You’ve probably seen ads on tv, in the mall, or on the radio advertising jewelry and saying that “a diamond is forever.” Is this saying true? Are diamonds special and rare? Or is it just marketing?
Well, the answer is that it’s partially true. Any diamond that you can see could not form at the surface of earth because the conditions on Earth’s surface are not suitable for the formation of diamonds. At the surface of the Earth a diamond is metastable. This means that a diamond would not naturally form at the Earth’s surface, but if it arrives at the Earth’s surface it can exist there as if it were stable. The stable crystal form of carbon at the earth’s surface is graphite, the soft gray stuff in your pencil, not a diamond.
How do diamonds form?
Diamonds form really deep in the Earth where there are very high pressures and temperatures. The only places that they form are at the base of continents. Continents are shaped kind of like icebergs, with more material on the bottom than on the top. It’s almost like a root to keep the continent balanced. This root area is where diamonds form naturally. As the diamond travels upward to the surface of the earth it will recrystallize to form graphite as the pressure and the temperature both decrease because it has entered the area where graphite is the stable form of carbon.
How do diamonds get to the surface?
So how does a diamond even get to the surface of the earth without recrystallizing to graphite? The answer is really, really fast. The diamonds that make it to the surface are blasted up quickly, at a rate somewhere around 30-50 miles per hour in order to not completely recrystallize or dissolve. If a diamond moves slower than that then it will no longer exist by the time it reaches the earth’s surface.
Are diamonds rare?
No. Diamonds are not rare. They are fairly common, and are more common than many other minerals and gemstones. The main reason that we think diamonds are rare is because of the influence of diamond companies and their marketing strategies.
Before the DeBeers company pushed advertising on diamonds, many people used other, more colorful gemstones in their engagement rings. It was very common for engagement rings to be made with rubies or sapphires, which were the most popular gemstones for jewelry at the time.
Why are diamonds so popular?
The answer is really just marketing. Looking at a few different popular jewelry websites I see the following slogans about diamonds:
“A diamond is forever”
“A diamond is a girl’s best friend”
“Icon of modern love”
“You deserve the best”
“It’s your turn to shine”
Jewelry companies really want people to buy diamonds, so they have put a lot of effort into making diamonds seem like a necessity, and like the best gemstone you could put in a piece of jewelry.
What makes diamonds so special anyway?
Diamonds are really only special because of how we treat them.
Yes, they do form under intense pressure deep in the earth, but so do many other gemstones.
Yes, they are sparkly, but so are other gemstones.
They do have a Mohs hardness of 10, which is the highest rating. This means that they will not be scratched by anything, so that does add to its value in jewelry, but there are other gemstones that have a hardness of 8 or 9 so they will also be very durable.
The only thing that makes diamonds special is that we love them so much and use them in a lot of our most special jewelry. That’s not a problem though! If you love diamonds then go ahead and buy them and wear them! I have diamonds on my wedding ring that I wear, so don’t think I’m saying diamonds are bad or that you shouldn’t wear them. They just aren’t as special or as rare as the diamond companies want you to think.
What is the difference between a natural diamond and a lab-grown diamond?
The only difference is really that natural diamonds form deep in the earth and lab-grown diamonds form in a lab. Other than that they are the same. They are made of the same material and have the same crystal structure. In fact, the only way to tell if a diamond is natural or lab-grown is to do some spectroscopic testing. This means that you would need to use a special piece of equipment to test how electromagnetic radiation interacts with the diamond.
Other uses for diamonds
When you think of a diamond you probably think of a sparkling piece of jewelry. However, most diamonds are not gemstone quality, meaning they are not clear enough or sparkly enough or aren’t a good color. These diamonds, sometimes called industrial diamonds, are used to line saw blades, to test hardness, to make grinding wheels, and a lot of other things that usually have to do with the hardness of the diamond. Many of the industrial diamonds are lab-grown diamonds, however natural diamonds are also used as industrial diamonds.
Conclusions
Diamonds are definitely beautiful, sparkly gemstones. They have uses both as gemstones and as an industrial material because of their hardness. Diamonds are not that rare or that special when compared to other gemstones, but we view them differently than other gems because of how successful the diamond companies have run their marketing campaigns. If you want to own a diamond for cheap you just need to look on Amazon! You can get a loose diamond for any budget there, from $7 up to thousands of dollars.
Sources:
Baird, Christopher S. December 17, 2013. “Why do Diamonds Last Forever?” Science Questions With Surprising Answers. http://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2013/12/17/why-do-diamonds-last-forever/
De Beers Group. “A Diamond is Forever: How the slogan of the century changed the diamond industry”https://www.debeersgroup.com/the-group/about-debeers-group/brands/a-diamond-is-forever
Ray, C. Claiborne. June 12, 2017. “Are Diamonds Really Forever?” The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/science/diamonds.html
Rosen, Seth I. 2019. “Are Diamonds Really Rare? Diamond Myths and Misconceptions”. International Gem Society. https://www.gemsociety.org/article/are-diamonds-really-rare/
USGS. “Industrial Diamond Statistics and Information” National Minerals Information Center. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/industrial-diamond-statistics-and-information