Diamonds -
What is it about a diamond that draws us in, is it the sparkle, the rarity of a perfect gem or something else.
Perhaps it is the word itself? Derived from the Greek words “diaphanous” meaning transparent and “adamas” meaning indomitable, untamable, unbreakable. Society has long associated this gemstone with strength, wealth, power and love.
Maybe it’s the way it’s formed, taking millions of years under extreme pressure and heat to turn simple carbon into the strongest, naturally occurring substance on earth.
Or it could be the myths, legends and folklore surrounding it? George Frederick Kunz wrote in “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones”, 1912; “A legend claims the God of Mines called his courtiers to bring together all the world’s known gems: rubies, sapphires, emeralds, etc., and he found them to be of all tints and colors and varying hardness. He took one of each and crushed them; he compounded them together, and declared, ‘Let this be something that will combine the beauty of all.’ He spoke and lo, the diamond was born; Pure as a dewdrop and invincible in hardness. Yet when its ray is resolved in the spectrum, it displays all the colors of the gems from which it was made.”
Whatever it is, from the time of their discovery in India more than 3000 years ago, they have held us captivated by their brilliance.