April’s Birthstone:
Diamond

Lucere-3-stone-ring600
This classic style 3 stone ring features three square-cut brilliant diamonds.

Diamond

Diamond is celebrated for the purity of its brilliance. The word diamond is derived from the Greek word, adamas, meaning “unconquerable,” given to the stone because of its supreme hardness. Diamond is made of pure carbon and has an immensely strong crystal structure, this makes it the hardest of all minerals. Evidence suggests that diamonds were formed up to 125 miles deep within the earth, and some stones may be as much as three billion years old.

best Sepkus colored dia band
Designer Alex Sepkus frequently shows off the beautiful spice tones of natural-colored diamonds in his work.

Most natural diamonds are near-colorless; truly colorless ones are rare. Diamonds may be colored in a variety of hues. Extreme heat and irradiation permanently enhance certain innate color properties, allowing them to display their hues in more brilliant array. Black diamonds, for example, are usually enhanced in this way.

Your jeweler will inform you of the magical journey your diamond has followed, from deep within the earth's mantle to the fine, finished gemstone you see before you, and will tell you how to best care for your diamond.

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In addition to the above information from the AGTA and other sources, you can find facts about these of gems and more at the "Gems and Gem Materials" online course, through the University of California-Berkeley's Department of Earth and Planetary Science. The website is available for the general public, and contains a wealth of information for the budding gemologist and anyone interested in learning more about gemstones. Hanna Cook-Wallace has contributed to this site, which was developed by Jill Banfield while teaching at the University of Wisconsin.