Diamond

Every Namibian diamond has made a remarkable journey. Over millions of years, the Orange River carried diamonds from deep inside southern Africa down to the Atlantic, where they spread along our coast and onto the seabed. The long journey weeded out weaker, flawed crystals, which is why experts estimate that 90 to 95 percent of Namibia's coastal diamonds are of gem quality.

Today a large share is recovered from the sea floor by specialised ships. We buy ours already polished, through a licensed Namibian dealer, under the Kimberley Process.

What it is

Diamond is pure carbon, crystallised under enormous heat and pressure far below the earth's surface. It is the hardest natural material known (10 on the Mohs scale). Its hardness lets it take a sharp polish, and its high refraction gives it the fire and sparkle no other colourless stone quite matches.

Beliefs and legends

Africa's diamond story began with a plaything. On a farm near Hopetown, on the banks of the Orange River, a fifteen-year-old boy named Erasmus Jacobs picked up a shiny pebble in 1866 or 1867, and it went into his sister's collection of marbles. A neighbour passed it on, an official noticed that it scratched glass, and a mineralogist confirmed it: a diamond of 21.25 carats, later named the Eureka. It is on show in Kimberley today.

Two years later a herdsman found the far larger Star of South Africa, and the rush began that led to Kimberley. It is the same Orange River that carried Namibia's diamonds down to the sea.

Long before, the Roman writer Pliny had called diamond "the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world".

The four Cs

• Cut decides how well a diamond sparkles. A well-cut stone returns light from its whole face; a poor cut looks glassy or dark in the centre, whatever its other grades.
• Colour in white diamonds runs from colourless to faint yellow. The difference between neighbouring grades is very hard to see once the stone is set.
• Clarity measures inclusions. Most of them are invisible to the eye; you only need a stone that looks clean to you.
• Carat is weight, not size. Two stones of the same weight can look different sizes, depending on the cut.

Honesty about treatments

Some diamonds on the market are treated to improve colour or clarity, and laboratory-grown diamonds usually cannot be told apart from natural ones without laboratory testing. We sell natural Namibian diamonds, and we tell you exactly what you are buying. Where a stone is certified, we show you the certificate.

Caring for your diamond

Diamond will scratch almost anything, including other diamonds, so store pieces separately. It can still chip from a hard knock on its edge. Clean it in warm water with a little washing-up liquid and a soft brush: grease dulls a diamond quickly, and a clean one sparkles noticeably more. Have the claws checked once a year.

At a glance

Mineral	Carbon
Hardness	10 Mohs
Grading	Cut, colour, clarity, carat
From	The Namibian coast and seabed; bought through a licensed dealer
Origin papers	Kimberley Process
Care	Warm soapy water, soft brush. Store apart from other jewellery