Diamonds

With their name derived from the Greek word “adamas” meaning “unbreakable” – diamonds are the hardest natural substance known to man, and only a diamond can scratch another diamond. It is 58 times harder than the next hardest mineral on Earth.

The formation of natural diamonds requires very specific conditions. Firstly, it requires the exposure of carbon-bearing materials to high pressure but at a comparatively low temperature. These conditions are known to be met in two places on Earth – in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the sites of meteoric strikes.

Having been formed deep beneath the Earth’s crust, there they remained, keeping their previous secrets, until powerful forces carried them upward within volcanic lava, only to be concealed again by falling ash and rock. Over millions of years, the wrath of nature in the form of winds, water, heat and cold would rework the landscape time and time again. But awaiting discovery, the stones remained below the earth’s surface, their beauty concealed by the very process that created them.

Diamonds come from two types of deposits. Primary deposits generally consist of diamond-bearing "pipes" of a volcanic rock called "kimberlite." From deep in the earth these deposits were carried to the surface in molten rock, known as magma. Secondary deposits, also referred to as alluvial, were formed as a result of erosion of material from primary deposits and contain diamonds that have traveled some distance from their original source.