Urban Legends About Diamonds

Urban legends have been spread about all kinds, whether person, place or thing, including many about diamonds. There is a lot of diamond related hearsay, some of which is true, while others are gross exaggerations or falsehoods. Consider a few of the more popular and persistent diamond urban legends.

Diamonds Are Forever

This was a clever advertising campaign pioneered by a well-known diamond marketing company. However, the diamonds are forever campaign seems to have created a popular misconception that diamonds are indestructible. It is true that diamonds are very hard substances and are very durable when compared to other types of gemstones. It is also true that by the time you see diamonds on the surface they will have experienced billions of years of burial and hardship. However, diamonds have never been known as indestructible in the scientific community. They are difficult to scratch but can be chipped and broken with effort and precision. Otherwise, diamond mines would be useless!

Diamonds Are Rare and the Most Expensive Jewel

It should be clarified that diamond ore itself is not exceptionally rare. Statistics say that there are about 100 million carats of ore diamonds and three billion carats of synthetic diamond produced every year for industrial purposes. What is rare is a high quality diamond that is suitable for commercial use. Even commercial diamonds are not much rare as they are expensive. Some figures have estimated that there are enough diamonds in the world to give every man, woman and child a cup of sparkling treasure. It’s usually more of a question of affordability.

How about the popular belief that says clear diamonds are the most expensive stones in the world? This has not always been universally accepted and in recent years trends have been suggesting that the broad statement is not true. Colorless diamonds have been selling for less money than large fancy diamonds overall, while highest quality rubies have been higher priced than even the most luxurious diamond stones.

A Diamond and a Simulated Diamond are Indistinguishable

This myth is also related to the myth that a diamond can look too perfect for its own good and thus reveal itself as a fake. A gemologist can tell the difference between diamonds and synthetic fancy diamonds by analyzing the flaws of both. Even cubic zirconium, one of the more popular diamond enhancements, has a different visual appearance than a diamond. For example, a colorless cubic zirconium gives off a certain rainbow reflection not present in genuine diamonds. Cubic zirconium is also denser than diamond material.

Gemologists know the differences between simulated diamonds and real diamonds thanks to highly specialized analysis tools, such as the DiamondSure and DiamondView devices, both of which are required in major diamond testing laboratories worldwide. Can you tell the difference between real and fake without special tools or training? You could deduce the obvious and come to a realistic conclusion; large fancy diamonds are rare and sell for high prices, therefore cheap deals online or on the street are usually fakes. However, it’s not necessarily true that a fake diamond will look too perfect. For one thing, perfect diamonds, whether simulated or natural, are too rare to compare with standard commercial products today. Most diamonds and simulated diamonds have flaws, whether scratches, chips or mineral inclusions.

The Hope Diamond

Finally, there’s the old story about the Hope Diamond. The first urban legend is that the Hope Diamond is the largest flawless diamond in the world. While it may be unusually large, especially for a fancy blue diamond, it is not the largest diamond in the world nor is it classified as flawless. It was rated as VS1 in 1988, which stands for Very Slightly Included. The largest recorded diamond currently on record was the Cullinan diamond, discovered near Pretoria in 1905.

Another urban legend persists is that the “the Heart of the Ocean” in Titanic and Hope Diamond were one and the same. While it is true that the Heart of the Ocean was inspired by the Hope Diamond (confirmed in interviews with director James Cameron), the Hope Diamond was never aboard the doomed ship. Ironically, then-owner of the Hope Diamond, Evalyn Walsh McLean, actually considered booking a trip on the Titanic ship in 1912. Fortunately for her, she did not. However, this coincidence along with Cameron’s motivations in basing his diamond on Hope, explains why there is a persistent rumor to the contrary.

The Loch Ness Monster of Diamond Stones

Finally, what’s an urban legend article without proper mention of a monster? In fact, the Loch Ness Monster of diamonds, a rumored 7,000 carat diamond that has supposedly been found in a South African mine. If this diamond were verified, it would become the largest diamond ever discovered. 7,000 carats is about twice the size of the current record holder. However, the verification process is still in the preliminaries. The diamond industry waits to hear the final verdict on this urban myth of a diamond monster.

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