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Section: April

April — Diamond and White sapphire and White topaz

Diamond — carbon, Mohs 10, and the two stones people compare it with

Diamond and white sapphire are the two stones on this site rated for daily wear. White topaz is not — its cleavage makes it far less forgiving than its Mohs 8 suggests.

4 pieces in this month, ordered by how often they can sensibly be worn — the most forgiving first.

Mineralogy

Diamond is pure carbon in a cubic lattice, Mohs 10, and the hardest natural material known. White sapphire is corundum, aluminium oxide, Mohs 9. White topaz is aluminium silicate fluoride hydroxide, Mohs 8 with one perfect cleavage plane. Three different minerals, three different behaviours.

What the trade does to it

Every diamond on this site is lab-grown and labelled Lab-created (synthetic) in the declaration block. Lab-grown diamond is diamond — the same crystal, the same hardness — made in a reactor rather than found in kimberlite. It is never described here as natural, and never described as a substitute.

Documented history

Diamond has held April since the 1912 list. Laboratory diamond growth was first reproducibly achieved at General Electric in 1954, and gem-quality growth became commercial in the 2010s.

April pieces

From £69 · all prices include VAT

Wear grades in this month

  • Suitable for daily wear

    3 pieces in April

    • Remove before contact sports and heavy manual work
    • Remove before swimming pools and hot tubs — chlorine attacks the metal, not the stone

  • Occasional wear — avoid knocks

    1 piece in April

    • Remove before gym equipment, gardening, DIY and washing up
    • Do not stack against harder stones, which will abrade this one
    • Avoid sudden temperature change

  • Delicate — special occasions only

    0 pieces in April

    • Remove before any physical activity — knocks will chip this stone
    • Keep away from perfume, hairspray, cosmetics and hand sanitiser
    • Avoid sudden temperature change and prolonged dry heat
    • No ultrasonic tank, no steam, no soaking

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