During the lovely month of April, as we see hyacinths and daffodils spring up, lets focus our attention on some interesting things about diamonds, the birthstone for April. The word diamond comes from the word "adamus" which means unconquerable in Greek. Diamonds are the symbol of both the 60th and 75th year of marriage.
Facts: In addition to the romance and beauty of gemstone quality diamonds used in jewelry, diamonds, the hardest form of pure carbon, have been used for many industrial uses because they are one of the most durable substances and because the thermal conductivity is the highest of any material. Diamonds are used for abrasive tools such as grinding wheels, saw blades and drill bits. They are used for heat sinks, which absorb the sound of high qualiy speakers in the form of diamond speaker domes.
Folklore: The Romans thought diamonds had magical powers and protected people from life's problems and downfalls. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought that diamonds were tears of God and that they were splinters that fell from stars. Kings wore diamonds encrusted on their breastplates because they thought that diamonds gave courage, bravery, invinciblity and strength during their battles. Diamonds are also thought to bring protection, peace and spirituality to the wearer.
By, Wynn Fabbri
