The birthstone for April is the diamond, a gemstone that is among the most expensive and desired in the world and which is the second most stable form of carbon after graphite. It also has a cubic crystalline structure, which is achieved when carbon crystallizes after the use of a large amount of energy.
The term “diamond” comes from the Greek “Adamas” which means “invincible” in reference to its composition and structure. For its part, in Sanskrit it is called “Vajra”, a term meaning lightning, and since ancient times it is believed that its use works to increase strength and purity, which are characteristic of these gems.
The first diamonds were found about 3000 years ago in India, where they were used as a religious symbol of power in rituals and ceremonies, as well as in jewellery, while those of lesser quality were used as tools to make engravings due to their great hardness.
In astrology it belongs to the fire element, is one of the protective stones of Aries sign, and is associated with planets Venus and Saturn, and the Sun. It also symbolizes strength and power; that’s why people born this month find in this gem a great element of protection. Likewise, this stone provides those born in April with a very strong personality, who may seem tough at certain times since they act with security and determination in the face of life’s circumstances.
Most naturally found diamonds are white; they have a crystalline isometric-hexoctahedral system, and their crystalline forms are the cube, the dodecahedron, the octahedron and the rhombi dodecahedron. In general, the birthstone for April does not have inclusions of elements such as nitrogen and boron, which are the elements that produce other colours such as blue, green, pink, yellow, red, among others, which are considered rare and are usually the most expensive.
Furthermore, the birthstone for April has a refractive index of 2,4175-2,4178 and a density of 3.5-3.53g / cm3, being classified in three categories: the quality gem, the industrial quality and the crushing-bort or bort, which has the lowest quality and is collected to be ground and turned into diamond powder, which is used during the carving process.
It was in the 19th century when diamonds began to be cut with the appearance of technological advances that made the cuts and faceting easier and made the most perfect pieces, until achieving diamonds of extraordinary beauty today. In the 20th century, a lot of technological progress was made, and diamonds are currently available in a laboratory that are difficult to distinguish from their natural counterpart, which has allowed to standardize and globalize the way of classifying them, taking into account the weight or carats, size, colour and purity or clarity.
However, only 20% of the world’s rough diamond production is used to make jewellery, the rest is used in different types of industries because the gem must have an excellent quality in terms of level of purity and colour for these purposes.
The birthstone for April has a hardness of 10, the highest value according to the Mohs scale, in addition to having high transparency and high thermal conductivity, to the point of being widely used in the industry for different purposes, as well as being one of the most widely used gemstones in the world of jewellery.
However, regarding its use in jewellery, the birthstone for April is associated with eternity and lasting love, so it is used to create beautiful engagement, anniversary and birth jewellery which is imported from the main producing countries in the world, such as Namibia, Bostwana, Sierra Leone, China, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Guinea, Tanzania, Russia, Canada, Lesotho, among others, being Russia the country that, according to Statinvestor website, had the largest diamond reserves in the world by 2017 with an estimated 650 million carats.
To give an example of the most famous diamonds in the world, we are going to cite some of them, such as the “Star of Africa”, a diamond which is currently the largest cut diamond in the world, weighing 530.20 carats and being part of the British royalty jewellery set.
We also have the “Hope” diamond, which is an extraordinary and rare 115 carats blue diamond, and the third largest cut diamond in the world called “Centenario”, which weighs 273.85 carats.
As we can see, in addition to being the birthstone for April, the diamond has become the symbol of eternal love, not only worn by people born in this month, but also desired by most women who want to have a jewel that symbolizes strength and unbreakable love, capable of overcoming obstacles and lasting a lifetime.
ALFA