The presence of strong atomic bonds in diamond means that it takes a lot of energy to rip apart the carbon atoms in diamond in order to free them up to burn with oxygen. As a result, it takes a higher temperature to burn diamond than to burn wood.
If you heat the diamond in the open air, it will begin to melt and burn at around 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 degrees Fahrenheit). Burning a diamond without oxygen, however, will make it change into graphite (a crystalline form of carbon) before transforming into a fluid.
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).
Diamonds don't shatter when exposed to high heats.
As a result, diamonds are incredibly durable and aren't susceptible to damage from high heat. Fake diamonds, on the other hand, cannot handle heat nearly as well because they are made of weaker materials.
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. Cutting away the burnt portions will reveal a smaller, but once again crystal-clear, stone, according to the GIA.
The old wives' tale that diamonds were once pieces of coal that have evolved after years under high pressure and temperature is nothing more than a common myth. In fact, diamonds are actually much older than the earth's plant material, the main ingredient for coal creation.
One way to tell whether a diamond is real or not is by its weight. Real diamonds are very dense, so that they will be significantly heavier than fake diamonds of the same size. If you have a digital scale, you can weigh the diamond yourself to see if it is genuine.
For that reason, it is recommended that you not attempt to clean your diamond by boiling it. Boiling is no more effective than other methods of cleaning and carries a greater risk of damage to the stone and to the jewelry's metal parts.
Diamonds are exceptionally delicate, and thus, they require the utmost care. Harsh chemicals like acetone, chlorine, bleach and other abrasive substances like baking powder and toothpaste will damage your diamond beyond repair.
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.
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.
But is this process actually possible? The answer is no. As many people know, diamonds are composed of carbon. Since cremation furnaces must burn between 1600 and 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and carbon burns at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit, there is no carbon left after a body is cremated.
Diamond is the hardest known material to date, with a Vickers hardness in the range of 70–150 GPa. Diamond demonstrates both high thermal conductivity and electrically insulating properties, and much attention has been put into finding practical applications of this material.
A diamond is about 20 times harder than steel, but if you hit a diamond hard enough with a steel blade, it will crack. Place it in a heavy enough steel press, and it will shatter. Water can't be said to have any hardness at all, and yet, given enough time, it can wear away rock.
The Golden-rule for handling diamonds
If your diamond is set into a ring, avoid touching the diamond itself. Dirt and grease will transfer from finger to diamond, and the stone will rapidly lose its sparkle. If you touch the diamond, use a clean polishing cloth to remove fingerprints and grease.
1. Will frequent handwashing damage my diamond ring? Handwashing with a gentle cleanser won't really damage your ring, but the soaps can build up and dull the shine.
Diamonds are dense and will sink quickly, while certain imitations will sink more slowly. If your gem doesn't immediately sink to the bottom, it's likely a glass or quartz imitation. However, other imitations, including cubic zirconia, will also sink quickly.
If you're aiming to clean heavily soiled jewelry that's made completely from gold, or gold jewelry that contains “strong” gemstones like diamonds, boiling is a good way to go.
Many begin as gray, heavily included and fractured diamonds that are subjected to high-temperature/low-pressure treatment, which graphitizes the fractures, turning them black. Artificial irradiation of off-color diamonds can also produce a green so dark the diamond appears black.
If your white diamond has developed a yellowish tint, you can blame dirt or other substances. Even a light layer of dust or dirt can make a colorless diamond look yellow. Other possible culprits include hairspray, soap, and makeup. These substances can build up over time, making it look stained and discolored.
Introduction. When an object is so desirable, particularly when it can be sold for such a high price, there are always likely to be vendors seeking to imitate the item and sell it as an authentic piece. This means that diamond jewelry is often imitated and sold as a real diamond.
Nut butter enthusiasts who are hopeful that their jar of Jif is worth its weight in gemstones will be disappointed to discover that making diamonds out of peanut butter isn't a real money maker.
The last way diamonds are produced is when an asteroid strikes Earth, causing the high temperature and pressure required to form these precious gemstones. Tiny diamonds have been found at many asteroid impact sites around the world, including the Popigai Crater in northern Siberia, and Meteor Crater in Arizona.
The magnificent Cullinan Diamond – the largest diamond ever found- is incorporated into the Crown Jewels. The stone was discovered near Pretoria in modern -day South Africa in 1905, and is named after the chairman of the mining company, Thomas Cullinan.