Diamond is the vital gemstone, having few weaknesses and much strength. It is well known that Diamond is the hardest material found in nature, but few people understand that Diamond is four times harder than the next hardest natural mineral, sapphire and ruby. Diamond has four directions of cleavage, meaning that if it receives a sharp puff in one of these directions it will split. It has a wide color range, high refraction, high dispersion or fire, very low reactivity to chemicals, scarcity, and of course, extreme hardness and durability. Diamond is the April Birthstone. In terms of its physical properties, diamond is the ultimate mineral. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry. It is the hardest natural material known to humankind; hardness is defined as resistance to scratching. The hardest diamonds in the world are from the New England area in New South Wales, Australia. These diamonds are usually small, perfect to semi perfect octahedral, and are used to polish other diamonds.

Diamond is a perfect "10", defining the top of the hardness scale (Mohs scale). Diamond is transparent over a larger range of wavelengths. Diamond has the highest melting point. Diamond color is variable and tends toward pale yellows, browns, grays, and also white, blue, black, reddish, greenish and colorless. Diamond Occurrences include South Africa and other localities throughout Africa, India, Brazil, Russia, Australia, and Arkansas.

Diamond Gemstone