible for almost every girl in Europe and America to have a diamond engagement ring. South Africa and South-West Africa (where diamonds were discovered in 1908) today account for about 20 percent of the world’s natural diamond production.
12. Later diamonds were discovered in other parts of Africa, and that continent is the largest producer of diamonds. Republic of Zaire (DR Congo) is the largest single diamond producing country, accounting for about 35 percent of the world’s production; but most of its diamonds are industrials rather than gems. Angola, the Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Ghana, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania together account for about 23 percent of the world’s diamonds. The newest of all diamond mines was opened in the new republic of Botswana in 1971.
13. Diamonds were discovered in eastern Siberia within our own time, in the Yakutia district above the Artic Circle. The Russians do not release their production figures, but estimates are that Russian diamonds account for about 20 percent of the annual world production today.
14. Diamonds have been found in many parts of the United States, but never in sufficient concentration for economic mining. At Murfreesboro, Arkansas, there is a diamond pipe which is worked by tourists, for fun—and they find diamonds.
Selling Diamonds (continued)
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