A to Z of Diamonds Glossary

Diamonds Index

Round Brilliant Cut Diamond

Abrasion, Abrasions	Antique, and other old or heavily used diamonds can have abrasions, tiny nicks along facet junctions, producing white fuzzy lines instead of sharp crisp facet edges.
Abrasive, Abrasive	To wear down. Industrial diamonds are used as abrasives in grinding wheels and drill bits, and also used in finer grades (smaller particle size) to polish materials.
Academy Awards (Oscars)	Each year, a number of stars and celebrities are used to promote diamonds.
Acronyms	Acronyms of D.I.A.M.O.N.D. include Defense Intrusion Analysis & Monitoring Desk, Development and Integration of Accurate Mathematical Operations in Numerical Data-Processing, and Dow Industrial Average Model New Deposit Shares.
Adamant Research Laboratory	De Beers established the Adamant Research Laboratory in 1956 to intensify research into diamond synthesis. In 1958 De Beers produced its first synthetic diamond, and commissioned a synthesis plant in 1959.
Adamantine	Refers to the surface lustre of diamond.
Adamas	The word diamond comes from the ancient Greek word adamas (αδαμας), meaning unconquerable.
Africa	Africa dominated diamond production during the 20th century, with mining activity centred in Botswana and South Africa and concentrated in the hands of De Beers. But, although Africa is still the centre of the industry, the last decade has seen an expansion of production in Canada and Russia.
AGS, A.G.S., American Gem Society	The American Gem Society was established in 1934 with a vision to create an association of fine jewelry retailers dedicated to setting and maintaining the highest possible standards of business ethics and professionalism in the jewelry industry, according to its website.
Anglo American Corporation	Anglo American Corporation was founded in 1917 by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer to exploit the gold mining potential of the East Rand. Owns about 45% of De Beers.
Anglo American PLC	Anglo American plc was formed in May 1999 through the combination of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa (AACSA) and Minorco.
ASEA, A.S.E.A, Allmana Avenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget	Swedish electrical company which was the first to synthesize diamond, on 16th February 1953, headed by eccentric scientist Baltzar von Platen.
Amsterdam	Amsterdam, was a major diamond cutting center in the nineteenth century, but lost almost all its gem cutters to Antwerp, due in part to strict working conditions imposed on the Dutch diamond-cutting factories by labour unions in the prewar years.
Allnatt	A 102.29 carat cushion cut diamond certified by the GIA as Fancy Vivid Yellow, VS2 clarity.
Alluvial	Many diamonds are sourced from alluvial deposits in existing or previous river beds. Alluvial diamonds are usually of gem quality, probably because lower grade stones would have been damaged or destroyed.
Anchor Mark	The Birmingham, UK, Assay Office have recently started a diamond grading and certification service using Anchor Mark as a trade mark.
Angle, Angles	To achieve maximum brilliance, there are many angles which are important in diamond cutting. Angles determine proportion.
Angola	Diamonds were discovered in Angola in 1913. Since 25 years of civil war ended in 2002, Angolan production should be important, but there are still problems. Although Angola is rich in gem quality diamond deposits, its output has been variable following long periods of civil war or other armed conflict.
Anniversaries	De Beers invented and have promoted the concept of anniversary bands or eternity rings.
Anniversary	The sixtieth (60th) anniversary is a diamond jubilee, also we have recently seen the seventy fifth described as a diamond wedding anniversary.
Antwerp, Anvers, Antwerpen	A diamond trading centre since about 1300, it grew in importance in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as probably the world's most important cutting centre. It is still one of the main international diamond trading cities. Centred around Hoveniersstraat, Schupstraat, Rijfstraat and Pelikaanstraat.
Antwerp Diamond Bank	Antwerp Diamond Bank was founded back in 1934 by the three leading Belgian banks and Henfin, a holding company, owned by the De Beers Group. It is now owned by KBC and currently has offices in Antwerp, Geneva, New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
Antwerp Diamond Bourse	A meeting place for dealers to trade, mainly polished diamonds.
Antwerp Rose	A hexagonal rose cut with 12 upper facets, and a flat base facet.
Apollo Diamonds	In 2003, Apollo Diamonds Inc of Boston Massachusetts announced they were to market CVD grown diamonds including pure white, light pink, blue and black.
Appraise, Appraisal	Appraisal is carried out on rough and polished diamonds at many stages to asses quality and market values.
Argyle	Argyle Mine in Western Australia, owned by RTZ, opened in 1985, had produced about 650 million carats by open cast mining, and will probably change to underground pit methods from 2007. The Argyle mine is also famous for pink and other coloured diamonds.
Arrows, Hearts and	An optical pattern discernable in some well-proportioned diamonds, and marketed as a demonstration of excellent cutting.
Assurance Programme	Best Practice Principles is an assurance programme to be rolled out across the entire De Beers group, as well as to Sightholders and their business partners "to enhance and uphold the fine values diamonds represent".
Auction Prices	Although we do not necessarily believe that auctions are the best way to buy and sell diamonds, auction results are published, and can form some basis for price guides.
Aurora Collection	An important collection of natural fancy colour (coloured) diamonds, started by Alan Bronstein, and catalogued in the 750 page book Collecting & Classifying Coloured Diamonds by Stephen C. Hofer.
Australia	Diamonds were discovered in Australia in 1851, and Australia remains a major producer. Probably the world's largest producer by volume.
Ayer	US Advertising agency for De Beers from 1938, created the slogan "A Diamond is Forever" under its president Gerald M. Lauck.

There are currently over 600 entries in this table.
Over 90 of them have page links to a page on this site. Eventually, we intend to add a more complete description for most entries, each on its own page. Please watch this space!