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Diamond is the most celebrated of all birthstones even though it is not the rarest or most expensive. Why then the long-held fascination with this usually near colorless stone? Simply put, diamonds are hard. A diamond is approximately 140 times harder than any other mineral. The supreme hardness means that Diamond, while it can be shattered, cannot be scratched by anything other than another diamond. This hardness caused the ancient Greeks to name the stone "Adamas", which means invincible. Diamond is distinctive in the way it reflects light. It has a unique brilliance and also breaks the light up into spectral colors, which reflect within the stone as it is moved. Another unusual quality of a Diamond is its purity. A gem quality diamond is among the purest elements found in nature. Diamonds actually occur in all different colors, true red being most rare, followed by blue. Diamonds formed deep within the earth where the pressure and heat are intense. Because of its unusual qualities Diamonds occupy a powerful place in folklore. It was not until the 16th century that Diamond could first be cut and polished, thereby yielding it's true beauty. Still, the Ancient Greeks wore Diamonds into battle on their shields believing the stones could lend them their invincibility. In medieval times, uncut octahedron Diamond crystals were often set into rings, and their exposed points earned these rings the name "Glass Cutter Rings." Diamond was believed to symbolize purity and innocence, and joyful life of faith and piety. It also offered the ability to detect poison, as its surface was said to cloud in the toxin's presence.

From the Greek word adamastos: "unrelenting, unconquerable", which originally meant a state of being to which every man should aspire. By extension, adamas was the name of the strongest metal with which the weapons of the gods are forged, and adamas came to also apply to diamond. From there come the western derivations (diamante, diamant, diamond) and the Russian and Arabic almaz.

In Hindu mythology, diamond has a great importance. It is the vajra (lightning, the weapon of Indra, main god of the Hindus), and by the 6 points of the octaedra symbolises the true man who resists to attacks from the north, south, east and west, from the infernal powers and celestial powers. Therefore a diamond bearer is protected from fire, poison, thiefs, water, snakes and evil spirits. Its hardness is well known: "Only vajra cuts into vajra" but all octaedric crystals are considered diamonds: colourless ones (the diamonds proper) are attributed to the brahmane, the priestess; red ones (spinelles) to the kshatriya, the warriors; yellow ones (maybe diamonds) to the vaiēya, the merchants; black ones (magnetite) to the sūdra, the peasants.

In the XVIth century Europe, it was believed that diamond was a poison, and that diamond powder was an ingredient in the famous "succession powders" of Catherine of Medici. This legend was kept alive to discourage thieves from swallowing diamonds to hide them.

The Malaysia diamond mines of Borneo, if a stone contains in its center a grey or black ghost diamond, the well where it was found is abandoned: a Malaysian legend holds that these stones hold the "soul of the diamond", and the mine will die if its soul leaves it. However, diamond soul is a personal talisman that people will wear as an amulet.

Fancy colored diamonds are not a mass-market product that are advertised everywhere and sold by the numbers. They have more personality than that. Fancy colored diamonds are almost as much fun as colored gemstones! Like colored gemstones, each one is different. They come in fabulously expensive pale pinks and blues, pale to bright yellows, oranges, greens, and all those brown colors that are now being called names like cognac and champagne. Consider a fancy colored diamond which will give your jewelry more character, more individuality, more color!