Diamond is April's Birthstone
Written by Ciaran on Mar. 27, 2025 | 0 Comments
Despite the associations with the first of the month, those lucky to be born in April are no fools with diamond, the most prized precious gemstone of all, as their birthstone! A fantastic excuse, if any was needed, to add a little sparkle to life!
But we know from our many years of experience that people are nervous about buying diamond jewelry. Many feel they could know more about this precious stone and its 4C’s. Below are four more strange and wonderful facts about diamond that you may find interesting, plus an alternative to suit any budget.
1) Large diamond? Look for Certification
First to allay some anxiety, when buying a diamond, especially a larger stone, look for certification, either GIA( Gemological Institute of America) or IGI (International Gemological Institute). We have GIA or IGI certification for the larger stones we use in our diamond and lab diamond rings, so you know the history of the stone in your jewlery and can be confident in your purchase!
2) Look for Scintillating Sparkle and Fire
Diamonds are the hardest of all gemstones and their dense and pure structure interacts with light giving them fantastic properties like fire and scintillation, emitting sparkling flashes of color and brilliant white light.
The fire in this Diamond Claddagh ring is quite spectacular, with the heart shaped cut working to beautiful effect. The cut and clarity of a finished stone is important as it can accentuate these features. This can be good to keep in mind if you are buying a larger stone like the 2 ct whopper in the ring above. However all diamond sparkles, even smaller stones. This fact is beautifully illustrated by these lovely Diamond Celtic Love Knot Earrings.
3) Be spellbound by diamonds origins
How diamonds form, either naturally or through ingenious invention, is almost as spectacular as their beauty!
Natural Diamond
Natural diamonds are truly ancient stones. Most are over one billion years old and some are more than 3 BILLION years old!
Natural diamond forms at incredible depths within the Earth over 150km/90 miles down, with a few rare stones thought to have formed as deep as 800km/500 miles. At such depths there is the huge pressure and temperature required to crystallize pure carbon into solid diamond. This is part of the reason why natural diamonds are rare (and valuable).
You might ask how natural diamond gets from such depths to being set into a lovely piece of jewelry? The answer lies in some of the strangest and rarest volcanoes on the planet - volcanic pipes. These features are curious carrot shaped craters in the ground, formed by a supersonic volcanic eruption that rockets diamond bearing magma to the surface faster than the speed of sound, creating deposits that can be mined.
Photo Credit: Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
These types of features can be found where there are the oldest rocks on Earth including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and South Africa. The rarity of these features also contributes to the value of natural diamonds.
Lab Diamonds
We think the origins of lab diamonds are no less extraordinary than their natural counterparts. Through ingenious invention, we are now able to recreate the incredible pressure and temperatures involved in creating this stone in a controlled lab setting, effectively "growing" man-made diamond, with beauty and performance exactly the same as their natural counterparts, with none of the need for exploration and mining.
These man made marvels, are indistinguishable in their structure, chemistry and physical properties making them a popular choice ,given the key difference with their natural counterparts is their lower price point.
4) Enjoy Diamond lore: Cupids Arrows and the Tears of the Gods
The word diamond derives from the Greek word “adamas,” which means invincible or indestructible and they weren't wrong. Both natural and lab diamonds are 58 times harder than any other known natural substance. So for for all their beauty, they are extraordinarily hard wearing, making them ideal for use in jewelry.
This almost otherworldly hardness and spectacular beauty is perhaps why the Greeks referred to them as the tears of the gods and Romans believed that Cupid’s arrows were tipped with diamonds - the earliest but definitely not the only association between diamonds and romantic love.
Diamond Gifts for April
April's Precious Birthstone dazzles in the Sunshine. Perfect for Spring!
An Eye-Catching Alternative to Diamond for April
And for those that want diamond sparkle without the hit to the wallet, Cubic Zirconia, also known as CZ, is a more affordable but equally stunning variation on the birthstone for April. The “cubic” part of the name for this eye catching stone refers to its structure and “zirconia” to its composition (zirconium oxide). Want to know more about CZ - check out our dedicated guide to Cubic Zirconia.
CZ is a lab created stone so it has a fantastic sparkle with excellent hardness, flawless clarity and the best color rating of "D" on the diamond scale, making it a contemporary favorite.
Cubic zirconia even has a higher level of dispersion than diamond, giving it even greater fire with wonderful ‘rainbow effect’ flashes when it is hit by light. This makes for truly eye catching jewelry with the delight of a rainbow after a spring shower. We have an extensive collection CZ April Birthstone jewelry that make wonderful gifts that can be treasured for a lifetime.
April Birthday Inspiration
A beautiful April birthstone piece is sure to make a wonderful gift. Customize your purchase even further with a one-of-a-kind engraving.
Get In Touch
Have a question or something you're not entirely sure about when browsing our pieces? Please reach out. You can send us a note or give us a call—the Dublin workshop is here to make sure that you have a perfect experience from start to finish with My Irish Jeweler.
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Ciaran
My Irish Jeweler
Born in Co. Antrim and reared in Dublin, I was fascinated with Gaelic culture from an early age. I suppose it's not surprising given my mother inherited a grá for the Irish language from my grandfather, an Irish school headmaster. And that grá continues! My brother and sister are now Gaelic teachers here in Ireland, my niece is an award winning Irish dancer, and I proudly work to share Irish culture through our Irish and Celtic Jewelry at My Irish Jeweler!
I love researching and reading about the history of Irish design. It's at the core of what we do here at My Irish Jeweler. I find much of it so interesting that I have to share what I find. I hope you enjoy it!
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