The Q&A Times - Why are diamonds so valuable?

   QUESTION: Tell me about diamonds and why they are so valuable?
   ANSWER: That�s a great question.    There are many reasons... more than I can cover in one segment. I will give you some answers over the next couple of issues that will help you understand a little more about diamonds. First, here are a few tidbits of information that might get you as excited as I was when I first heard them.
   Diamonds are formed 75 to 225 miles down inside the earth. A diamond cannot have any sand around when it forms or it cannot be made. It is brought to the surface by volcanoes. A diamond is shrouded in mysteries. Diamonds have caused wars. One single diamond can cost as much as forty eight million dollars an ounce. Through the mere possession of a diamond, leadership positions have been empowered. Diamonds have conjured deep emotions, even symbolizing love since the beginning of man.
   Diamonds form 75 to 225 miles down inside the earth. That is where temperature and pressure is so intense that it takes oil, graphite or coal and compresses it into a cubic atomic arrangement that comprises the hardest substance known to man. It is fun to hear some one say this is an old diamond it belonged to my grandmother, when in actually the youngest known diamond deposits on the earth are approximately sixty five million years old. Grandma must have been real old.
How hard are diamonds?
   In the natural realm, a diamond is rated a 10 on the Moh hardness scale. The next hardest natural substance is a ruby, which is actually a red sapphire, and is 30 to 40 times softer than a diamond.
Why are diamonds so popular?
   Gemstones have always been popular for four different reasons.
   1. Beauty - They scintillate to the eye and can be extremely beautiful to behold.
   2. Status - They have always been a form of status and a symbol of power. Kings and noblemen couldn't show off their vast warships or tanks on TV like they do today; but great gemstones could be worn by Kings, Queens, Noblemen and their ladies to show vast wealth and buying power. Gifts of great jewels sealed national pacts and won favor with other rulers.
   3. Power - In some instances just possessing a certain jewel was all it took to be the symbol of rulership, as in the early cultures of India. One of the first large diamonds ever known was the Great Mogul or the Eye of the Mogul. When it was stolen the mogul was deposed. Sometimes the power of the stone lent status and rulership to the owner. Sometimes it spread ill will. The great Hope Diamond is a diamond that has had a reputation of being unlucky to its owner. It received this reputation from ill fates of many of its owners... some dying, some committing suicide, and some losing their fortunes and going broke. The stone was probably originally the great French Blue Diamond which was stolen from its first owner (the French government) and re-cut into the now cushion shaped Hope Diamond. The Hope is not the largest diamond... it just happens to be the largest natural blue diamond. It is now owned by the US Government.
Is that good?
   4. Portable wealth - Perhaps the most important aspect of great jewels is their quickly portable wealth. The king or queen who possessed a vast quantity of jewels was insured of a means of prosperity. They didn't have a national health care or presidential retirement fund. It provided for their retirement fund that if they were deposed. They could quickly and easily move to a more hospitable location, take their jewels with them and live a life of relative ease. It was a lot easier and quicker to transport a bag of precious gems rather than a ton or two of gold.
When did diamonds become so popular?
   Gemstones have been popular since the beginning of man. At first colored stones were the most popular gemstones because they were more interesting and novel in the uncut form, and much easier to cut. The diamond did not reach its height of popularity until the regional festivals of Europe were moved from outside daytime festivals to inside evening balls with dancing. Colored stones did not glisten in the candlelight as did diamonds.
   Next time we will talk about other characteristics that give a diamond its value.