The journey of a diamond
The diamond has a long journey from its formation under high pressure deep beneath the earth’s surface to its transformation into a beautifully cut gem destined for a piece of luxury jewellery. Similarly, Christ has had a long journey. It started out in 1863 as the small jewellery and watchmaking operation of Wilhelm Alexander Christ in Goethestadt in Frankfurt am Main and has become the largest German jeweller of the 21st century. Every piece of beautiful jewellery is created with the idea that it could become a symbol for something extraordinary.
Key features of a top-quality diamond
Diamonds are unique products of nature. They are formed under the earth’s surface in depths of between 150 and 660 kilometres and in temperatures of 1,200 to 1,400 degrees Celsius. It takes half an eternity for a diamond to be created and because they’re composed from pure carbon, the hardest natural mineral on earth, they will probably last for an eternity. For this reason, a diamond is perhaps the most beautiful and precious love token. Here we explore the four key features of the perfect diamond.
The carat
The weight of a diamond is measured in carats. A carat is the equivalent of 0.2 grams. The bigger the diamond, the rarer and more valuable it is. One of the largest diamonds used for a piece of jewellery is half a carat, with a brilliant cut and a diameter of 5.1 millimetres. The largest is the
Golden Jubilee diamond, which is part of the crown jewels of Thailand and weighs 545.67 carats.
The colour
Diamonds that appear colourless ‒ in other words pure white ‒ are extremely rare and valuable. The colour scale ranges from colourless to near colourless and tinted. So-called fancy colours are exceptions and include intense blue, red, green, pink and even yellow.
The cut
A brilliant cut is a matter of taste. However, the more precise the cut, the better the ‘fire’, or sparkle, of the diamond. If all features are at the optimum angle, the light will be perfectly focused and reflected through the top of the diamond.
The clarity
The clarity refers to the visibility of the inclusions, which every diamond has in varying characteristics. The rarest, flawless diamonds appear clear even when magnified up to 10 times.
