Yellow Diamond Weddings Ring Jewelry 73

Yellow Diamond Weddings Ring Jewelry.

By Farzana Aamir.

Formation in cratons

A triangular facet of a crystal having triangular etch pits with the largest having a base length of about 0.2 millimetres (0.0079 in)

One face of an uncut octahedral diamond, showing trigons (of positive and negative relief) formed by natural chemical etching

The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the lithospheric mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the requirements of temperature and pressure. These depths are estimated between 140 and 190 kilometers (87 and 118 mi) though occasionally diamonds have crystallized at depths about 300 kilometers (190 mi). The rate at which temperature changes with increasing depth into the Earth varies greatly in different parts of the Earth. In particular, under oceanic plates the temperature rises more quickly with depth, beyond the range required for diamond formation at the depth required. The correct combination of temperature and pressure is only found in the thick, ancient, and stable parts of continental plates where regions of lithosphere known as cratons exist. Long residence in the cratonic lithosphere allows diamond crystals to grow larger.