Though now readily available in almost every jewelry store, the diamond arrives there only after an arduous journey from the interior of the earth, where it has lain roughly between 140-190 km (90-120 mi) below the surface of our planet. It is an ancient journey, and even today is shrouded a little in mystery. Yet, most of us wear our diamond rings with casual ease, quite unaware of that journey.

Still, not to worry. Be enchanted by the diamonds on display at the ROM, some of which have such fame and value attached to them that they have to be housed in a special vault whose doors close tightly at night. But, while being enchanted, don't forget to look at the displays that reveal the nature of this gem, known as the hardest mineral on the Mohs scale, the softest being talc.

The first diamonds known to man came from India, where they made their first impact around the 4^th century B.C. It is lost to history just who made the discovery that this seemingly humble piece of mineral is harder than any other known material on earth, and when polished turns into a highly refractive crystal. By the late 18th century the commercial potential of India's mines became depleted and it was eclipsed by Brazil where the first non-Indian diamonds were found in 1725. What is even more amazing is the discovery in 1797 by the English chemist Smithson Tennant that diamonds are made of carbon. He did so by burning a diamond in an atmosphere of oxygen and finding it produced only carbon dioxide. Diamonds are, like graphite and charcoal, allotropes of carbon. Somehow, deep in the interior of the earth such enormous pressure is put on carbon that it creates diamonds that are then spewed up to the surface by magma and deposited in funnel-shaped kimberlite pipes.

The Nature of Diamonds, which was organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the ROM and three other US museums, has a Canadian component that is a must-see for anyone visiting this show. Within just 10 years, Canada has become the third largest producer of quality diamonds without all of the criminal reputation so closely linked to this gem. More than any other gem, it attracts not only those who love its glitter, but also those who wish to satisfy their greed by amassing great wealth through it, or worse, finance wars with it. But, that is another tale. The ROM's show is about the what and wherefore of the gem, its beauty, and its usefulness as an industrial material.

In 1991, the first kimberlite pipe in Canada was discovered at Point Lake. This was followed by the largest staking rush in Canadian history. The Ekati mine, located near Lac de Gras, 300 km (186 mi) northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and about 200 km (124 mi) south of the Arctic circle, officially opened on October 14, 1998, and is operated by BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., a part of the BHP Billiton Group, the world's largest diversified resources company.

In a brief conversation with one of the spokesmen for De Beers attending the opening, I learned that about 10 percent of all of the De Beers diamonds mined in this country will be cut and polished here. This is an important aspect, for it worries many people that this country becomes merely an exporter of raw diamonds without the benefit of the higher skills related to the production of this gem.

While there is much folklore about gold and copper among the Native population of Canada and hence among early European settlers, there is very little about diamonds. Jacques Cartier's men mined "diamonds" at the mouth of Rivière du Cap-Rouge in 1541, but their treasure turned out to be worthless quartz. This episode gave Quebec's Cap Diamant its name, and the story survives in the saying "faux comme des diamants du Canada" (false as the diamonds of Canada).

The ROM's exhibition has been well organized into seven sections, each of which features a different aspect of the diamond. What is Diamond? takes a look at the diamond by exploring its physical qualities, which includes hands-on models of the diamond's molecular structure, and an interactive display that shows the stone's ability to conduct heat among others.

The Source of Diamonds on Earth offers up how diamonds are moved from within the Earth to the surface. This display includes rarely seen samples of diamonds still embedded in kimberlite.

The Historical Galleries section takes a look at the cultural and historical significance of the mineral. Be informed by the lore and legends through the ages. It includes medieval jewelry, artifacts and manuscripts that tell of how diamonds came to Europe from India. It also includes modern jewelry.

Designer Niki Kovakonis, standing next to a display case that features her Tip of the Iceberg ring, a 2.78 natural, uncut, rough Canadian diamond set in palladium. She lifted her hand briefly and showed off another version of this ring, a 2.83 uncut Canadian diamond with two facets (two peaks) set in white gold. She explained briefly how difficult it was for her to obtain this diamond as well as the one on display in a special case in the show. Her Tip of the Iceberg rings consist of a series of four, all in private collections. They were inspired by a visit with her husband to Newfoundland's iceberg alley. Canadian mining companies, which are tightly controlled, seldom allow raw diamonds to enter the marketplace. She finally managed to obtain some from a dealer in the United States who had certified Ekati stones. As a trained architect, she was inspired for the design of the ring setting by Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater building that features a cantilevered balcony. It is truly a magnificent ring.

Toronto-born international architect Frank Gehry is also featured here. His design is called Diamonds in the Rough necklace, created for Tiffany & Co. in 2006. It consists of rough diamonds, cultured keshi pearls, and gauze-like gold mesh that has an unusual elegance and yet, also a casual air that is highly attractive.

There are many more objects in this section, some wondrous, others on the gaudy side ranging in age from the 15^th century to the present. How one sees these items all depends on the onlooker's taste in jewelry.

An important section is Diamond Sources and Diamond Exploration and Mining. It takes a look at different types of mining, and how the diamond progresses from the mine to the dealer, and finally its use in industry or as a gem. There is a video included about the Canadian mining industry that gives quite a bit of information about this country's involvement in the mining of diamonds. There are also samples of diamond crystals from around the world, and include stones from the ROM's own collection of rough and cut stones.

Next comes the walk-in Gem Vault mentioned earlier. Another Canadian featured in this section is designer Dieter Huebner, who won the De Beers Diamond International Award for 2000 for his Milky Way necklace. He explained that it weighs more than a kilo, and consists of 2,000 diamonds with a combined weight of 67.96 carats suspended in a platinum grid. As he admitted, it is not really intended as a piece of jewelry, for it is far too heavy to wear around the neck. Still, it is awe-inspiring in its vision.

The star of the vault is the Incomparable Diamond. This golden-colored, kite-shaped diamond is the vault's centrally featured item. This flawless diamond was found in the early 1980s by a young girl as an 890-carat rough diamond among rubble from a diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After much study of the gem and subsequent cutting it emerged as the 407.48 carat Incomparable Diamond and 14 other satellite diamonds. It is known as the third largest cut diamond ever recorded.

Another section is named The Four Cs. This stand for cut, carat, color and clarity, the standards by which diamonds are judged as gem stones. Here the visitor can learn all about how a diamond is prepared for trade, and its transformation into a gemstone via an informative video. It also offers information on the Kimberley Process Certification Process that was implemented in 2003 to protect the legitimate trade of diamonds, and certifies that shipments of rough diamonds crossing a country's borders are free from conflict diamonds, often referred to as blood diamonds.

Diamonds in Industry, Science and Technology is the final section. It enlightens the onlooker about the diamond's unique qualities that are perfectly suited to uses in industry of various types. Interestingly, diamonds because of their resistance to becoming wet make perfect surgical knives. That certainly came as a revelation to me.