We do not carry diamond. It is pure carbon and the hardest natural material, and it is the traditional April birthstone.
Native element (carbon)
Diamond
Diamante
- Palette
- Clear White Yellow Brown Pink Blue Black Gray
- Mined in
- Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Russia, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil
- Hardness
- Mohs 10.0 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Greek adamas, meaning unbreakable
- Intention
- Strength Love
- Looking for
- Courage Relationships Prosperity
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Diamond beads are usually chips and are often enhanced: heat or radiation to change color, glass-like fillers in surface cracks, and sometimes thin coatings. Many are natural in color but not all.
Not in our pieces now
150-250 KM
Most gem diamonds formed 150 to 250 kilometers down and are 1 to 3.5 billion years old, long before the volcanic pipes that carried them up.
FREDERICK WELLS
Mine surface manager Frederick Wells spotted the 3,106-carat Cullinan rough, 5.5 meters below the surface at the Premier mine, on 26 January 1905.
45.52 CARATS
The Hope Diamond weighs 45.52 carats and glows red for a while after being exposed to short-wave ultraviolet light.
What it is
Pure crystalline carbon, usually colorless but also found in yellow, brown, pink, blue and black. Rough stones look like dull, glassy pebbles; cut stones flash white light and color.
What gives it its color
Diamond's colors come from impurities and damage in the crystal: nitrogen gives yellow or brown, boron gives blue, and natural radiation gives green; dark chips are often colored by radiation, heat or high pressure and heat, and some are coated or have cracks filled.
Where it comes from
Today's diamonds come mainly from Botswana (Jwaneng), Russia (Yakutia), Canada (Diavik), Australia (Argyle, the largest by weight), Namibia and South Africa; India's river fields were the first source.
In history
Diamonds were first mined in India, where they have been known for at least 3,000 years. The Hope Diamond began as a blue stone from India that the trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier sold to Louis XIV in 1668; it was stolen from the French royal storehouse in 1792 and has been at the Smithsonian since 1958. The Cullinan, found in South Africa in 1905, is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found at 3,106 carats, and its two biggest cut stones are in the British Crown Jewels.
What's said about it
In crystal lore today, the diamond stands for purity, fidelity and a long-term bond, and for a sense of one's own strength. People also keep it in a wallet or cash box for prosperity.
Ancient writers named it from the Greek word for unconquerable. For a clear stone from our table, ask about clear quartz or moonstone.
How people wear or keep it: As earrings, as a necklace, in a wallet or cash box, or in a pocket.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, diamond is paired with the crown chakra, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as earrings, as a necklace, in a wallet or cash box. People reach for it when they want courage, relationships, prosperity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraCrown
ZodiacAries, Leo, Taurus, Virgo
BirthstoneApril
Anniversary10th
Care
- The hardest natural material, but hard is not unbreakable: a sharp blow can still chip it.
- Clean with a soft brush and mild soapy water, then dry.
- Store apart from other jewelry; diamond scratches everything else.
How to tell what you have
- Real diamond is the hardest gem (10 on the Mohs scale) and scratches almost anything else; cubic zirconia shows more rainbow fire than diamond.
- Lab-grown diamond looks identical to mined diamond, so only a lab report can say which a stone is. Black or deep-color beads may be color-changed by heat or radiation.
What sets the price
Diamond beads are small chips cut from leftover pieces, so the price follows the chips' color, whether heat, radiation or a clear filler was used on them, and the bead size; the clarity-and-cut grading used for faceted diamonds is not applied to chip beads.
Rules and sourcing
Rough diamonds crossing borders must carry a Kimberley Process certificate, and US rules bar importing diamond jewelry or diamonds of 0.5 carat and up that are of Russian origin or exported from Russia. A seller of diamond beads should be able to say where they came from. Diamond beads are usually chips and are often enhanced with heat or radiation, glass-like fillers in cracks, and thin coatings. The FTC jewelry guides call for a seller to disclose them.
Related stones
Questions people ask at our table
Do you sell diamonds?
No. Our pieces are natural stone beads. For a clear, bright stone we carry clear quartz, and moonstone for a soft glow.
What is a diamond?
Pure carbon, formed deep in the Earth and carried up in volcanic rock. It is the hardest natural material, 10 on the Mohs scale.
Is the hardest stone also the toughest?
Not quite. Diamond resists scratching better than anything else, but it can still chip or split along its crystal planes if struck.
Is the color natural?
Colorless diamond is natural, but pink, blue and yellow stones sold as jewelry are often enhanced by heating or irradiation. Ask for a report if it matters.
Is a Herkimer diamond a diamond?
No. It is a clear quartz crystal from New York with a point at each end. The name is a nickname.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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