| By :
Nick Messe
Diamonds are one of the most desirable gifts that anyone can give to someone they love. They are considered to be treasured gemstones. Diamonds are used in necklaces, bracelets, rings and in other types of jewelry. They are used extensively in engagement rings. A diamond is well-suited for daily wear because it is not easily scratched. A diamond can only be scratched by another diamond. When diamonds are used in jewelry, they are graded by the four Cs, which are commonly called carat, cut, color and clarity. These are very important aspects of a diamond. There are many cuts and shapes of diamonds. There are round brilliant, marquise, pear shaped, oval, heart shaped and princess cut diamonds. They are cut and shaped to satisfy personal preferences and to fully maximize the brilliance. Diamonds are found and mined in various locations around the world. Central and southern Africa produces roughly 49% of the diamonds of the world. Canada, India, Zimbabwe, Angola, Brazil and Russia also produce significant sources of the mineral. Diamonds were historically found only in southern India but the mines were nearly exhausted by the late 1800s. Diamond fields were discovered in Africa in the 1870s. Diamonds have also been found in the United States in Arkansas, Montana and Colorado. Due a diamond's hardness, they are used for many applications other than jewelry. The properties of the diamond have become useful in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. The industrial use of diamonds has created a demand for synthetic diamonds which are manufactured in a laboratory. Gem-quality, synthetic diamonds are also manufactured in a laboratory, such as cubic zirconia and silicon carbide. Techniques have been specially developed to distinguish between natural and synthetic diamonds. Chemical vapor deposition is one of the ways to develop synthetic diamonds. This method can produce crystals that are several millimeters in size but this technique is mostly used for coatings. Emeralds, rubies and sapphires are also considered precious gems. There has been a traditional classification of gems that goes as far back as to the ancient Greeks in that some stones are labeled as precious and some as being semi-precious. Today, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds are labeled as precious stones with all of the other gemstones being called semi-precious stones. This is misleading because it implies that some stones are more valuable than others, which is not the case. When looking for a gift for someone you love, whether it will be for a man or a woman, a visit to a local jewelry store is the place to start. A consultation with one of the jewelers will help you to find a piece of jewelry that will not only excite the recipient but will endear them to you forever.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
