Diamonds belong to the most fascinating gems on Earth. Here are 7 incredible facts about diamonds that might surprise you:
1. Most diamonds found today are between 1 and 3.5 billion years old. Imagine, they started forming before dinosaurs walked the Earth!
2. The word diamond comes from the Greek word "adamas", which means indestructible. This word perfectly describes this tough and enduring gem.
3. Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known. The only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.
4. Diamonds are formed about 160 km beneath the Earth's surface and are brought to the surface through volcanic eruptions.
5. While most people think of diamonds as colorless, they can actually be blue, pink, yellow, and even red.
6. Diamonds are the only gems made of one element. They are made of pure carbon.
7. The largest diamond ever discovered was the Cullinan Diamond, which originally weighed about 3,106 carats. Do you remember the difference between carats and karats from the previous blog post? 1 carat = 0.2 g, so 3,106 carats is approximately 621 g.
Were you familiar with any of these facts about diamonds? Let me know.