...if you placed a diamond in an oven, it could vanish?

WE all know that a diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth, but did you know if it is placed in an oven and the temperature is raised to about 763 degrees Celsius, it would simply vanish, without even any trace of ash. Only a little carbon dioxide would get released.

Diamonds are formed over a period of a billion or more years deep within the earth’s crust — about 150km (90 miles) deep — and are pushed to the surface by volcanoes. Most diamonds are found in volcanic rocks, or in the sea after having been carried away by rivers when they are pushed to the surface. A diamond is 58 times harder than the next hardest mineral on earth, corundum, from which rubies and sapphires are formed. It was only during the 15th century that it was discovered that the only way to cut diamonds was with other diamonds. Yet, diamonds are brittle. If you hit it with a hammer, it will shatter.

• Did you know that the tradition of giving a diamond engagement ring, it is believed, started in 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy?

• Did you know that all diamonds are not white? Impurities add a shade of blue, red, orange, yellow, green or even black to the diamonds. Diamonds actually are found in fair abundance; thousands are mined every year. Eighty per cent of them, however, are not suitable for jewellery — they are used in industries. Only diamonds of higher clarity are sourced to the jewellery stores.

— Compiled by Gaurav Sood