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Rough diamond crystal

As well as clear quartz, a gemstone for April is diamond. Diamond (from the ancient Greek ADAMAS, meaning unbreakable, proper, or unalterable) is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. Diamonds have been known to humankind and used as decorative items since ancient times; some of the earliest references can be traced to India.

Diamond's hardness and high dispersion of light - giving the diamond its characteristic "fire" - make it useful for industrial applications and desirable as jewelry. Diamonds are such a highly traded commodity that multiple organizations have been created for grading and certifying them based on the four Cs, which are carat, cut, color, and clarity. Other characteristics, such as shape and presence or lack of fluorescence, also affect the desirability and thus the value of a diamond used for jewelry.

Oppenheimer Diamond
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The carat weight measures the mass of a diamond. One carat is defined as 200 milligrams (about 0.007 ounce avoirdupois). The point unit equal to one one-hundredth of a carat (0.01 carat, or 2 mg) is commonly used for diamonds of less than one carat. All else being equal, the price per carat increases with carat weight, since larger diamonds are both rarer and more desirable for use as gemstones.

Clarity is a measure of internal defects of a diamond called inclusions. Inclusions may be crystals of a foreign material or another diamond crystal, or imperfections such as tiny cracks that can appear whitish or cloudy. The number, size, color, relative location, orientation, and visibility of inclusions can all affect the relative clarity of a diamond.

The most fine quality as per color grading is totally colorless which is Graded as "D" color diamond across the globe which means it is absolutely free from any color. The next is very slight traces of color, which can be observed by any expert diamond valuer/grading laboratory.

Cut diamonds
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Diamonds, which show very little traces of color, are graded as E, F, G or H color diamonds. Slightly colored diamonds are graded as I or J or K colors. A diamond can be found in any other color also other than colorless. Some of the color diamonds such as pink are very rare diamonds and are priceless.

Diamond cutting is the art and science of creating a gem-quality diamond out of mined rough. The cut of a diamond describes the manner in which a diamond has been shaped and polished from its beginning form as a rough stone to its final gem proportions. Often diamond cut is confused with "shape".

The most famous use of the diamond in jewelry is in engagement rings, which became popular in the early to mid 1900s due to an advertising campaign by the De Beers company, though diamond rings have been used to symbolize engagements since at least the 15th century. The diamond's high value has also been the driving force behind dictators and revolutionary entities, especially in Africa, using slave and child labor to mine blood diamonds to fund conflicts.

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