Diamonds are famously known for being one of the hardest substances on earth – we know you’ve heard the rumor that a real diamond can cut glass. But do you know why diamonds are so hard?

We at GIA have spent a lot of time studying diamonds – we thought it’d be fun to share a small fun fact with you about why diamonds are so hard.

The minerals that create a diamond along with their shape make them the strongest gemstone. Diamonds are made from carbon that has been under extreme pressure and heat found in depths of 87 to 120 miles of the Earth’s mantle, where they are created in during a 1-3.3 billion-year time frame. The heat and pressure causes the diamonds molecules to change so that they’re so close together, the molecules can’t move (known as covalent bonding). The closeness of these molecules forms a rigid bond, therefore making the diamond hard.

Diamonds are rated 10 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, which characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was created in 1812 by German geologist and mineralogis Friedrich Mohs.

The post Why Are Diamonds So Hard? appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

In a recent survey of Men’s Health and Women’s Health readers, we learned what women really want in an engagement ring. “Her” answers may surprise you.

You guys think bigger is better. But you’ve got to stop stressing over size! It turns out that the clarity of the stone for the money placed higher on her list of priorities than carat size. That was followed by color/whiteness and cut/faceting. For her, size ranked lower most often.

The only thing both men and women agreed on? Bring in a third party so you know exactly what you’re getting.

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