Diamond (gemstone) to help authenticate Canadian diamonds. This is a very stringent tracking system of diamonds and helps protect the 'conflict free' label of Canadian diamonds. Currently, gem production totals nearly of cut and polished stones annually, and over of mined diamonds are sold for industrial use each year, as are about of synthesized diamond. Diamond (gemstone) A diamond (from the "adámas", meaning "unbreakable", "proper", or "unalterable") is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. Diamonds have been used as decorative items since ancient times; some of the earliest references can be traced to 25,000 - 30,000 B.C. The hardness of
Elliott County Kimberlite Elliott County Kimberlite The Elliott County Kimberlite (Sometimes called the Ison Creek Kimberlite) was discovered in Elliott County, Kentucky, by Albert R. Crandall in 1884 over two years before Carvill Lewis named a similar porphyritic peridotite occurring near Kimberley, South Africa, a kimberlite. It occurs as three separate elongate intrusive bodies 1/4 to 1/2 mi in length and a few hundred feet in width, within an area of about a square mile. The rock is a dark-green peridotite (kimberlite) composed of serpentinized olivine and a number of accessory minerals, including phlogopite, pyrope, calcite, enstatite, magnesian ilmenite, and others. Xenoliths, mainly