THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, the ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen to the Earth. Since then, diamonds have decorated kings and queens, inspired poets, adorned celebrities and brought a sparkle to women all over the world. It’s no wonder then that diamonds have long been considered ‘a girl’s best friend’.
Made of crystallised carbon, like the graphite in a lead pencil, diamonds are the hardest, most durable and purest substance in the natural world. Their formation took place billions of years ago with the heat and pressure of volcanic processes. Boiling magma was forced up towards the earth’s surface in ‘kimberlite’ and ‘lamproite’ pipes or channels. These pipes, and riverside alluvial plains, are where diamonds are now found.
Given their volcanic origins, it is not surprising that
