| "A Diamond is Forever" - Frances Gerety, | | | | importance. Case in point: the Kohinoor and the |
| copywriter at N. W. Ayer & Son, the first | | | | Hope Diamond. Of course, there are some like the |
| advertising agency in the US. | | | | Cullinan, which are famous by dint of their sizes |
| When Mr. Gerety coined this slogan in 1947 for | | | | alone. |
| diamond distributing giant De Beers, he couldn't | | | | A carat is a unit of measurement equivalent to |
| have dreamed that his words, like the object of | | | | 200 mg or 0.007055 ounces. Besides diamonds, |
| its adulation, would become "forever". Such is the | | | | carats are also used to measure other precious |
| popularity of this amazing piece of advertising | | | | stones and pearls. The word comes from the |
| creativity that in 2000, Advertising Age magazine | | | | Greek word for the carob seed, historically used |
| named "A Diamond Is Forever" the best | | | | by jewelers as weights on scales for their |
| advertising slogan of the twentieth century. The | | | | reputed similarity in weights. The cut of a diamond |
| phrase has also been immortalized in the popular | | | | is the style used when shaping a diamond for |
| lexicon by the eponymous James Bond film | | | | polishing. A well-cut diamond is especially luminous. |
| "Diamonds are Forever". And rightly so. Unlike | | | | The most common type is the round brilliant, |
| other items of value, a diamond does not rust, | | | | followed by fancy cuts such as modified brilliants, |
| decompose or wither away. Originating in the | | | | step cuts, mixed cuts, and rose cuts. |
| deepest reaches of the Earth and forged by | | | | A chemically pure diamond is completely |
| tremendous heat and pressure, a diamond is | | | | transparent. Small amounts of impurities like boron |
| indeed forever. | | | | and carbon often contribute to vivid colors like |
| The word "diamond" originates from the Greek | | | | blue, yellow, pink, red, etc. Depending on the hue |
| "adamos", meaning "unbreakable". Indeed, | | | | and intensity of a diamond's coloration, a |
| diamonds are the hardest naturally-occurring | | | | diamond's color can either add to or subtract |
| substances. Basically made of carbon, the same | | | | from its value. Out of all colored diamonds, the |
| material of which charcoal is composed of, | | | | red ones are the rarest. The fourth parameter |
| diamonds are created over billions of years | | | | affecting the price of a diamond is clarity, the |
| around 100 miles below the surface. Diamonds | | | | quality of its appearance considering internal |
| have relatively high optical dispersion (ability to | | | | characteristics called inclusions and surface defects |
| disperse light of different colors) and refractive | | | | called blemishes. More the clarity, higher the price, |
| index (ability to bend light when it passes through) | | | | with the exceedingly rare "flawless" graded |
| which result in the characteristic luster. | | | | diamond fetching the highest price. |
| What makes a diamond so precious? First, is its | | | | Now we come to the final factor determining |
| extreme rarity. On an average, 100 tons of rock | | | | price - history. Almost all of the costliest diamonds |
| have to be mined to extract 2 grams of | | | | have fascinating histories - indeed, the history of |
| diamonds. Second, is its extreme beauty. There | | | | diamonds is the history of mankind. Right from |
| are a few parameters to determine a diamond's | | | | ancient times in India where they were first |
| value - the four Cs (carat, cut, color, and clarity), | | | | discovered to modern times when diamonds can |
| shape and fluorescence. A diamond's history also | | | | be created artificially, diamonds have been an |
| affects its price. Many of the most famous, and | | | | integral part of human civilization. But even today, |
| valuable, diamonds today are not necessarily large, | | | | as centuries ago, nothing says "I love you" as |
| but they are definitely of immense historical | | | | eloquently as a diamond ring. |