Black Diamonds

The Black Diamond: One of Nature s Anomalies

Most people are aware that all pearls are not white, but are also pink and black. In the hit movie trilogy, " Pirates of the Caribbean," the scoundrel with the heart of a hero, Captain Jack Sparrow, prized his ship, the Black Pearl, above all things. But a black diamond? Not only do they exist, they are also very rare and prized among gemstone collectors. Black diamonds reflect their chemical construction; it is this, rather than their colors, that sets one gem apart from another, as with pink sapphires. While gemologists find black to be resplendent examples of nature's diversity, many people regard them as an anomaly, or quirk, of nature.

A Few Facts about Black Diamonds

Black are also called " carbonados," reflecting their chemical make-up of pure black carbon. All of any color are chemically composed of carbon that through eons of time, became what we know today as diamonds. They don't come out of the earth as white, sparkly gemstones, but must be extracted, cut and immaculately polished. Black are not truly black; they are that contain a large amount of dark inclusions that give them their dark appearance. These inclusions are actually specks of the

Article continued below...