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View All Gems Find My Gem
View All Gems Find My Gem
How It Sparkles
The way a diamond is cut and polished affects how it sparkles. It takes a very skilled craftsperson to do this.
Color
Diamonds that are clear and colorless are harder to find. These are the more valuable ones. Most diamonds have a little bit of yellow or brown color.
Trigons
A diamond‘s basic crystal shape is the octahedron. The surface of an octahedron sometimes displays little triangle shapes called “trigons.”
Most diamonds formed more than a billion years ago! They form about 100 miles (161 kilometers) below the earth’s surface, where the temperature and pressure are just right. Diamonds are the hardest natural material on earth. They stand for fearlessness and invincibility, and are a symbol of love.
Colors
IMG - Gem Factoid Color - Colorless
The very sparkly diamond can be colorless to really light yellow, brown, or gray.
Famous Diamond
IMG - Diamond Factoid 143033 200x200
Napoleon, the emperor of France, gave this necklace to his wife when their son was born in 1811. The necklace has 234 diamonds!
Chip Clark, Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Lore
An ancient Greek story tells of Eros, the god of love. He would shoot his arrows through people’s hearts so they would fall in love. The arrow tips were made of diamonds!
what's in a name?
Diamond
[dye-mund]
(noun) Diamond comes from the Greek word adamas which means “invincible.”  For being the hardest material on earth, that is the perfect name for this gem!

more to see and do

MTSAD Glossary
GemKids Glossary
MTSAD Story of a Gem
Gems
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Jewelry Time Machine
MTSAD GIA.edu
GIA.edu