How Diamonds Work

7/25/2019 How Diamonds Work

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How Diamonds Work

On your next trip to the local shopping mall, stop by one of the jewelry stores.

Notice the diamond jewelry that takes up the majority of the showcase and the

number of people hovering over the counters trying to pick out diamonds for their

loved ones. There will surely be a salesperson explaining the " !s"

cut,clarity, caratand color to a young shopper, and explaining why one

diamond is better than the one right next to it. #hy all the fuss over diamonds$

% diamond is just carbonin its most concentrated form. That&s it carbon, the

element that makes up '( percent of the weight of your body. )n many countries,including the *nited +tatesandapan, there is no other gemstone as cherished as

the diamond, but in truth, diamonds are no rarer than many other precious gems.

They continue to demand higher market prices because the majority of the diamond

market is controlled by a single entity.

)n this article, we will track a diamond from the time it is formed to when it reaches

the -arth&s surface. #e will also examine the articial rarity created by the diamond

cartel, De Beers, and brie/y discuss the properties of these gems.
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Carbon and Kimberlite

!arbon is one of the most common elements in the world and is one of the four

essentials for the existence of life. 0umans are more than '( percent carbon.

The air we breathecontains traces of carbon. #hen occurring in nature, carbon

exists in three basic forms1

Diamond an extremely hard, clear crystal

Graphite % soft, black mineral made of pure carbon. The molecular

structure is not as compact as diamond&s, which makes it weaker than

diamond.

Fullerite % mineral made of perfectly spherical molecules consisting of

exactly 23 carbon atoms. This allotrope was discovered in '443.

5iamonds form about '33 miles 6'2' km7 below the -arth&ssurface, in the moltenrock of the -arth&s mantle, which provides the right amounts of pressure and heat to

transform carbon into diamond. )n order for a diamond to be created, carbon must

be placed under at least 89,''8 pounds per s:uare inch 6psi or 83 kilo bars7 of

pressure at a temperature of at least ;9< degrees =ahrenheit 633 !elsius7. )f

conditions drop below either of these two points, graphite will be created. %t depths

of 48 miles 6'93 km7 or more, pressure builds to about ;


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formed millions 6if not billions7 of years ago. ?owerful magma eruptionsbrought the

diamonds to the surface, creating kimberlite pipes.

Kimberliteis named after @imberley, +outh %frica, where these pipes were rst

found. >ost of these eruptions occurred between ','33 million and ount +t. 0elens, according to

the %merican >useum of Natural 0istory.

The magma eventually cooled inside these kimberlite pipes, leaving behind conical

veins of kimberlite rock that contain diamonds. @imberlite is a bluish rock that

diamond miners look for when seeking out new diamond deposits. The surface area

of diamondbearing kimberlite pipes ranges from < to '2 hectares 69 to 82' acres7.

5iamonds may also be found in river beds, which are called alluvial diamond

sites. These are diamonds that originate in kimberlite pipes, but get moved by

geological activity. Alaciers and water can also move diamonds thousands of miles

from their original location. Today, most diamonds are found in %ustralia, Borneo,

BraCil, Dussia and several %frican countries, including +outh %frica and Eaire.

These rough stones will become daling diamonds a!ter they are cut and

polished"

The #roperties o! Diamonds

5iamonds are found as rough stones and must be processed to create a sparkling

gem that is ready for purchase.

%s mentioned before, diamonds are the crystalliCed form of carbon created under

extreme heat and pressure. )t&s this same process that makes diamonds the hardest

mineral we know of. % diamond ranks a '3 on the $ohs Hardness %cale. The
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>ohs +cale is used to determine the hardness of solids, especially minerals. )t is

named after the Aerman mineralogist Friedrich $ohs. 0ere&s the scale, from

softest to hardest1

'. Talc easily scratched by the ngernail


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)n '49', Aeneral -lectric 6A-7 launched ?roject +uper pressure. )n this experiment,

A- attempted to create diamonds from graphite by applying massive amounts of

pressure and heat in machines calleddiamond presses. #hen the diamond

presses failed to produce diamonds, A- went back to the drawing board using a

meteorite for inspiration.

Cutting Diamonds

There are special techni:ues that are used to cut and shape a diamond before it

gets to the jewelry store. 5iamond cutters use these four basic techni:ues1

'. Cleaving To cut a rough diamond down to a manageable siCe, the cutter

must cleave it along the diamond&s tetrahedral plane, where it is the weakest.

% wax or cement mold holds the diamond in place while the cutter carves a

sharp groove along the plane. The cutter places a steel blade in the groove

and forcefully strikes it, cutting the rough diamond in two.

'. %awing +ometimes, diamonds have to be cut where there is no plane of

weakness, which cannot be done with cleaving. )nstead, the cutter saws the

diamond using a phosphorbronCe blade rotating at about '9,333 rpm. Jasers

can also be used to saw diamonds, but the process takes hours. 5uring the

sawing step, the cutter decides which parts of the diamond will become

the table6the /at top of the stone with the greatest surface area7 and

the girdle6the outside rim of the diamond at the point of largest diameter7.

Then, he proceeds to cutting.


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'. Cut This refers to a diamond&s geometric proportions and how it has been

cut. #hen a diamond is cut, facets are created and the diamond&s nished

shape is determined.


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$arketing Diamonds

The secret to 5e Beers& success is a marketing campaign that has permeated our

culture convincing every woman that she should receive a diamond ring from her

ancK and convincing each groomtobe to pay "twomonths salary" for that ring to

show how much his love is worth.

?rior to the '483s, diamond rings were rarely given as engagement rings. Opals,

rubies, sapphires and tur:uoise were deemed much more exotic gems to give as

tokens of one&s love, according to the book "Twenty %ds that +hook the #orld" by

ames B. Twitch ell. Twitch ell goes on to describe how 5e Beers changed the world

diamond market.

This idea of connecting diamonds to romance was captured in a brilliant ad

campaign begun in the '43s, causing demand for diamonds to increase. +urely

you&ve heard the 5e Beers advertisement that .& Diamond is Forever".This ad

campaign, which was created by the/"W" &yer

advertising agency in '4;,

transformed the diamond market. )n


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But, as the saying goes, beauty often comes at a price. %nd, sometimes, that price

goes beyond the nancial realm. )n the next section, we&ll examine some of the

biggest controversies in the diamond industry.

Diamond Controversy

)f you&ve ever shopped for a diamond, you know that weighing the !s is hard

enough without having to think about the diamond trade. But ethically speaking, a

diamond&s origins can be your most important consideration. ?erhaps the biggest

controversy facing the diamond trade today is con0ict diamonds. These stones

are also known as blood diamondsbecause of the bloodshed to obtain them.

% con/ict diamond has been stolen or illegally mined and then sold to raise money

for rebel militia or terrorist groups. These groups earn money for weapons by forcing

men, women and children to dig for diamonds. %nyone who protests is killed or

threatened by having a limb cut oI. >ost con/ict diamonds come from %ngola, the

5emocratic Depublic of the !ongo, the )vory !oast, Jiberia and +ierra Jeone. )f you

don&t shop carefully, you could be buying one of these stones.

!on/ict diamonds are smuggled into the diamond trade along with legitimate

diamonds. The ,nited /ations 1,/2, the Con0ict Free Diamond Counciland

other groups are working toward better regulation so that con/ict diamonds don&t

make it to the market. These groups have instituted the Kimberley #rocess, which

monitors and certies a diamond at every point of its production process. Because

of the @imberley ?rocess, the *N estimates that 44.( percent of diamonds on the

market now are con/ictfree Gsource1 National AeographicH. Before you purchase a

diamond, you can re:uest to see its con/ictfree certicate in the future, the *N

will also re:uire diamonds to have laser engraving and optical signatures, and to beentirely produced within a single country.

!on/ict diamonds are not the only controversy darkening the diamond trade1

human and animalrights issues run rampant in )ndia as well as certain countries in

%frica. )n some %frican countries, miners use children to dig in tight, underground

spaces where men and woman can&t t, even though child labor is illegal. The

mining towns in these %frican countries also have steadily increasing murder and

0)F infection rates as a result of trespassing and sex trade. )n )ndia, where 4+NH. +evere eyestrain, repetitive motion injuries andlung infections from inhaling diamond dust are just a few conditions that aIect

these workers.

%nimalrights activists have just as much at stake in diamond industry regulation as

humanrights organiCations. %ccording to the %nimal #elfare )nstitute, %frican

primate populations are dwindling in '9 to


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being poached yearly, they&re facing extinction as well. The dwindling primate

population may be partly attributed to poaching, but not all poaching is for sport.

+ome hungry diamond miners with no other food source depend on these animals

for survival.

Next, we&ll delve into diamond history to learn about the discovery of some trulyextraordinary diamonds.

G,34T5 G',)$+T

0ungry miners aren&t the only ones poaching. )n non%frican countries, bush meat is

considered a delicacy and is a protable product. Bush meat includes bonobo

apes, chimpanCees, duikers, elephants, giant pangolins and gorillas. *p to '3 tons

of this exotic meat is smuggled through Jondon&s 0eathrow %irport daily

Gsource1 %nimal #elfare )nstituteH.

Famous Diamonds

The world&s most famous diamonds are its largest diamonds. %t staggering weights

up to thousands of carats, these diamonds have been cut, reshaped and sold many

times, contributing to their rich, interesting histories. 5espite diamond&s natural,

clear brilliance, some of these stones have a dark side.

The Cullinan This 6789:;caratdiamond is the largest diamond ever found.

)t was discovered in '439 in Transvaal, +outh %frica. )n '43;, the diamond

was presented to @ing -dward F)) of -ngland. Jater, it was cut into nine major

stones, including the 983.


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for %hah *ehan, who built theTaj >ahal. %fter the diamond was cut, he red

the cutter for doing such a poor job. >ysteriously, the whereabouts of the

Areat >ogul diamond are unknown today.

>ost people can only dream of owning a diamond as large as these famous stones

but synthetic diamonds could change that. )n the next section, we&ll learn aboutdiIerent synthetic diamonds.

%ynthetic Diamonds

=or people who can&t aIord real diamonds or want a '33percent guarantee that

their diamond is con/ictfree, synthetic diamonds are a good substitute. =or many

years, the only synthetic option available was cubic Circonia, but now consumers

can also choose from >oissanite and manmade diamonds.

!ubic Circonia, commonly called !E, is a laboratory gem that has been on the

market since '4;2. )t&s a hard gem 6(.9 on the >ohs +cale7, but it&s not as hard as

diamond. On the one hand, !E is compositionally superior to diamond. !E hasgreater brilliance and sparkle, it&s entirely colorless and it has no inclusions.

0owever, most consumers agree that !E is simply too perfect it looks articial

even to the naked eye. Because of this, some !E manufacturers have started

producing the gem with colored tints and inclusions so that it more closely

resembles diamond.

>oissanitehas become !E&s biggest synthetic rival. >oissanite became available in

'44(, and it&s even more similar to diamond in composition and appearance.

>oissanite is harder than !E, but at 4.9 on the >ohs +cale, it is still softer than

diamond. >oissanite&s color is faintly yellow or green, and the tint becomes more

apparent in larger stones. )t also has small, stretchmarklike inclusions that form

during its growing process. Jike !E, >oissanite is more radiant than diamond, but

this :uality is considered a disadvantage rather than an advantage.

The closest synthetic approximation to diamond is a manmade diamond. *nlike !E

and >oissanite, manmade diamonds are pure carbon. The Aemological )nstitute of

%merica 6A)%7 recogniCes these as real diamonds from a compositional perspective.

But, the manmade diamonds don&t have the rich geological history that natural

diamonds do. Jaboratories simulate the heat and pressure from the -arth&s mantle

that create natural diamonds. =or the synthetic manufacturers and the consumers,

diamonds come down to a matter of time and money1 days versus millions of years,
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thousands of dollars versus tens of thousands of dollars or more 6manmade

diamonds sell for about 83 percent less than natural ones7 Gsource1 >+NH. )f you

want a uni:uely colored, relatively inexpensive diamond 6it will cost less than a

natural colored diamond7, you can nd manmade ones in shades of orange, yellow,

pink and blue. =inding a large diamond will prove a greater challenge most man

made diamonds weigh less than one carat. )f you want the best synthetic has tooIer, manmade diamonds are a nobrainer. -ven jewelers can have a hard time

telling them apart from natural ones. To prevent retailers from passing oI man

made diamonds as natural ones, the A)% is selling machines that will help jewelers

easily distinguish between the two.

)t may come as no surprise that the developer behind these machines is none other

than the king of the natural diamond industry1 5e Beers.

How $oissanite *ewels Work

5iamonds are one of the most beautiful, and most expensive, jewels available

today. They are also extremely popular. 5iamonds are an important symbol of

engagement in many parts of the world, and they also appear in everything from

simple earrings to the tiaras and crowns worn by royaltyM

Because they are so popular and expensive, diamonds have been a favorite area for

imitation over the years. !ut glass, rhinestones, and cubic Circonium are all

attempts to replicate the beauty of diamonds at a lower cost. None of these are

particularly good imitations they lack the luster and brilliance of the real thing.

Technology&s latest attempt to replicate the diamond is a product

called $oissanite. )n this edition of How %tu Works, you will learn about this

interesting jewel. #e will discuss its history, :ualities, creation, and availabilityM

*p Next

5iamond uiC

0ow 5iamonds #ork

?lanetAreen.com1 Areen -ngagement

)n '(48, Nobel ?riCewinning =rench scientist 5r. 0enri >oissan discovered minute

:uantities of a new mineral, natural silicon carbide. The mineral was located in an
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ancient meteorite found in the 5iablo !anyon in %riCona. Jater named "moissanite"

in honor of 5r. >oissan, this mineral&s supply was too limited for jewelry use.

>ore than a century later, !reedeveloped a process for producing large, single

crystals of moissanite. )n '449, a master diamond cutter observed samples of the

silicon carbide crystals and suggested to the founders of !harles !olvard that, ifproperly cut, the crystals could make a beautiful jewel. !harles !olvard

recogniCed the mineral&s potential. They also realiCed that in order for the

moissanite jewels to be used, they would have to be manufactured there is

essentially no natural supply for this stone. )n '449, !harles !olvard partnered

with !ree 6a N!based D5 lab7 to develop larger gemstones for !harles !olvard

to use in the !ree colorless development program. )n conjunction with !ree, !harles

!olvard is the exclusive worldwide manufacturer and marketer of labcreated

moissanite gemstones.

$oissanite (ualities

>oissanite gemstones rival diamond, ruby, emerald, and other ne gemstones in

their brilliance, re, luster, and incredible hardness, as illustrated in the following

!omparison !hart1

)e!ractive

3nde

1Brilliance2

Dispersi

on

1Fire2

4uster

3nde

$ohs

Hardness

Toughnes

s

%peciEc

Gravity

$oissani

te


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above, moissanite has a >ohs 0ardness rating of 4.


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*he preforms are then sent overseas to highvolume faceting vendors who handcut and polish the preforms

to Charles + Colvard standards, which are designed to maimi-e the gemstone's brilliance and fire.*he

vendor then attaches the preform to a guidance tool, or dopto aid in the grinding process. )oissanite ewels

are shaped with a tool called a faceting machine. *o understand this tool, imagine a record player. *hefaceting machine acts as the record table, spinning around. &t is made of either steel or aluminum, and has

industrialgrade diamond chips embedded in it #that's what cuts and polishes%. *he dop acts as the record

player needle, gently guiding the moissanite preform down to the spinning faceting machine. &t's the friction

between the gemstone and faceting machine that shapes the stone. *he faceting vendor uses the faceting

machine to cut and polish each moissanite preform. /sing the dop, the gemstone is rotated for an even

shape and polish.

*he lower portion of the gemstone, or pavilionis formed by grinding the pavilion. *hen the girdle#the edge

of the stone that is grasped by the setting% is cut and polished, and then the pavilion facets are cut and

polished.

0et, the gemstone is removed from the dop and reattached with the top of the stone, or crown, eposed

for cutting. *he crown facets are cut and polished. 1inally, the table#the upper flat surface% is polished. *he

resulting gemstone is returned to Charles + Colvard for inspection, sorting, grading, and shipping to select

ewelry stores

Diamond Comparison %hopping

)f you know much about diamonds, you know that diamonds are graded according

to what is commonly known as the "=our !s." The =our !s consist of1

Cut, which aIects a diamond&s brilliance, as brilliance relies on light optics

and the ideal angles to produce the maximum eIect. % deeply cut stone will

aIect the way light re/ects in the mass of the diamond. % very shallow cut

stone will seem dark because the lightexits the back of the stone and the

angles do not re/ect the light back up through the top of the stone to your

eye.

Clarity, which is determined by the amount and severity of inclusions and

/aws visible under '3power magnication

Color, the less color a diamond shows 6i.e., the whiter it appears7, the better

diamond it is. The exception includes extremely valuable "fancy colored

diamonds" and less expensive enhanced "irradiated" stones
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Carat, which is the traditional measuring unit of a diamond&s weight

6' caratR


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!erticate of %uthenticity and Jimited Jifetime #arranty. To nd an authoriCed

retailer near you, visit the !harles !olvard #eb siteor call '(33

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How Diamonds Work