TUESDAY IS THE BEST DAY TO GIVE A GIRL A DIAMOND
AND SEVEN OTHER THINGS WE BET YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT YOUR SHINY BFF.
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But how much do you actually know about these sparkly loves of your life? For example, do you know what the word “diamond” really means? Why is Tuesday the most ideal day to give a girl a gift of diamonds? What does the shape of your engagement ring say about you? And why is the Hope Diamond, one of the most famous jewels in the world, thought to be — gasp! — cursed? Well, let’s find out and keep our best friend close, shall we?
1. Everyone knows what the word “diamond” means: “A precious stone consisting of a clear and colourless crystalline form of pure carbon, the hardest naturally occurring substance.” Well, that’s how the dictionary defines it (yawn). Our definition? One word: Happiness. But seriously, in case you feel like impressing with more that than the brilliance of your diamond necklace at your next dinner party, treat your interlocutors with a little trivia: ”Diamond” was derived from the Greek word “adamas”, which means invincible or indestructible.
2. “Just because it’s Tuesday.” Memorise these four words, guys, for they are going to win you a gazillion brownie points with your lady. When Richard Burton bought what was his first gift of jewellery to Elizabeth Taylor (a 33.19-ct Asscher-cut Krupp Diamond which cost him US$305,000 at the time), “Just because it’s Tuesday” was the occasion he was famously quoted as saying to his Cleopatra. Oh, yes, didn’t we mention that you will need a diamond in hand when you utter those winning words?
3. April babies have got to be the luckiest, most fabulous babies in the world. Why? Hello, the diamond is their birthstone! Here’s looking at you, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart, Leighton Meester and, uh, Queen Elizabeth. Need we go on?
4. Have you ever sat around and wondered which celebrity has the biggest and most expensive engagement ring ever? Either way, we embarked on a little sleuthing, and here’s the big reveal: In size, Jackie O wins with her 40.42-carat marquise-cut ring (that’s the size of a quail egg!), while Mariah Carey comes in a close second with her 35-ct bling. (Right about now, we are feeling slightly sad for Blake’s Lively’s 12 carats.) In value, though, Mariah reigns — hers cost US$10 million. Sorry, Kim and Kanye, you’re behind by a whopping US$2 million.
5. So, here’s an interesting story. The Hope Diamond, only one of the most famous jewels in the world, has been said to be — gasp! — cursed. Although one of its owners, Evalyn McLean, an American mining heiress and socialite, believed it to be her good-luck charm, her life sounds like anything but charmed. After she came into possession of the 45.52-ct gem, her young son died in a car accident, her husband divorced her and died insane, and her daughter committed suicide. Coincidence? One could only hope. (Especially the peeps at the National Museum of Natural History, where it is being housed these days.)
6. What does your favourite shape of diamond ring say about you?
Round: Classic and classy.
Princess: You respect tradition but you embrace change.
Asscher: You’re stylish and you know it, and you bask in the limelight.
Emerald: Confident and self-assured.
Cushion: Just like Daisy Buchanan, you’re glamorous and opulent.
Oval: You’re the epitome of elegance.
Marquise: You’re a hopeless romantic.
Pear: You relish in your individuality.
7. Remember when you picked up a one-dollar coin in the back seat of a cab, or discovered a hundred-dollar bill in an old jacket pocket? Remember how happy it made you? Well, in 2015, a visitor at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas found herself a — wait for it — diamond! That measured! 8.5 carats! And! She got to keep it. Imagine that.
8. Ladies, you have DeBeers to thank for that diamond sparkler on your finger. It was actually a hugely successful marketing campaign of theirs that gave us the phrase “A diamond is forever”, forever linking the precious stone to love, marriage and all the butterflies you feel in your stomach when you lay eyes on one. Imagine if that had never taken place — the world and Beyoncé would be deprived of the pleasure of going, “if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it”. Oh, oh, oh.
Featured Jewellery: The Canary Diamond Co
