Top 5 Facts About Diamonds

This video is forever. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In this instalment we're counting down the five most bedazzling facts about Diamonds. So sit back, Mojoholics, because it’s time to shine bright like a carbon allotrope!

Back in 1905 the world’s largest diamond was found in Pretoria, South Africa during a routine mine inspection by one Frederick Wells. The diamond, which was later named “Cullinan” after the mine’s owner, was a staggering 3,106-Carat which is roughly 1.33 lbs. The Transvaal provincial government purchased the rock for only £150,000 and, in as a gesture of their undying loyalty, decided to gift it to King Edward VII of England. It was cut into a few pieces, and the biggest is now part of the crown jewels on display in the Tower of London.

Aren’t diamonds the best? You can wear them as earrings, give them as a marriage proposal, polish your blood-sodden axe... In the 90s, archaeologists found a set of ceremonial axes in China dating back 4500 years. The axes are so finely polished through experimentation, researchers determined that only diamonds could have made them so reflective. In fact, even using the best modern polishing techniques, they still couldn’t match the sheen of those axes.

You may be eyeing up those adorable chocolate diamonds that everyone’s talking about. But what you don’t know is that these diamonds are practically worthless in the eyes of gemologists. With diamonds, the general rule of thumb is that the clearer they are, the more valuable they must be. By traditional grading standards, all other things being equal, brown diamonds are of a lower value than clear ones. But a little bit of creative marketing can turn something previously unvalued into something sought after. But, hey, that’s true of all diamonds: ain’t nothing inherently valuable about them, but decades of brilliant marketing and close control of the supply has us paying big bucks.

Because sometimes it’s just too hard to let go of the ones you love, the Chicago based company “Lifegem” have devised a way to turn the recently deceased into something equally precious– diamonds! That’s right, just bring them some ashes and, after a process of pressurization, they will present you with a glistening new diamond. No need to ship your remains across the world though, as similar companies exist in the UK, Spain and Switzerland.

It’s time to put the ol’ Cullinan diamond to shame because it pales in comparison to this next entry. In 2009 the super-planet “PSR J1719-1438 b” was discovered which, after closer observation, is believed to be composed of carbon-rich materials. It’s estimated that because of this structure, a great deal of this planet is likely composed of solid diamond. They do say you can never have enough of a good thing. Of course, you’ll have to travel over 4000 Light-years to reach it, so you’re probably better off admiring this beauty from afar. Not that you have a choice.


So, would you rather have your remains sit on the mantlepiece, or be set in a ring? For more expertly polished Top 10s and blood-sodden Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!