Drawn illustration, not a photograph
Diamond
Diamond
HindiHeera
✦One of the Navratna, traditionally associated with Venus (Shukra)
Pure carbon, and the hardest natural material. Its value rests on the four Cs: cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. Fancy colours such as yellow, pink and blue also occur.
- Mineral
- Carbon
- Colour from
- Colourless when pure; nitrogen, boron or structure for fancy colours
- Hardness
- 10 on the Mohs scale
- Known sources
- Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa; historically Golconda, India
What to look for
- A well-proportioned cut: it matters more to sparkle than any other factor
- A laboratory report stating colour, clarity and weight
- Laboratory-grown diamonds must always be disclosed as such
CareHard but can chip if struck at the edge. Clean with warm, soapy water.
General guidance about the stone. Each actual stone is described individually, with its own photographs and any laboratory report, when you enquire.
Diamond, to wear.
Ask whether a ring, pendant, stud earrings or a bracelet with diamond is available, in gold, platinum or silver.