While there may not be many naturally-occurring materials out there that are stronger than diamonds, certain man-made metals like tungsten and steel have a higher tensile strength. That means a direct hit with an ordinary hammer can absolutely break a diamond.
While a steel hammer can shatter a diamond, it won't easily cause scratches. That's because diamonds are durable, but they have low tenacity. Meaning, brute force at a soft point can completely shatter or smash a diamond.
Much like everything else on earth, diamonds can be damaged and even destroyed. Diamonds are the hardest mineral on earth. In fact, you can only cut into rough diamonds with other diamonds and diamond dust. However, that does not mean that they are immune to breakage and destruction.
Diamonds do not shatter when dropped, but they may chip from powerful, accidental blows. They can also break when there is pressure buildup inside the stone called 'strain. ' A small tap results in breakage for the pressure to escape. While it is very rare for diamonds to break this way, it's a fact worth noting.
A diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth, but if it is placed in an oven and the temperature is raised to about 763º Celsius (1405º Fahrenheit), it will simply vanish, without even ash remaining.
As an example, you can scratch steel with a diamond, but you can easily shatter a diamond with a hammer. The diamond is hard, the hammer is strong. Whether something is hard or strong depends on its internal structure. A diamond is made entirely of carbon atoms which are joined in a lattice-type structure.
The study suggested that a diamond is five times more resilient than the next best mineral. To answer the question posed, no, it is not easy to shatter a diamond. But they are breakable if you try hard enough. In fact, despite the enormous evidence of how tough diamonds are, they can still be incredibly fragile.
Minerals are assigned a number between 1 and 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale to describe how resistant to scratching they are. Diamonds are given the highest number, a 10. There is nothing that can scratch a diamond except another diamond.
Toughness: Diamond's ability to resist breakage and chipping allows it to become impervious to damage. However, the stone can break or fracture when hit with heavy metal or rock, weakening crystal bonds within the stone.
Diamonds are very stable and invulnerable to virtually all acids. They can also withstand higher temperatures than most gemstones. Sudden extreme temperature changes can cause damage, however. Diamonds can chip or fracture from hard impact, especially in areas where the carbon atoms are not tightly bonded.
Answer: It is very unlikely that a diamond would crack or break just by dropping it. Under the most severe circumstances, a diamond would probably chip under a hard blow. Examples of these include hitting the diamond at an angle with a lot of force or banging your hand against a hard surface accidentally.
Diamonds will burn at about 1562°F (850°C). House fires and jewelers' torches can reach that temperature. A house fire caused the white, cloudy appearance of this diamond (left). The stone was recut to remove the burned area, reducing the diamond's size, but leaving no sign that it was ever damaged (right).
Even without pure oxygen, diamonds can be damaged by flame, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Typically, a diamond caught in a house fire or by an overzealous jeweler's torch will not go up in smoke, but instead will combust on the surface enough to look cloudy and white.
Can Sandpaper Scratch a Diamond? No, sandpaper cannot scratch a diamond. The hardness of sand paper grit ranges between 7 and 9 on the Mohs scale, which makes sand paper softer than a diamond. Many people use sandpaper to test if a diamond is real or fake.
Even though diamonds are hard, like 58 times harder than corundum, the next hardest mineral on earth, you can still chip the edges (or girdle) of your diamond. Hitting your ring at just the right angle with just the right impact could chip the diamond.
The only hardness test that will identify a diamond is scratching corundum. Corundum, which includes all rubys and sapphires, is 9 on the hardiness scale. If your suspected diamond crystal can scratch corundum, then there is a good chance that you found a diamond. But NO OTHER HARDNESS TEST will identify a diamond.
Most states will allow finders to keep the property if the owner does not show up to claim it after a certain time. Failure to report a found item can lead to criminal charges. So, unless you're at Crater of Diamonds State Park, you cannot keep a found diamond.
Cleaving or sawing
Diamond manufacturers cut a groove in the diamond with a laser or saw, and then split the diamond with a steel blade. Sawing is the use of a diamond saw or laser to cut the diamond rough into separate pieces.
If it scratches the glass, chances are good that the diamond is real. But, it's important to know that the scratch test could damage your diamond in the process. It's also not the most effective way to see if your diamonds is real since other gemstones can have the same effect on the glass.
While incredibly tough, diamonds are still vulnerable to scratches just like other gemstones. The Mohs' scale (scale of mineral hardness) specifically defines hardness as the resistance to being scratched.
Moissanite: The Second Hardest Mineral in Nature after Diamond. The colors seen in moissanite from the Mount Carmel area of northern Israel range from dark blue to light green. photo by Aurélien Delaunay. Moissanite is the name given to naturally occurring silicon carbide and to its various crystalline polymorphs.
Generally speaking the more of one you have the less of the other you get. That's why glass doesn't bend, but snaps suddenly (high hardness, low toughness) and a metal like lead bends (low hardness, high toughness). Can a bullet shatter a diamond? Yes, because diamonds are hard, but not tough.
Dozens of materials can be cut using a water cut, some of which include steel, iron, rubber, plastic, stone, ceramics, glass, paper, foam, wood and composites. There are only a select few materials that can't be cut with a water jet, such as diamond and tempered glass.