Jewellery Curiosities - 10 little known facts about diamonds

Everybody has heard that "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from Marilyn Monroe Movie, but there are quite a number of things about them of which you may not be aware. Check out the following obscure data we have researched. $60 Billion - that's the annual turnover size of the diamond industry. We are all well informed through advertising of those qualities of diamonds that lend themselves to our social cohesion, in expressing love and devotion, for example - especially around Valentine's Day. But how much do you really know about them? Here are 10 interesting and revealing facts: Ten - Diamonds are essentially fireproof. Technically, they can be burned, though it can not happen until the temperature reaches a sizzling 700 degrees Celsius. Nine - Diamond crystals were displaced nearer to the Earth's surface by deep-rooted, tumultuous volcanic eruptions years ago. Eight - The "Cullinan" is the largest rough diamond ever discovered on Earth, and weighing in at a little over 20.8 ounces (0.589 kg) makes it 3106 carats to be exact. Seven - Diamonds are not only used as body ornaments but also as high powered industrial tools. Certain cutting and shaping blades are constructed of diamond particles. Due to the gem's outstanding strength, diamond saws can cut through rocks, brick and concrete with ease. Six - What makes a diamond so unique? If you assume it is because they are in short supply, you'd be wrong. As revealed by the Washington Post, clever marketing claims and an artificially restricted supply keeps those prices lofty. Five - It has been reported that an asteroid crater located in Russia holds a stock of diamonds worth over $1 quadrillion. The 62-mile crater in eastern Siberia contains trillions of carats, sufficiently large to satisfy world market demand for over 3000 years Four - Dead bodies can be 'morphed into diamonds'. In Italy last year, a father had his deceased son cremated and the remains transformed by a Swiss company, using a technique of compressing the ashes into a gem called a "remembrance diamond". Three - India's long, rich history is inextricably linked to diamond production. India had the only diamond mines in existence up until the 18th century. Two - The majority of diamonds discovered in nature are somewhere between 1 and 3 billion years old. One - Beyond planet Earth, there are other places where diamonds exist in abundance. Scientists at Yale University claim that the planet,"55 Cancrie", twice as big as Earth, is practically a diamond planet. Their researchers note: "The surface is literally covered in graphite and diamond, as opposed to granite and water." So once you got there you could be 'rich' and well-tooled up, but how long would you last in contrast to the life-span of the diamonds? HG