Time to shine: Meet April’s birthstone

Diamonds have a well deserved reputation for being a girl’s best friend. As the birthstone of April (and a favourite here at LLJ), we thought we’d take this month to celebrate our sparkly favourites – and share some fun diamond facts!

Diamonds are a mineral made of almost pure carbon (that’s the same stuff as coal and soot, if you can believe it). They also hold the title for being the hardest naturally-occurring substance in the world and were formed in the Earth's crust at least 1 Billion years ago.

With the combination of their durability and beauty, diamonds are an obvious choice for romance and proposals, representing the enduring love and commitment of a marriage. An advertising campaign in the 1940s came up with the iconic tagline ‘A Diamond is Forever’ – and they’ve been the most popular choice for engagement rings ever since!

You probably think of diamonds as colourless, but they actually come in all sorts of hues from transparent to black and a rainbow of colours in between. That makes them incredibly versatile as a jewel and means whatever your taste – you’re bound to find a diamond that suits your style. Alongside the classic ice white we love the more unusual stones, such as Salt and Pepper and silvery grey - all the shine and loads more personality.

What really sets diamonds apart is their extraordinary sparkle. This depends on the way they’re cut and polished, and their clarity – they refract the light that enters them and scatter it back out again in all directions. Diamond traders use the terms brilliance, fire and scintillation to describe these qualities and we think that’s pretty spot on! A little bit of Mother Earth's' Magic purely for our pleasure. ✨

If you’re inspired by your newfound diamond knowledge, have a birthday this month or maybe even a proposal on the cards – now’s the perfect time to check out our huge range of diamond jewellery. Or you can just treat yourself if you think you deserve it! ;)