To start our function on different types of gemstones, we start with the best and most famous gemstone of all the diamond. The diamond is the ultimate gemstone. It has very few weaknesses and many strengths. It shines with its extraordinary value and sentimental value. It is used in wedding rings to represent endless love or as a gift / jewelry to give to loved ones. But the diamond is so much more than its eternal beauty - types of leadership.
The diamond takes its name from the Greek work Adamas, which means unbeatable. In hardness, there is no comparison. The diamond speeds in the Mohs scale a 10, the hardest material on earth. The cut resistance is 140 times that of the ruby and sapphire, the gemstones (corundum) which in hardness are next on the Mohs scale. The diamond's optical properties, such as brilliance and stiffness, make it unique and easy to distinguish from other imitations. To enjoy!
* History of diamonds
The first recorded diamond dates from around 800 BC. in India. Some believe that it dated even 6,000 years ago. The diamonds were used as decorative purposes and also as talismans to ward off evil and provide protection in battle. During the Middle Ages, it was even claimed that diamonds were used as a medical aid. Religious doctors even told patients that if they held a diamond in a hand and made the sign of the cross, it would heal and heal diseases and heal wounds.
Diamonds became more popular in the 19th century with the discovery of diamond deposits in South Africa. This discovery leads to a wider range, improved cutting and polishing techniques and economic growth. In 1979, geologists found the Argyle pipe in Australia, which is the richest diamond deposit in the world to date. Since then, Argyle has only been responsible for the annual delivery of more than a third of the world's diamonds - leadership definition.
* Diamonds: how are they formed?
Diamonds are an allotrope of carbon atoms that are formed under high pressure and high temperatures. Diamonds are produced 90 miles below the Earth's surface at temperatures of about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Diamonds are formed deep in the Earth and eventually, for extremely long periods of time, penetrate their way to the Earth's surface, usually through volcanic eruptions.
The age of these diamonds from below the Earth's surface is from 1 to 3.3 billion years old! When diamonds are formed and begin their ascent to the Earth's surface, they pass through channels where the magma rises from the volcano to the surface, picking up diamonds along the way and eventually depositing them on the surface, where they are eventually found and extracted.
* The 4 C's of Diamonds
There are four different characteristics that determine the value and quality of a diamond. These are the color, cut, clarity and carat. Also known as the 4 C's of a diamond. We will discuss these features in detail below - diamond meaning.
*Color
In the last newsletter, we touched on the basis of the color of gems as the main feature, because color is the most obvious feature. The perfect diamond should look clear and colorless, but this is not the case with all diamonds. Diamonds can come in any color of the rainbow. The most common color is yellow or brown. The Geological Institute of America (GIA) has issued a guideline for assessing diamond color. This guideline consists of a lettering system that varies from the alphabet D - Z. See below:
D E F
No colour
G H I J
Almost colorless
K L M
Faintly tinted, barely visible and usually yellow in color
N O P Q R
Tinted, usually yellow. Can be seen with the naked eye
S T U V W X Y Z
Tinted, starts from yellow and turns brown.
* Clarity
The cut diamond is determined by the ratio of the diamond, such as shape, width and depth. The cut determines what is called the "brilliance" of the diamond. Even if the diamond itself has a perfect color and clarity, the diamond will have a dull shine with a bad cut. This is because the cut determines how light travels within the diamond. The Gemological Institute of America has also developed a system to assess the clarity of diamonds. This classification system includes faultless (Fl), internally faultless (IF), very very light included (VV1 or VV2), very light included (VS1 or VS2), light included (SI1 or SI2) and included (I1, I2 and I3). Although this system has contributed to the diamond industry, it is not widely used. This is because it took a lot of practice and training to integrate it - how are diamonds formed.
*Cut
The cut diamond is determined by the ratio of the diamond, such as shape, width and depth. The cut determines what is called the "brilliance" of the diamond. Even if the diamond itself has a perfect color and clarity, the diamond will have a dull shine with a bad cut. This is because the cut determines how light travels within the diamond.
There are 3 types of cuts that can determine the diamond's shine. This is a shallow cut, a too deep cut and an ideal cut. A shallow cut is a cut of a diamond that is too low that the light that passes through it disappears at the bottom of the stone and is no longer visible. Due to this cut, a diamond looks lifeless and dull. A cut that is too deep is one that is too high that will allow light to pass through it through the sides and darken the stone. An ideal cut is a perfect cut on a diamond that reflects light towards the top of the stone, giving it a perfect shine.
*Carat
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, a single carat (ct) weighs about 200 milligrams or 2 grams. For smaller carat diamonds that weigh less than a carat, it is expressed in points (pt). Points are 1/100 carat. A diamond's carat weight is important because larger diamonds are rarer than smaller ones, so the larger the diamond, the more expensive it is. There is no standard rating system or diagram that can show a different carat weight. This is because there are so many variations of diamonds in shape and cut that make stones of similar weight look different.
* Imitation diamonds
Since diamonds are the most valuable and rarest of all gemstones, attempts have been made to duplicate or even enhance diamonds with cheaper alternatives. Fair mistakes have often been made and these alternatives or other gemstones like spinel have sometimes been confused with real diamonds. In some cases, some dishonest people try to sell these alternatives to unfortunate buyers to take advantage of them. Below we discuss these alternatives and ways to identify them.
* Synthetic diamonds
Synthetic diamonds are diamonds that are produced in a laboratory. The first known cases of diamond synthesis are said to have been documented between 1879 and 1928, but this was never confirmed. Only in the 1940s did the research begin in the United States, Sweden, the Soviet Union started the research. Synthetic diamonds are also known as high temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds. The name of both synthetic diamonds is derived from the processes used to make them. Some of these synthetic diamonds can have larger, smaller or similar properties than a diamond. Therefore, these synthetic diamonds are used for abrasives, cutting and polishing tools and switches in power stations.
* Simulants
Simulants are non-diamond fabrics used to mimic the appearance and even the shape of a diamond. The most basic and best known simulant is zirconia (CZ). CZ can shine at first glance more than a diamond, and it is also less dense, which means that a 1 carat CZ will be much larger than a 1 carat diamond. Today moissanite is a more popular simulant, which has the same characteristics as a diamond. These characteristics include hardness (Moissanite-9.25 and diamond-10 in Mohs scale), refractive index (Moissanite -2.65 and diamond -2.42) and dispersion (Moissanite-.104 and diamond-.044). This makes it difficult to distinguish the two clearly and often requires testers to see the difference. In the next section we will discuss how to identify moissanites and other imitations.
* Real or fake?
An old method of identifying diamonds is to perform a scratch test. This requires scratching a diamond with another diamond that is destructive and rarely used today. The best and most reliable way to test for diamonds is to use testers that use thermal conductivity. These testers consist of battery operated thermistors mounted with a retractable copper tip. This tester works by injecting the heat onto the tested stone and then the device measures the amount of heat it conducts. However, thermal conductivity testers work best to distinguish diamonds and other simulants from it, it will not help distinguish laboratory-made or synthetic stones. Certain optical techniques are required to identify these. Laboratories use techniques such as spectroscopy, microscopy and luminescence to determine a specific stone origin. The average person can use loupes and microscopes to distinguish synthetic stones. Natural diamonds usually have minor imperfections and flaws such as inclusions or some kind of foreign material that are not found in synthetic materials.