While it was a lucky surprise for Sushil Shukla — a resident of Kishoreganj in Panna town — and his partners, who found the diamond earlier this week in the mine, have you ever thought to wonder how a diamond comes into existence? What journey does it take to become the final product from the precious raw stone? And why carats are important to ascertain its price?

A brick kiln operator found a 26.11-carat diamond, worth around 1.2 crore in a shallow mine in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district.

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According to Nakshatra Mehta, the founder of Rare Heritage — a fine jewellery and bridal couture brand — the journey of a diamond starts from “being a diamond crystal, which is oily and not shiny”.

“This is where the creation comes in. It starts from rough mapping, rough planning, and then goes to diamond sawing and diamond polishing,” he shares with this outlet.

But, what do carats mean?

“A carat is a diamond industry specific unit of measurement,” he says, adding that it is used to specify the weight of the diamond. “One carat equals to 200 milligrams or 0.200 grams and is subdivided into 100 points. So, for example a 5-carat stone will weigh 1 gram.”

As far as the pieces are concerned, which remain once the diamond has been cut and shaped, Mehta explains that it “depends on the quality of the diamond off-cuts”. “The higher quality ones go into smaller jewellery stones in standard or unusual shapes. Some go as industrial diamonds. The remaining dust is also used for grit for cutting and polishing. So everything from the diamond is put to use.”

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