April has the glittering diamond as its birthstone! Learn more about this popular gemstone below.
- The largest diamond ever found, the Cullinan diamond, weighed in at 3,106 carats, or 1.37 pounds!
- Even though there are hardly any gem-quality diamonds mined the US, America makes up 40% of the diamond buyer’s market, the most in the world.
- Diamonds are the hardest substance currently known on Earth.
- Joseph Asscher, a famed gemcutter, was given the honor of cutting the Cullinan diamond for the British crown jewels. Legend has it that he fainted after making the first cut.
- Before the 1700s, most diamonds were found in India.
- During the Middle Ages, diamonds were thought to protect the wearer from almost all diseases, both physical and mental.
- While white is the most popular, diamonds can naturally come in all colors of the rainbow! Blue, red, orange and green are the rarest.
- Because of their hardness, diamond jewelry pieces should be stored separately so they don’t damage other gemstones.
- Diamonds were being used by gemcutters in India as early as 300 BCE to engrave other gemstones.
- You can burn a diamond. House fires and jeweler’s torches can get hot enough. Diamonds are made of carbon, after all!
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