Diamonds are Pangolin’s best friend!

They are the hardest naturally occurring material and originate several hundred kilometres below surface in the earth’s mantle.

Diamonds reach the surface as a “foreign objects” (known as xenocrysts) carried in the kimberlite magma; as the magma traverses the mantle it “collects” diamonds and carries them to surface.

The weight of diamonds is expressed as “carats” (one carat = 200 milligrams) and they come in many colours including white, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, black and variations in between.

The largest diamond ever found is called the Cullinan at 3,106 carats.  It was found in the Premier Mine in South Africa.  The highest price paid for a diamond per carat was a 7 carat fancy vivid blue.

last up date: 28 June 2014