The Diamond Compendium

Diamond is a fascinating subject.  Sought after, fought over, lied for, hoarded, hidden and coveted, diamonds remain one of mankind’s greatest obsession.  Diamond represent the most concentrated form of wealth on the planet, the hardest known natural substance and a means of unprecedented achievement in high-tech arenas never dreamed possible.

It is safe to say that as one time or another everyone has had a question about diamond: is diamond a good investment?  What should I look for when I buy  a diamond? How do I know my appraisal is accurate and what do the terms mean?  Can diamonds be scratched or broken? How do you distinguish from imitations? What is the rarest diamond worth? It is true that 5 tonnes of ore must be mined in order to recover a single carat of diamond? What makes a diamond sparkle? Is there any material difference between Russian, Canadian and South African diamonds?  What do diamonds look like before they are cut?  There are thousands of questions and contained within the cover of this book are the answers to those questions.

Recent publicity surrounding the extraordinary prices of fancy colour diamonds, sometimes in excess of $1 million per carat, and the resulting controversies caused by the commercialisation of synthetics diamond and the newest most advanced diamond treatments, including HPHT, laser and fracture drilling, have made it hard to escape the conclusion that the diamond world if changing.

Whether you are using this book to prepare for formal examinations, learn the facts bout purchasing diamonds, gain customer confidence through increased knowledge, understand the trade or simply satisfy your curiosity, this thorough, absorbing and comprehensive book is the single most important diamond reference since the 1978 edition of E.ric Burton’s Diamonds