Tidbits Is Dazzled by DIAMONDS

The word “diamond” comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning “indestructible” or “invincible.” This week Tidbits gives you some interesting facts about these precious gems that for centuries have been a universal symbol of eternal love and commitment.

• Diamonds are the hardest natural substance on Earth. After diamonds, rubies and sapphires (made of corundum) are the next hardest natural substance on the planet.

• The diamond is the only gem composed of a single element. Diamonds are simply crystallized carbon (which coal, graphite, and soot are made of) and will burn at a temperature of 1292° F (900° C).

• In their pure state, diamonds are colorless. However, diamonds can also be many different colors due to mineral impurities. The Hope diamond’s deep blue color comes from contamination with boron.

• The largest rough diamond in the world was discovered in South Africa in 1905, weighing in at 3,106 carats. Several polished diamonds were carved from it, the largest of which is called “Cullinan I” or “The Great Star of Africa,” weighing 530 carats. Today it is set in the British Royal Scepter on permanent display in the Tower of London. By comparison, the typical engagement ring is generally one or two carats.

• About 87 percent of engagement rings contain a diamond. The national average cost of a typical diamond engagement ring in 2019 was $5,900.

• When actor Richard Burton bought a 69.40 carat $1 million diamond for Elizabeth Taylor, thousands waited in a line that stretched for blocks to see the huge jewel displayed in the window at Cartier’s in New York City.

Elizabeth Taylor shows her 6

HOW DIAMONDS ARE MADE

• There are several ways diamonds are formed, and none of them involve coal -- just carbon. Diamonds are formed deep within the molten mantle of the Earth and ejected through a rare volcanic extrusion called a kimberlite pipe, named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa where one of the world’s most prolific diamond mines is located. Diamonds are also formed in subduction zones along continental plates that are being forced together under enormous pressure. Some diamonds are created by the heat and force of impact when meteorites collide with the Earth.

• The largest known diamond deposit is at Popigai Crater in Russia. There, the fourth largest known meteorite impact on the planet provided enough heat and energy to convert carbon surface materials into diamond material. They are of industrial quality, and mining them is difficult due to the remote location and hazardous terrain.

DIAMOND FACTS & TRIVIA

• Cecil Rhodes was a sickly English boy, so in 1877 at age 17 his parents sent him to the healthier climate of South Africa where his brother owned a cotton plantation. Discouraged by poor crops, the brothers turned to diamond mining instead. It took years, but Cecil finally succeeded. He formed the De Beers Mining Company, and by 1891 Rhodes controlled 90 percent of the entire diamond market. The De Beers company still controls the majority of that market today. The nation of Rhodesia was named for him (now called Zimbabwe). Fabulously wealthy when he died, he left his fortune in trust to be used as funding to support students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement -- known today as Rhodes scholars.

• In 1701, a slave found a huge diamond while working in a mine in India. Risking his life to smuggle it out, he slashed his leg and hid it in the deep wound. He fled to the coast, where he surreptitiously showed his valuable bounty to a merchant ship captain. He made a deal for safe passage in exchange for half of what the diamond would fetch on the underground market. However, once at sea the slave was “accidentally” lost overboard, but not before the stone had been removed from his posession.

• The captain sold it for $5000 to an Indian merchant, who in turn offered it to Thomas Pitt, governor of Madras, for half a million dollars. Pitt, guessing it was stolen, drove a hard bargain and got it for only $100,000. After being cut and polished, Pitt sold it to the Regent of France for over $600,000 (more than $38 million today). His fortune was made -- a fortune that was passed on to his heirs, including William Pitt, after whom Pittsburgh, PA was named.

HISTORIC DIAMONDS

• The Kohinoor diamond is one of the world’s largest and oldest, traced back to the 1300s. The name means “mountain of light.”

• In 1739, the precious gem was owned by Mohammed Shah of India. Nadir Shah, leader of the Persians, invaded India and seized all the national gems, but the prized Kohinoor diamond was nowhere to be found.

• For months Nadir ransacked Dehli, brutally killing thousands in his determined effort to find the valubable jewel. Then he got crafty and questioned members of Mohammed’s harem. One of them revealed that Mohammed always kept the diamond hidden in his turban. Rather than simply kill him and seize the Kohinoor, Nadir cleverly declared peace and threw a party with Mohammed as guest of honor.

• As a binding gesture, Nadir insisted on ex-changing turbans to seal the friendship in front of the hundreds gathered there, and Mohammed Shah reluctantly surrendered his turban. Nadir Shah got his due, however, when he was later assassinated. Centuries later, the Kohinoor diamond fell into British hands when Punjab was annexed to the British Empire. It was presented to Queen Victoria and is now displayed with the royal Crown Jewels.

• In South Africa, a mine superintendent was preparing to close the mine for the day when he saw a glint. It turned out to be the largest diamond ever found. Before faceting, it was the size of a man’s fist and weighed over a pound. It was cleaved into nine separate gems.

• Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan, leader of the Ismaili Muslims, turned 75 years old in 1946. To celebrate his birthday in Bombay, wealthy supporters volunteered to contribute to his favorite charities an amount of money equal to his weight in diamonds. He sat on a giant balance scale while case after case of diamonds were loaded on the other side. The diamonds were of industrial quality to lower their value, but still it took over half a million carats at a value of a million and a half dollars to counterbalance his hefty 243 lbs.

DEFEAT BY DIAMONDS

• In 1981 Francois Mitterand was elected president of France. His win might well be attributed to the questionable actions of his opponent, incumbent President Valery Giscard d’Estaing. Giscard had accepted gifts of dia-monds from the self-appointed Emperor of the Central African Empire, worth about $1 million today. When a newspaper reporter learned of the gift and asked questions, Giscard claimed the diamonds had all been donated to museums. The newspaper checked but could find no such museums, nor any record of what actually did become of the gems.

• Giscard then went on TV and said the diamonds had been sold and the money given to the African Red Cross. The paper investigated this claim as well, but found no such record of gifts to the Red Cross. Giscard then said they had been sent to the Emperor’s successor in Africa. After more checking, it was found that Giscard had actually sent the equivalent of one small diamond to Africa. After his defeat in 1981, crowds of angry French citizens surrounded him shouting, “Give back the diamonds!” Giscard never held office again. □