The Titanic Work Of Removing Sparkling Diamonds From Dirt
Sparkling, unique, brilliant, a much craved for precious gem – can you even guess what I am referring to? Probably not as it depends on how we all see and interpret things and as such one may be able to see numerous things characterized by these words. But, if I go on with the riddle I’d add using the words once sung by Marilyn Monroe in the already famous movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes “…are a girl’s best friends”. Yes, you guessed! I was talking about diamonds. I once heard a saying according to which “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and a man’s worst enemy!” Is this true or just a popular saying? Men who offer diamonds as a gift probably know better.
In case you happen to have a diamond then you should know that you can consider yourself a lucky person as it was valuated that less than one percent of women will ever own and wear a diamond in their life time, not even a tiny one. How miserable this makes some of us feel! Of course those who ever dreamt about wearing one.
The history of diamonds goes back in time, thousands of years ago when they were discovered in India. They are to be some kind of a rough gift coming from nature as they came as the result of a practice taking place in the natural world. It all originated from some hot liquid rock that underwent a cooling process and as such particles of carbon were compressed together to form these crystals. It is said that when being found they look rather drab and this must be the reason why when talking about someone who is not ‘well polished’ we compare it with a diamond. This “rough” diamond as it is sometimes referred to, undergoes serious polish in order to become the precious gem we all know.
Have you ever heard anyone talking about the “fire” in a diamond? It all goes to its amazing properties as this apparently rough crystal practically absorbs the light and reflects it back into the stone and as such it is perceived as being even more brilliant. When looking at one such diamond it may look like the light is being decomposed into pieces of various colors and this is what makes it look like “fire”.
They come in a wide variety of colors such as yellow, brown, blue and even pink, yet they are most appreciated in their natural state, meaning colorless. It must be because in this state they seem to be able to keep their brilliance unspoiled. Yet if it were for me to listen to what most diamond lovers say then it is not the color which designates their beauty but rather the cut which is done in a quite elaborated manner.
They are what many consider to be a unique natural resource which came to be valued even more as it carries with it the attribute of beauty and uniqueness and at the same time priceless in some cases. Some of you may contradict me as they probably sustain the idea according to which there is nothing in this world that doesn’t have a price; everything can be bought, these people say. This would probably raise quite a debate if it were for me to approach the subject.
But, going back to the rather fascinating subject of diamonds, even though most of us associate diamonds with the idea of jewelry, there is more to them than just this as only 20 per cent of the mined gems are actually used in this purpose. The rest of 80 per cent are used in the making of saws or in the polishing of marble, granite or concrete surfaces and no matter how surprising this may sound they have been used even as windows of spacecrafts and this mainly due to their properties. If you do not know besides from being the most valuable minerals on earth they are also claimed to be one of the hardest substances and as such they have the endowment to resist to high variations of temperature and to an acidic environment as well. Being hard they also make what many consider to be the perfect tool to be used when cutting glasses. So, there is more to them than just nice shaped, fiery gemstones.
Where are these so valued stones found? They are to be located in the so called pipes, meaning the tubes of resting volcanoes, volcanoes which bring to the surface these unpolished stones from the depths of the earth. You all probably know that rain significantly contributes to the erosion of the land and as such it unveils the diamonds hidden in the dust and even more carries them down to the rivers and the sea. As such diamonds are extracted either from the volcano’ pipes or directly from the rivers or seas.
Kimberley Diamond Mine, South Africa
Even though considered a woman’s best friend it is certainly not a friend of the environment as well. Just imagine that you had to bring to light a considerable amount of diamonds and that in order to be able to do this you have to dig a huge pit, removing large quantities of rocks and dirt in order to get to the valuable diamonds. How would this impact the ecosystem? It would certainly damage it and leave evident traces. By removing the soil from a certain area we practically cause great deterioration to that soil and as such one could relate diamond mining with soil pollution. Apart from this pollution one can also mention air and water pollution as well. You probably imagine that diamond mining devours stupendous amounts of energy and as such making use of hydrocarbons like diesel and petrol it also facilitates the release of unhealthy, toxic substances into the air. What do all these chemicals and toxic substances manage to do? They all make us mention one more time the issue of global warming.
Diamond Mining In Zimbabwe
Did you know that the process of diamond mining also involves the usage of water? You can all imagine the traces left after drilling in the sea in the desperate search for diamonds. It certainly leads to the pollution of water resources as well and we all know how important water can be in areas like Africa for example.
It can certainly disrupt life in an ecosystem as by removing large quantities of soil it certainly leads to deforestation and as such it also manages to disturb the flora and fauna existing in that area. If you think that the people doing this take their time to leave things in good order when abandoning that place after having accomplished their “precious” task, then you are wrong as the removed soil is never settled back in its initial place. As usually most people are interested only in material gains and they keep their eyes closed as if being blind when it comes to environmental issues.
In Africa companies involved in diamond mining use people who have no conaissance about the impact their actions have on the environment and apart from this they are not even equipped with the appropriate tools. The African continent seems to be lacking any appropriate mining legislation and as such companies feel free to go on with their exploitation of these precious gemstones.
All these actions undergone by humans seem to contradict the very name of these stones. The word diamond has its origin the Greek term “adamas” which means “unconquerable and indestructible”. It appears that they are indestructible in themselves but not for the surrounding environment, the natural settings in which they come to be discovered.
Even though harming for the environment it is said that there are other mining forms that making use of toxic chemicals have an even greater impact on the environment than diamond mining. It may be so but in order to make it even less harming the people involved in their extraction should not forget to be preoccupied by the conservation of the ecosystems as well. This can be translated in the miners’ actions; once the mining is done, they should make sure that the soil is replanted there and that animal life is re-established in that area. We all know that environmentalists raise such issues as the wasting of significant amounts of precious water and energy resources and this is precisely why we should start to value them more than before.
Blood Diamonds
We seem to forget about the environment and anything connected to it when seeing the sparkling diamonds. Suddenly all that matters in those moments is the sensation of power for which most of us crave.
Have you ever heard about the so called “blood diamonds”? They are called like this because people have died being used as slaves, serving as mere weapons in the purpose of extracting as many diamonds as possible. Being discovered more than 2400 years ago in India and serving mainly for commercial purposes, it is said that a considerable part of India’s population works in the so called diamond industry. Some say that even though not eco-friendly, diamond mining has become a necessity. They may be right as according to some sources it is said that the earnings gained from the selling of diamonds make possible the providing of education to children up to the age of 13. It may be true because most of the women around the world seem to be animated by some sort of frenzy to buy as many diamonds as possible. Of course if they are lucky enough to be able to afford them. It must be because being so rare and expensive they are even more valued. What happens if you can have something in the blink of an eye? You usually get bored of that object and do not appreciate its value. In most cases this is not the situation of diamonds.
I personally find this world rather fascinating and quite monopolizing in some cases. Once finding out more things about these brilliant, perfectly cut stones the term enough gets newer and newer meanings. It may not be your case but even though I do not consider myself a “material girl” as Madonna used to sing about her, it seems to me that there is more and more to find out about this world, the world of diamonds.
It is true that it has a rather negative impact on the environment and this mainly because in most cases enough is just not enough for most people. And I refer here to the almost permanent desire to exploit and conquer everything that is there in nature to be exploited and conquered, regardless the tragic cataclysm caused by our actions.
Perhaps the irony lies mainly in the fact that coming as a result of a natural process taking place in the very ground it now brought the destruction through pollution of that already mentioned ground. You would say that the extraction is not being done properly and you may be right as it looks like countries like Canada for example have already found the proper means to do this without impacting to a great extent the environment. How did it manage to do this? By imposing strict regulations as far as the diamond mining industry is concerned. In this way the price paid by the environment is not as big as in the countries of the African continent.
Is there anyone who hasn’t heard about the 4 “c” ‘s when it comes to diamonds? If you are not yet aware I am referring to clarity, color, carat and cut. All these elements brought together make just the perfect diamond. It must be fascinating to perfectly cut the diamond you know it was once covered with dirt; it is said that a perfect cut diamond should have 58 facets, all of these facets refracting light in a unique manner.
Fellini Sparkling Diamonds Gown
In case you find it fascinating then you should go up on a vacation to the only diamond mine in the world where you can become a miner too, at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. In exchange for a fee anyone can mine for a day and be rewarded by being able to keep whatever diamond he or she may find. I’d honestly do this only to see what the diamond mining activity really gets down to.
I’d end this rather fascinating intercourse in the amazing world of diamonds by quoting the Beatles and one of their songs, a song entitled “Can’t buy me love”: “I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend, if it makes you feel alright.” Because no matter the situation and no matter how many diamonds one has one’s wellbeing is perhaps the most important thing. You may achieve this wellbeing state by surrounding yourself with diamonds or with simple yet not dull things coming from the natural world.
