You know, a diamond is more than a gemstone…

When a diamond is more than just a gemstone

When mentioning the word diamond, many think of the rare gemstone with its intricate scientific classifications, cut, and quality of an attractive shiny stone.

But there has to be more to the word diamond than just the bling, right?

A Diamond Interpretation

Playing on the word itself, the origin and interpretation of the word diamond is confusing to those discovering the English language. It’s a true story… or myth!?!

Are you confused already?

Lemme explain.

Many jewellers will tell you that the word diamond means shiny!!

Oh wait, that’s what most of us think, right?

But the word diamond comes from ancient Greek times, to signify ‘I tame or I subdue’, and to describe the hardest substance known to men. But us girls do love ‘em.

Name that Diamond

There are so many places named diamond beaches, diamond clubs, diamond resorts, diamond insurance covers, diamond credit cards, diamond dynasty, diamond watches, diamond display, and diamond truck stops… (*breathe)

I’m still trying to not talk about that gemstone, but while on the topic of naming things, Diamond had a bump in the popularity polls for a girl’s name in the early 2000s.

There are so many nicknames and terms like:

💎 “You’re a Diamond,” meaning a person of quality.

💎 “She’s a diamond in the rough,” is for those good-hearted gals that lack certain high-class refinements.

💎 And diamonds is another term for ice, amphetamines, and where the term “digging for diamonds” shifts into a whole different playing field.

Diamonds aren’t all about the shape

Most recognise the flat diamond shape that is a called rhombus because its sides, the inside, and opposite angles are of equal measurements.

But when they cut the gemstone diamonds, their shapes can be round, geometric, square (princess, cushion), rectangular (emerald, radiant), pear, oval, and heart.

Incidentally, the round diamonds are the most priceless just because of its shape and where big is betterer.

And I’m not meant to be writing about jewellery!! Ugh.

Moving right along…

Ever wondered about those diamonds in playing cards?

For those players out there, it’s rumoured that they adopted the diamond suit in playing cards in England as a synonym for wealth. Designed after the diamond-shaped tiles that paved the hallways of the wealthy back in medieval Europe.

The diamond cards are said to represent growth, responsibility, values, and security. Pretty much all the good stuff.

Diamonds in a suit of non-poker-playing cards also represent the coins of the merchant class excited over wealth creation. Which can be flipped for fortunes told.

Is Diamond Dust a thing?

It sure is.

Besides the many uses of diamond dust in art, they use diamond dust for industrial purposes. There are diamond sharpening steels favoured by master chefs to maintain cutting edges to their knives. Hardware stores stock diamond saws and drills bits to slice through the toughest of materials.

There’s a diamond polish you get for jewellery and cars. God knows my car could do with a diamond finish.

All right, I know I said I wouldn’t talk about the jewels, but I have to share this bling-worthy story…

Mercedes created the world’s most expensive car by encrusting over 300,000 diamonds all over one of their models. A car that is. And then they did it again coz the could!

Oh, to be that wealthy… (*dreamily sighs)

Crossing over to the cosmetic counter… there’s a diamond dust exfoliator. Many makeup products claim to have diamond dust for that sparkly glitter effect perfect for that party gal glam.

Did you know they’re also using diamonds (Nano-diamonds) in cancer research and for creating a bionic eye?

And I didn’t mention diamond rings once!

Random Diamond Days

Yep, Diamonds have their own international day of celebrating diamonds, held on the 12th of August. No doubt a day celebrated by jewellers in shopping malls flogging off their rings on that day. (*Ahem, I wouldn’t say no to a diamond… would you?)

Still talking about jewellers, they also have an International Diamond week, where the best of the best gather for the ultimate in diamond exchange to buy and barter their bullion for 3 days. Just imagine the security—and the guest list!

Musical Diamonds

Diamond needles are used for record players, said to promote crystal clarity in their playlist moments that would make any wailing boy band from the 80s sound good.

A Diamond hit in music is the highest recognition given for selling a song over 10 million times.

Prince ranks number one with his album Purple rain, with other stars like the Beatles, Madonna, Eminem joining the ranks. Even the boyish Beaver gained a diamond ranking for his hit single Baby.

The world’s number one diamond single is Elton John’s, Candle in the Wind. He rewrote it as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. A true diamond princess of her time.

Diamond in songs is found almost everywhere (also found on the playlist) :

💎 Rhianna has a song called Diamonds, written (and sung sometimes) by Sia.

💎 Paul Simon has the classic hit, Diamonds on the soles of her shoes.

💎 Elton John/ Beatles classic, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, and so, so many more.

Then there are the bands, The Diamonds, Diamond Rio, and the albums with Diamond in the titles. Many singers also seem to love using Diamond as their surnames. There’s an Amy Diamond, Andrew Diamond, Jim Diamond, and Neil Diamond.

Have you heard of these Diamonds?

Other famous Diamonds

Jack ‘leg’s’ Diamond was a famous gangster in the 1920s.

There is even a famous Canadian baseball pitcher named, Scott Diamond, which slides in as a nice fit for his occupation! Ha.

Aaaand the most famous diamond of all is…

(*drumroll)

The Hope Diamond!

The Hope Diamond, aka the King’s Jewel, France’s Blue, and the Tavernier Blue diamond, is so old. So blue. So precious. And oh, so cursed.

Allegedly stolen from an idol in India, the priests cast their curse so that if anyone who dares to touch or claim ownership over this diamond, they’ll suffer bad luck and eventual death. Some claim Marie Antoinette’s beheading was due to this cursed diamond. Yeah, I’d put it back on the shelf too.

But wait, there’s more…

Diamond Superstitions

The Hope Diamond isn’t the only blue diamond that is cursed, there is another blue diamond known as the Heart of the Ocean. It was an engagement gift, worn by the heroine on the Titanic!

Remember that movie?

And that diamond?

Just saying, those with superstitious natures are very wary of the blue diamonds, coz that gemstone’s reputation throughout history sucks.

Diamonds can also represent faithfulness, purity, innocence, and relationships filled with love. You can see why they’re popular for engagement rings. Just not the blue ones.

Diamonds are also said to bring victory, strength, courage, and fortitude to their bearer, including luck while keeping evil baddies away. So, remember to dress for the occasion by wearing non-blue diamonds on Halloween—or whenever entering a haunted house or your in-laws!

The ancient Greeks made breastplates with diamonds to protect them against enemies weapons and for better health. Um, well, that just seems like common sense.

In India, they believed wearing diamonds will stop lightning striking them, and where the Sanskrit word for diamond translates to thunderbolt.

Now that I went way off topic and crumbled to the pressure of the gemstone, I’m meant to be talking about…

Diamonds in Sport.

Footballers use the term diamond, where they position players in a diamond shape on the field.

Baseball and softball are played on a diamond-shaped field. Oh, and they have their own superstition with their diamond, such as never stepping on the foul line when walking on and off the field.

So, what involves a group of women who have a love of diamonds in the dust?

Not diamond dust, but real. Red. Dust.

Lemme play with you some more…

Diamonds at Play

No, I didn’t write a play, but a story where the title of the book is DIAMOND IN THE DUST. The title refers to a softball game played on an outback red dirt diamond. Ta-da!

The ‘rough diamond’ is very much the quirky coach in this story. And, from the dusty outfields, these amazing women of the outback truly are diamonds—and a softball diamond is a girl’s best friend.

I even play on the word windmill that sits on the cover. Besides being a slight scene-stealer in the story, Windmill is also the term for a certain style of a softballer’s pitch. Ha.

DIAMOND IN THE DUST is some sun-drenched fun involving an ex-world champion, a cheeky but charming cattleman, and jam!

This combination can be found at your favourite online bookstore.