Diamonds Are Forever

For over 2,500 years the diamond has been regarded as a treasured, eternal symbol of love. Perhaps the wide popularity of diamonds can be attributed to the legend of Cupid, whose arrows were traditionally believed to have been tipped with diamonds. The word diamond comes from the Greek word, adams, which means unconquerable.

Often emphasized by a single diamond solitaire, modern engagement rings have typically become directly associated with the inclusion of the diamond. This tradition began in 1477 when the Archduke Maxmilian of Austria gave a diamond engagement ring to Mary of Burgundy. The practice of wearing engagement rings on the left ring finger dates back even earlier in history to the early Egyptian belief that the vena amoris, which means vein of love , ran directly from the heart to the top of the third finger on the left hand.

Aside from their role in engagement, wedding, and other fine jewelry, diamonds have also commonly been used as religious icons in their earliest forms of usage. They're also embedded within drill bits and engraving tools as diamonds remain the hardest of all gemstones and, thus, are the only substance that can cut themselves.

About 130 million carats (26,000 kg) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly $9 billion. Furthermore the number of synthesized diamonds constitutes nearly four times the amount of natural forms of the mineral. Over 80% of all mined diamonds contain characteristics unsuitable for use as gemstones. These stones, known as bort and whose roughness almost makes them indistinguishable from pebbles in the untrained eye, are almost exclusively confined to industrial use.

Approximately 49% of all diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although smaller quantities of the gemstone have also been found in Canada, Australia, Russia and Brazil. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds have been controversial topics within the jewelry industry. Concerns about the sale of what are commonly known as blood diamonds, or diamonds mined in a war zone, are frequently thought to finance insurgency.

This topic has also recently gained national attention as a number of non-governmental organizations, such as Global Witness, have proposed the alleged use of blood diamonds in financing the September 11, 2001 attacks. There have also been allegations that the De Beers Group, who have historically held a near-total monopoly of the diamond industry, have misused its superior role within the industry to control supply and manipulate the price of the world market in diamonds. Such theories, though, are precluded by the company's declining market share, which has currently dropped below 50%.