This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Jewelry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Diamonds are the hardest known mineral in the world. They are the best known allotrope of carbon. An allotrope is an element that bonds together in various ways. For example, both a diamond and graphite are allotropes of carbon, the difference being that the diamond has tetrahedral bonds, where as graphite has hexagonal bonds. These bonds are extremely important as seen in the composition of these two minerals, one being extremely hard, and the other very brittle. The hardness of a diamond makes it impossible to scratch, let alone cut by any naturally occurring substance. This makes the diamond perfect for jewelry as it will keep a polish and never tarnish. This gem is used in diamond engagement rings to symbolize this bond that we are making with our loved ones.
