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Cubic zirconia (CZ) is the synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. Its commercial production began in the USSR in 1976. In 1977 cubic zirconia begun to be mass-produced in the jewelry marketplace. By 1980 annual global production had reached 50 million carats (10 tonnes). [source]

Color grading a white diamond is really about the absence of color. Any hint of color lowers the value of the diamond, and the stronger the color, the lower the gem's worth. The color grading scale established by GIA, and recognized around the world, has letter grades to describe the increasing presence of color.

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Moissanite. Without special testing equipment, distinguishing it from a natural diamond is very difficult. Moissanite, in its natural form, is very rare. It has only been discovered in a small variety of places from upper mantle rock to meteorites. Moissanite was introduced to the jewelry market in 1998. It is regarded as a diamond alternative with some optical properties exceeding those of diamond. Its lower price and less exploitative mining practices necessary to obtain it make it a popular alternative to diamonds.

Record-Size Natural Moissanite Crystals Discovered in Israel

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Among gems, diamonds are actually the most common. If you doubt this ask yourself; “How many women do you know that do not own at least one diamond?” Now ask the same question about other gems.

The Cullinan III and IV brooch

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A Christian pastor has discovered one of the world's largest uncut diamonds in Sierra Leone's Kono district. The diamond, weighing 709 carats, is now locked up in Sierra Leone's central bank in Freetown. It is one of the 20 largest diamonds ever found. Freelance, or artisanal, miners are common in Sierra Leone's diamond-rich areas, reports the BBC's Umaru Fofana.

Artisanal, or freelance, miners are a common sight in Sierra Leone's diamond-rich Kono district

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An estimated US$13 billion worth of rough diamonds are produced per year, of which approximately US$8.4 billion are from Africa (approximately 65%).

An internally flawless 100 carat diamond described as 'perfect' by experts is expected to sell for a staggering £16 million. The Type IIa diamond, which is in a classic emerald cut and is 'whiter than white', was mined by De Beers in South Africa. Its current owner spent more than a year studying, cutting and polishing the rough diamond to deliver the spectacular stone. [source]

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The largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found at 3106.75 carats (621.35 g). It was cut into 105 diamonds including the Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, 530.2 carats (106.04 g), and the Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, 317.4 carats (63.48 g), both of which are now part of the British Crown Jewels.

The Great Star of Africa

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Today, diamonds are located in the diamond-rich density fraction with the help of X-ray fluorescence, after which the final sorting steps are done by hand.

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Approximately 130,000,000 carats (26,000 kg) of diamonds are mined annually, with a total value of nearly US$9 billions.

Gahcho Kué, co-owned by De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds, is located at Kennady Lake, about 280 km northeast of Yellowknife. (Image courtesy of De Beers Group)

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For every one colored diamond, there are 10,000 colorless ones that have been discovered.

Rough blue diamond

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It is estimated that less than one percent of women will ever wear a diamond of one carat or more.

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The Victorians frequently used marcasites as substitutes for diamonds. Marcasite, also known as pyrite, was used for this purpose as early as the 1700s.

Large Marcasite and Amethyst Silver Runway Brooch

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Still, the curse of the Hope Diamond goes way back to Tavernier. It was long believed that after Tavernier plucked the gem from the Hindu statue, he was torn apart by wild dogs - a karma-inspired event for his sacrilegious theft. However, LiveScience noted that other stories indicate Tavernier died peacefully in Russia years after he sold the gem to King Louis XIV.

Yet there are many other tales of tragedy related to the Hope Diamond. [source]

The Hope Diamond

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Until the 14th Century only Kings could wear diamonds, because they stood for strength, courage and invincibility.

1.35ctw Diamond 14th Century Cross Enhancer

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The son of the Turkish Sultan Bajazet (1447-1513) was said to have murdered his father pouring a large quantity of powdered diamond in his father's food. In l532, Pope Clement VII’s doctors dosed him with fourteen spoonfuls of pulverized gems, including diamond, which resulted in death for the patient. In the same century, Catherine de Medici was famous for dealing out death by diamond powder, and Benvenuto Cellini, the famous Italian goldsmith, described an attempt on his life by an enemy who ordered diamond powder to be mixed in his salad.

Diamond powder

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Early Victorian jewelers fancied gems like topaz, amethyst, citrine and garnets. Diamonds were considered to be matronly while young women often preferred turquoise which was popular throughout the era.

Victorian 19th century turquoise and gold snake necklace. Fully articulated snake with hundreds of bezel set cabochon turquoise beads mounted in 18 karat gold. Finely detailed snake head completely encrusted with turquoise beads crowned with larger cabochon turquoise stone. Cabochon ruby eyes crown the head, which is accented with diamonds around the eyes and the mouth. From the original Fred Leighton

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Under the normal pressures and temperatures we experience on the Earth’s surface, diamonds are actually thermodynamically unstable, slowly transforming into graphite. Yes, you read that correctly, diamonds are indeed turning into graphite, but thankfully for all those diamond owners out there it’s a process that is far too slow for humans to notice.

Diamond graphite phase diagram

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After polishing, the diamond is re-examined for possible flaws, either remaining or induced by the process. Those flaws are concealed through various diamond enhancement techniques, such as re-polishing, crack filling, or clever arrangement of the stone in the jewelry. Remaining non-diamond inclusions are removed through laser drilling and filling of the voids produced.

Cracks and fractures in a diamond reduce its clarity, but can be treated by filling. Fracture filling utilises a glass-like material, which has similar optical properties to that of diamond. It will improve the diamond’s appearance by almost two clarity grades but is not a permanent treatment. Most obvious evidence of fracturefilled diamonds can be found in the bright flashes of changing colour that can be seen under proper lighting. Other evidence is the presence of bubbles in the fracture of the filler, or ‘crackled appearance’ of the filler. All these can be picked up by 10x magnification. [source].

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Most diamonds contain visible non-diamond inclusions and crystal flaws. The cutter has to decide which flaws are to be removed by the cutting and which could be kept.

This diamond has clearly visible inclusions; some of them are circled in red in the photo.

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The most time-consuming part of the cutting is the preliminary analysis of the rough stone. It needs to address a large number of issues, bears much responsibility, and therefore can last years in case of unique diamonds.

The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g), discovered at the Premier No. 2 mine in Cullinan, modern-day South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after the chairman of the mine, Thomas Cullinan.

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Outside the earth, diamonds are also common. A recent discovery shows that some stars collapse on themselves, creating giant diamond crystals. In the constellation Centaurus, there lies a white dwarf, that has crystallized into a diamond 2,500 miles in diameter and weighing 10 billion, trillion, trillion carats.

An artist's impression of the white dwarf star orbiting with the pulsar PSR J2222-0137. Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)