Diamond

Diamond is the hardest known natural material—the only gemstone that hits the top score, 10, on the hardness scale. It is made of pure, crystallized carbon.

A diamond you wear today likely formed over a billion years ago, about 150 km deep in Earth's mantle, under unimaginable pressures.

The rarest diamonds, blue ones, rose from depths of hundreds of kilometers and owe their color to traces of boron.

It was brought to the surface by ancient volcanic eruptions, through rocks called kimberlite—nature's true "elevators" from the deep.

The diamond’s unmistakable brilliance comes from the way it refracts and disperses light—an effect called "fire." Its quality is graded by the 4Cs: cut, color, clarity, and carat.

The notion that a diamond is a must for engagements isn’t nearly as old as it seems: it was born from a 1947 ad slogan, "A Diamond Is Forever," written by copywriter Frances Gerety for De Beers and later named the greatest slogan of the 20th century.

Some famous diamonds, like the blue Hope Diamond, carry the notoriety of a "curse"—a captivating tale, but just a tale, fueled by their tumultuous histories.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond passed through the hands of Mughal, Persian, and Afghan emperors before it reached the British Crown, where it remains today.

The most prized is the colorless diamond, but there are also fancy-colored diamonds—from yellow to pink and blue—some rarer and more valuable than colorless stones.

A symbol of eternal love, purity, and strength, the diamond remains the classic choice for engagement rings and is the birthstone for April.

Practically indestructible in everyday wear—but it does have cleavage directions, so a sharp blow to an edge can chip it; it’s worth protecting from heavy impacts.

It cleans easily with a microfiber cloth. Its brilliance pairs beautifully with 925 silver, white gold, or yellow gold.