Shine Bright Like a Diamond Trivia Quiz

Answer: Amethyst

The amethyst derives its name from the Greek for intoxicate as they believed it protected the wearer from drunkenness. The Greeks even carved drinking vessels from this purple-hued quartz gemstone.

Answer: Koh-i-Noor

The Koh-i-Noor is one of the largest diamonds in the world weighing in at 105.6 carats. It now forms part of the Crown Jewels of England and was acquired when the Punjab was annexed by Britain in 1849. Within the British Royal Family the stone is considered to be unlucky for men and is, therefore, only worn by female members of the Royal Family.

Answer: Emerald

The green colour of the emerald comes primarily from small amounts of chromium or less commonly vanadium. The name of the stone literally means green gem. One of the largest emeralds in the world is the Duke of Devonshire emerald, an uncut stone of some 1383.93 carats. It can be seen at the Natural History Museum in London.

Answer: Bloodstone

A bloodstone is typically green with red or yellow spots. Christian legend has it that the red spots are from the body of Jesus Christ when his side was speared by a Roman soldier whilst Jesus was being crucified.

Answer: Lunacy

Topaz is a nesosilicate mineral. It is one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals with a Mohs hardness of eight. Whilst the English held that it could cure lunacy, the Romans thought it could afford protection to the traveller.

Answer: Blue

Lapis lazuli produces a rich blue pigment which was apparently more expensive than gold. Due to its cost it was used sparingly and often reserved for significant iconography such as depicting the robes of the Virgin Mary which symbolised her spirituality. It fell out of use in the late 19th century with the invention of a synthetic pigment.

Answer: No

The moonstone of the novel's title is actually a large diamond. The novel was first published in 1868 and is considered to be a pioneering work in the development of the detective novel. The novel focuses on the theft of the diamond and the process by which the thief is identified and the stone recovered.

Answer: It will dissolve

Pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate which reacts with the acetic acid in the vinegar making them dissolve. So never ever clean your pearls with vinegar!

Answer: Mexico

Whilst all of these countries do produce opals, Mexico is the only one of this group that produces fire opals. Fire opals, as the name implies, are yellow to orange to red in colour. Queretaro is the most famous source of Mexican fire opals.

Answer: Tanzanite

Tanzanite, a blue and violet gemstone, was discovered in Tanzania by Manual de Sousa, a part-time gold prospector. Initial thoughts were that what he had found was olivine or dumortierite. However, tests undertaken by the Gemological Institute of America identified it as a new form of zoisite.

Originally named blue zoisite it was rebranded as tanzanite by Tiffany & Co in order to increase sales.