Diamonds: Value, Price, and Information

Diamonds are gemstones with only one form of an element known as carbon. They are made up of a unique crystal structure called diamond cubic.

Diamonds are known for their remarkable hardness that scoring 10 on the Mohs scale. Because of this, they are the hardest objects among gems, minerals, and other natural materials.

It was scientifically proven that it takes a diamond to scratch, which is fascinating, right?

These sparklies are the reason behind industrial applications such as polishing and cutting tools since their properties prove to be suitable.

They comprise a crystal class (4/m 3 2/m) with typical yellow, gray, colorless, blue, green, black, pink, violet, white, orange, red, and purple.

The rarest remains red diamond among the colors stated above. When diamonds are measured, their refractive index is about 2.418 (at 500 nm).

Diamonds contain a very high thermal conductivity which is 5x higher than copper and other substances. This means they transport heat at a high-speed rate. 

They also contain a seemingly high optical version; the present diamonds mined today are believed to be 1 billion to 3.5 billion years.

Diamonds form under very high pressure and temperature, resounding with the earth's mantle. 

They are mined about 150-800 kilometers (500 mi) deep in the earth. 

Diamond gemstones are usually found in igneous rocks called kimberlites and lamproites, which get carried on the surface through volcanic eruptions. 

These precious gems are a birth month of April, which means if you were born in April, you probably are as precious as diamonds.

The other deposits where diamonds are found are the glacial tills and alluvial graves. 

Diamonds

Where do diamonds come from?

It is not clear where these precious stones come from, but there are two speculations that scientists believe might have formed diamonds.

The first one is that scientists believe there might be a kind of carbon-containing sediment that has never seen daylight deep within the earth's mantle.

Some believe that the carbon in diamonds might have come from an organic substance in subducting tectonic plates—for instance, the substance on ocean floors except for coal.

Synthetic Diamonds

These are the artificially made diamonds by gemologists in labs. They are made using a process known as chemical vapor deposition. Synthetic diamonds were first created in the 1950s in Stockholm, Sweden. 

The synthetic diamond creation was done by researchers at the Allmnna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget Laboratory in the country.

The first person to ever create a synthetic diamond was Tracy Hall.

This process includes high-pressure and temperature tools that turn the carbon atoms mainly from a high carbon-containing gas into artificial diamonds.

These manufactured diamonds are usually cheap compared to natural ones. They possess similar characteristics as the natural, except that artificial ones lack nitrogen. 

And fortunately, this is one-way gemologists can identify fake from natural diamonds.

Synthetic diamonds

Differences Between Lab-grown Diamonds and Natural Diamonds

There might not be visual differences between natural and synthetic diamonds, but there are some significant differences in both diamonds if examined keenly.

As written above earlier, the first remarkable difference is the lack of nitrogen that artificial diamonds possess. Natural diamonds have tiny portions of nitrogen trapped inside them during the cooling and formation process.

Natural diamonds are doubtlessly more expensive than artificial ones. This is because of the rarity of the process taken during mining these natural ones, ages as it is believed that natural ones formed billions of years ago, and natural ones have been treasured since the beginning of time. 

The nature of formation between the two types of diamonds is another difference that can't be left out. The natural diamond's habitat is the earth's mantle, while the artificial ones are simply made in labs.

Natural and Synthetic Diamonds

How to Test for a Diamond's Fakeness

Rare, valuable, and treasured objects like natural diamonds stand no chance of being left out of manipulation and imitation acts. In Belgium, $100 million in diamonds were stolen in Antwerp Diamond Heist in 2003. Thieves got past a 10-layer security system and ran away with the treasures that were in there.

The question is... Was it worth it? 

That is how spectacular diamonds are. 

There are quite a few scientific ways of testing a diamond, namely:

• Scratch test 
• Light reflection
• Heat test
• Conductivity

Proven ways to test for diamond fakeness

Scratch Test: Natural diamonds can scratch any other object so easily with a remarkable hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale. 

Take a natural diamond and scratch it on the bottle or glass. It should scratch the glass so quickly and leave visible cracks. 

A counterfeit diamond will also scratch the glass, but it requires much force, leaving shallow or tiny cracks.

Light reflection: Diamonds bend or refract a portion of the light that hits them. Imitation diamonds, glass, and cubic zirconia reflect less light than natural diamonds.

Place a natural diamond over a piece of text, and you will notice that it reflects the light so intensely that you won't be able to figure out the text or letters.

Counterfeit and other diamond imitations are clearer because they don't reflect light as the natural diamond does.

Heat Test: Natural diamonds are not affected by heat since they spend millions of years under intensive heat. That is where they acquire their immortal life from.

Hold a natural diamond on a tweezer and put it on a flame for 30 seconds. You will notice after cleaning it up that it hasn't got affected at all. 

While artificial diamonds are so much like natural ones, most of them, like cubic zirconia, get visible cracks that can easily shatter them into pieces when exposed to light.

Conductivity: Most synthetic diamonds don't conduct electricity as natural diamonds do. To get accurate results, you will need a conductor tester like Gemoro ultra tester 3. 

Place it on top of a natural diamond, and it will show a green color, meaning it is a diamond.

When you place it on a counterfeit diamond, it will e easily detected by showing other random colors.

Other Unproven Diamond Tests

These kinds of diamond testing are good, but they are not scientifically proven to fit your diamond testing process.

This is because sometimes, their artificial imitations can also give the same results a natural diamond would bear. 

Therefore, they are the last option you would think of for diamond testing.

Unproven ways of testing diamonds

Water Testing: Natural; diamonds are dense when it comes to water. They sink in water so fast compared to their imitations.

On the other hand, most synthetic diamonds float or even stay suspended in water. However, this might not be the best method since even glass, and cubic zirconia sinks when dropped in water.

To measure these results, get two glasses of water and drop a natural diamond in one glass.

Drop the synthetic one and see the results.

Hammer test: Diamonds might be the hardest substances, but that doesn't mean that they can survive every heavy pressure that gets impacted on them.

Diamond's hardness is meant for scratching, not high pressure like a hammer blowing it. It can easily shatter into pieces, especially when hit in the right place, like at the tip of it. 

Breathing Test: Natural diamonds fog off real fast than artificial ones. If a diamond takes 2-4 seconds to fog off, it might be fake. 

A natural one takes a second or 2 to clear its fog.

Now, take your natural diamond and breath on it through the mouth so heavily that it will leave fog on it. 

Do it to the synthetic one and watch out for the results.

Value and Price for Diamonds

You are probably wondering about the price for such a world-known and most treasured material of all time. 

The first person to ever use a diamond to propose to his spouse was Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1477. 

He did this with a ring that had a diamond on it, and until today it is the most stylish, appropriate, and romantic way of proposing globally.

That is how valuable diamonds are. Here is a table showing the price of a diamond per carat.

Price table

Where are Diamonds mined?

These precious stones are mined worldwide, but there are only 35 countries that have proved to have diamond mines. 

Here are the top 5 diamond mine leading countries:

Russia — The country has got over 12 pits of diamond mines. Russia mined 43 million carats of diamond in 2014, making it the top diamond producer by volume. Russia's known diamond resources are estimated to be 608 million to 973 million carats.

Botswana — It is the second-largest diamond producer globally and Africa's top diamond producer. Its diamonds are considered the most valuable ones ever mined. There have been diamonds worth 23 billion mined in the country in 2013 alone.

The Democratic Republic of Congo — Although conflicts prevent mining in the country, DRC stands third in producing diamonds globally. It produced diamonds that are over $136.1 million in 2019. 

Australia — The country is known for producing colored diamonds. It started its mining in 1981, and many-colored diamonds have been mined there. However, the country has experienced a sharp decline in its diamond production.

Canada —  Canada is the 5th largest diamond producer in the world. Its mining began in 1998 when kimberlite pipes were seen in Northwest territories. It exported 23 million carats worth $2.7 billion in 2018.

Famous Diamonds Ever Mined 

History is the foundation of the future. That is why the world has to record all the necessary information about the diamonds ever mined and anything else valuable. 

Some were magnificent that they couldn't miss being in the world's book of records, and because of their magnificence, they are popular.

Here is a list of 5 famous diamonds ever mined:

1. The Cullinan
2. The Eureka
3. Hope Diamond
4. The star of Sierra Leone
5. The Excelsior

The Cullinan

The Cullinan diamond originated from South Africa in the Transvaal province. It weighs 3106 carats rough. This magical piece of beauty proves to be the largest diamond ever discovered in mining history.

It was discovered on 26 January 1905.

It attained its name from the founder of the premier mine (premier mine where it came from), Sir Thomas Cullinan.

It was later gifted to King Edward VII for approval for Transvaal to have its constitution.

Cullinan got split into 9 big diamonds and 96 smaller ones.

Today, the two significant pieces of Cullinan diamond belong to England's regalia. Some smaller ones were compensated to Asscher as payment.

A few other pieces were sold to Transvaal, and the other 6 were gifted to Queen Mary in 1910.

The remaining two were given to Louis Botha, who later presented one for his 17-year daughter's birthday.

The Eureka

The Eureka diamond originated from Northern Cape in South Africa. It weighs 10.73ct polished.

The diamond is yellow, and it got shaped into oval shape. Its discovery was a form of chance by Erasmus Jacobs, a 15-year boy on Orange River, Kimberly, in 1867.

The little boy handed the treasure to his neighbor Schalk Van Niekerk who later gave it to a traveler John O'Reilly.

The traveler then sent it to a mineralist Known as Dr. W.G. Atherstone, who later Identified the gem as a yellow diamond.

It was sold for GBP 1500 to Sir Phillip Wodehouse.

Hope Diamond

 This 45.52ct oval-shaped blued diamond is believed to have originated from India. It was named after Henry Thomas Hope.

Hope diamond's history is impressive; it possessed powers that caused bad luck to people who stole it during the French Revolution.

It belonged to King Louis XIV in 1642, who later had it cut. After cutting, it was reported missing, and it remained untraced for decades.

The diamond was sold to Evalyn Walsh McLean for $185,000 by Cartier in 1911.

It belonged to Mrs. Everlyne for 36 years since it was gifted to her by her husband, till her death in 1947.

In 1949, Harry Washington bought Hope Diamond, and 9 years down the line, it was handed over to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

The Excelsior

The Excelsior diamond was mined in the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa. It weighs 995.2ct rough. 

It is believed to be the second-largest diamond ever mined. A native mine worker discovered the diamond in 1893.

It was cut into 21 other polished pieces, with the most prominent being marquise 69.38ct. 

It got its name from the irregular shape since it was flat on one side and slightly raised on the other. Excelsior means higher.

The Star of Sierra Leone

The Star of Sierra Leone weighed 968.90ct rough and was discovered in Yengema, Sierra Leone, on 14 February 1972.

It is said to be the third-largest diamond to be mined. It was sold to Harry Winston in October 19712.

It was later cut into an Emerald shape weighing 143.02ct. It got cut into 7 smaller stones because it had inclusions.

Things you didn't Know About Diamonds

— In 1970, a spaceship traveling to venus had its windows made out of natural, synthetic diamonds. The hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale made diamonds the most suitable material for such a mission.

— The most expensive diamond to ever be sold was the Graff Pink in 2010. It was sold for $46.2 million. It weighs 24.78 carats.

— the U.S. is the largest market for diamonds. The country itself produces a tiny fraction of diamonds compared to other countries, but it has proven to purchase diamonds by far more than any other country.

— There is a whole colossal planet over your head comprised of 33.3% floating diamonds. The Neptune planet comprises carbon and extreme conditions, which result in the existence of diamonds.

— Mining diamonds is a significantly complex process. It takes years and years to get a single diamond, and perhaps that is the reason why they are so expensive. 

— Romans and Greeks believed that diamonds were tears of the gods. They made speculations that pointed toward Cupid, the god of desire, love, and affection's arrows were tipped with diamonds.

— There was a bizarre discovery where a double diamond (diamond within a diamond) was discovered in Russia. This left a significant mark on Russia as the number one producer of diamonds since the phenomenon has never been seen anywhere else in the word

Diamond facts