DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
I recently read an article that detailed the process of how diamonds are formed. It was fascinating; I couldn't help but notice that the way diamonds are formed is strikingly similar to the way people become network marketers.
At this very moment, about ninety miles beneath our feet, diamonds are forming. It can happen only at that depth because of the enormous pressure and heat in those layers. The pressure at this depth is equivalent to having eighteen elephants balancing on a single high-heeled shoe and measuring the pressure delivered through the heel. This would be about 20,000 pounds per square inch. Combine this with a temperature ten times the boiling point of water, or 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and you have the kind of extreme environment that will create diamonds.
After a billion years or so, little crystals begin to form, and slowly become bigger and bigger. Bring these crystals up to the surface and they will catch your eye with their ability to bend and reflect light. But only an elite few of these diamonds will ever reach the earth's surface. Most will stay buried forever and never reveal their beauty. Those that do come up will do so in quite a dramatic fashion.
How does it happen? Only through the power of a volcano. Deep and rare underground explosions act like extreme elevators and propel scorching magma upwards, carrying the diamonds in a rocket-like river where they eventually shoot out the top of the earth's crust and onto the surrounding land and water. When it's all over, the crystals are everywhere, in abundance, and recognized for what they are ... diamonds.
At this point they're called "rough diamonds." The "rough" seems rather undignified, given all these rocks have been through. The name "diamond comes from the Greek word adamas, meaning "invincible." They are in fact the toughest material on the planet: they cannot be chipped, scratched or broken by any other substance.
This toughness also puts diamonds in a bit of a predicament, because in order for them to reach their full potential in shape, beauty and value they must be chipped, scratched and broken. How is this possible? Only by using other diamonds, or at least the dust of other diamonds. And even these cutting tools will be effective only in the hands of skilled craftsmen.
Thus begins the study of each stone to discover the potential that lives beneath the rough surface. Once this is found, the craftsman uses a tool to strike the stone with a single blow, called the "cleave." This single cut will determine almost everything about the ultimate structure of the gem. Only then is a cut made to form the top of the diamond, called the "table." The process then continues, forming the upper part of the jewel, called the "crown." The crown makes up the largest part of the diamond, and slopes outwards until it reaches the widest point, called the "girdle." The diamond finally slopes inward to make up the lower section, called the "pavilion," until it comes to a point at the bottom named the "cullet."
By the time this process is complete; less than half of the original rough diamond remains, but its value has multiplied. No wonder it has become a symbol of power, fearlessness, virtue and, in the case of wedding rings, eternity. The advertising slogan, "Diamonds are forever" actually tells the truth.
AI
