9 Surprising Things About Diamond Rings
These nine surprising things about diamond ringss, engagement rings, and space diamonds will give you something to talk about after you propose – or after someone proposes to you! These facts about diamonds and engagement rings are valuable, whether you’re investing in Canadian diamonds or deciding which engagement ring to buy for your girlfriend.
First, a quip from Elizabeth Taylor about diamonds and…vegetables!
“This diamond has so many carats, it’s almost a turnip!” – Liz Taylor.
To learn about diamond engagement rings, click on How to Buy a Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money’s Worth. If you’re planning a wedding, you might like to read 6 Wedding Budget Tips to Save Money. And, read on to learn surprising things about diamonds and engagement rings…
9 Surprising Things About Diamond Rings
Space diamonds are more common than earth diamonds, and urologists use diamond-encrusted catheters to reduce infections (sort of). Marilyn Monroe was right when she insisted that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Which reminds me – if you’re getting married, you might like to read The Top 10 Wedding Movies of All Time!
1. Space diamonds are common. Scientists first twigged on the possibility of space diamonds when meteorites that crashed into the earth revealed tiny nanometer-sized diamonds. If these meteorites are representative of the material in outer space, NASA scientists say that a gram of dust and gas in a cosmic cloud could contain 10,000 trillion nanodiamonds. Unfortunately these diamonds are smaller than a grain of sand – much too small for a diamond engagement ring.
2. Diamond coatings are effective in medical implants and catheters. Diamonds may always have been a girl’s best friend, but now they’re becoming valuable to doctors, too. A new method of coating plastics, metals and collagen can reduce friction and provide protection against corrosion in knee and other implants. The diamond-like carbon coating prevents bacteria from forming, and is easier on patients who have allergies to the metal normally used in implants.
3. Security is the real reason diamonds are a girl’s best friend. It’s a diamond fact that, of all her male suitors, a girl has to pick the one who will give her a family, make sure she’s provided for, and stick around for the long haul. He has to prove he’s not only able to accumulate valuable resources, he’s also willing to share them with her. Alan Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa, evolutionary biologists and authors of Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters, say that courtship gifts (such as diamond engagement rings) have to be costly, lacking in practical value, and gorgeous.
4. Chemists grow synthetic diamonds in labs. These lab-grown diamonds are large, gorgeous, and indistinguishable from real or mined diamonds (with the bare eye). Most people seem to prefer genuine rocks, though – so it could be a diamond fact that there’s “nothing like the real thing.”
5. Shining an ultraviolet light on a real diamond will cause it to glow for awhile after the light is turned off. Shining the same light on synthetic diamonds do not have the same effect, making spectroscopy a noninvasive way to determine a diamond’s authenticity.
6. The diamond industry is steeped in tradition, which made identifying conflict or blood diamonds more difficult. “A deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars may be sealed with just a look, or a nod of the head,” says diamond geologist Stephen Haggerty. “The diamond industry is very insular. It will not accept having business negotiations available and known to the public.” It’s a fact that figuring out how to “fingerprint” diamonds without marring their beauty was an ongoing challenge to scientists for years.
7. The Kimberly Process is a simple, effective way to ensure blood diamonds are no longer fueling civil wars or conflict. Now, I’ve read that it’s a diamond fact that conflict stones represent less than 1% of all diamonds mined. So when you’re wearing your diamond engagement ring, you can rest assured it’s not a conflict diamond.
8. The two largest diamonds in the world….“Cutting a diamond is a delicate work of art that requires a craftsman’s imagination, patience and skill,” say the De Beer diamond experts. In 1908, master craftsman Joseph Asscher was chosen to cut the largest diamond ever discovered. He prepared for a long time to cut the diamond – a 3,106 carat Cullinan. He struck the first blow, and “his cleaving blade promptly shattered and Asscher fainted on the spot.” That cut eventually created nine gems. And, it’s a diamond fact that the two largest diamonds are part of the British Crown Jewels.
9. The youngest diamond is 900 million years old - formed long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. They’re not only old, they’re relatively rare. “If you gathered all the diamonds that have ever been polished since the beginning of time, they would fill only one double-decker bus,” say the experts at De Beers. That seems the most amazing diamond fact of all! Your diamond engagement ring has lived far, far longer than you.
If you’re getting married, you might like to get a head start on potential financial pitfalls! Read Solving Newlywed Money Problems.
If you have any questions or tips about these surprising things about diamond rings, please comment below…
