The beauty and rarity of diamonds has made
them into the enduring symbol of love that they are today. They are considered
worldwide as the most romantic gift on offer and are especially favoured for
engagement rings. Even rarer are stunning coloured diamonds, which are
naturally tinted in various hues via a remarkable process. Have you ever
considered the journey that these precious stones have been on to make it into
jewellery stores worldwide? First, we will take a look at how diamonds are
formed.
How Are Diamonds Formed?
Diamonds are a product of processes deep
within the Earth’s mantle – the layer between the Earth’s crust and its
intensely heated core. In this environment, extreme pressure exists -
equivalent of the weight of four-thousand grown men. This serves to crush
carbon atoms together, altering their molecular composition to create a
lattice-like structure. When this extreme pressure is combined with the intense
1500° centigrade heat from the Earth’s core, diamonds are born. Lying
one-hundred miles below the Earth’s crust, diamonds are
propelled to the surface via a volcanic rock called kimberlite. Kimberlite
hosts diamonds and transports them outwards in pipes of molten lava, which
erupt in small volcanoes when they hit the Earth’s surface. The magma builds up
in mounds, which cool and harden with diamonds encased within. Here, they can
be found in clusters by miners. With such an incredibly long and complex
formation process, it’s no wonder that diamonds are so revered. But this leaves
the question, how do coloured diamonds gain their unique hues?
A Guide to Coloured Diamonds
Whilst coloured diamonds go through the
same extreme formation process as white diamonds, they encounter additional
elements along the way that result in variations in their appearance. These
stones are incredibly rare and beautiful; if you want to see for yourself,
the Diamond
Brokers Queensland offers diamond rings in Brisbane which will take your breath away. Each colour has its own
unique story, which we will take a look at here:
Yellow – Yellow diamonds
are famed for their appearances on the red carpet, being the favoured jewel of
celebs such as J-Lo and Natalie Portman. As with many others on this list,
these rare stones gain their distinctive colour as a result of specific light
refractions combined with added trace elements in the diamond’s composition.
Here, traces of nitrogen assemble in a way that absorbs blue light and reflects
yellow tones, giving them their yellow-orange hue.
Purple – It is thought that
traces of hydrogen may result in purple hued diamonds. Combined with their
individual crystal lattice distortion, these stones can gain a violet or dark
purple tinge.
Pink and Red –
Again, lattice distortion is the root cause of red and pink tints within
diamonds. In this case, the structural formation of the stone acts to absorb
green rays of light, leading to a red colour.
Green – Conversely, green
coloured diamonds gain their colour by absorbing radiation which exists within
the soil just below the Earth’s crust.
Blue – In blue diamonds,
boron is the root cause of the colour. This element bonds with the carbon
molecules resulting in a structure which absorbs green, red and yellow light,
leaving the blue to shine through.
Are Coloured Diamonds Expensive?
Due to their rarity, naturally coloured
diamonds are often on the pricier end of the scale. However, there are also
ways to create these rare colours synthetically in the laboratory, which means
that buyers can own these beautiful stones at a more affordable price.
This is a collaborative post with,
It was a great post on diamond rings.
ReplyDelete