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Chemical Formula | C |
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Composition | Carbon |
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Color | Colorless and white, usually lightly tinged
with yellow, orange or brown, less commonly blue, green,
or red. Rarely deep red, blue, green, or purple. Also occurs dark gray to black. |
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Streak | White |
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Hardness | 10 |
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Crystal Forms and Aggregates |
(Isometric) Usually octahedral, with many crystal faces. Dodecahedral crystals, although less common, also occur. Cubic crystals are very rare. Crystals almost always have curved faces, and in some cases, they appear round. |
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Transparency | Transparent to Opaque |
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Specific Gravity | 3.1 - 3.53. Pure crystals are almost always 3.52. Carbonado is 3.1 - 3.3 |
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Luster | Adamantine. Rough stones have a greasy luster. |
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Cleavage | 1, all sides - octahedral. Dodecahedral Diamonds, Borts, and Carbonado exhibit poor or no cleavage. |
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Fracture | Conchoidal |
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Tenacity | Brittle |
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Other ID Marks | 1) Commonly fluorescent in shortwave ultraviolet light;
usually light blue, sometimes white, yellow, orange, and
red. 2) Has a cold feel. |
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Varieties |  Ballas - Mass of tiny
Diamonds compacted together to form a spherical shaped
aggregate. Bort
- Dark Colored, imperfectly crystallized Diamond, that is
translucent to opaque. In the Diamond trade, a Bort is
also a fragment of a gem quality Diamond. Carbonado
(or Black Diamond) - Dark gray to black
Diamond, opaque, exhibits no cleavage, and has a specific
gravity of 3.1 - 3.3. Hexagonal Diamond - Synonym
of Lonsdaleite |
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Polymorphs | Graphite, Lonsdaleite, Chaoite |
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In Group | Native elements ; Nonmetallic elements |
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All About | Diamond has many unequaled qualities. It is
the hardest known substance, the best conductor of
heat, has the highest melting point of any substance, and
has the highest refractive index of any natural mineral. It is number 10 on the Mohs scale. Diamond is 40 times harder than Corundum, which is number 9 on the Moh's scale. Because of their heat conduction, Diamonds feels cold at or below room temperature. If heated, they remain hot for a long while after the heat source is removed. The luster of Diamonds are incomparable. They exhibit great "fire", or brilliance, which gives them a shiny, freshly polished look. Rough Diamonds exhibit a greasy luster, but proper cutting give them a powerful adamantine luster. The only substances that can reach or excel the refractive index of Diamonds are synthetic substances (such as synthetic Rutile), but they are too soft to be used as gems. There are different varieties of Diamond. The hardness and refractive index may slightly vary among specimens. Bort and Carbonado exhibit a slightly lower hardness than other Diamonds, and lack cleavage. Lonsdaleite (or Hexagonal Diamond), is a type of Diamond found with meteorites and is of extraterrestrial origin. It is scientifically a different mineral than Diamond, and believed to have formed when meteoric Graphite fell to earth. When this happened, great heat and stress transformed the Graphite into Diamond, but it retained Graphite's hexagonal crystal lattice. Some interesting properties of Diamond:  Diamond is the hardest substance known Diamond is the greatest conductor of heat Diamond has the highest melting point of any
substance (7362° F - 4090° C) Diamond has the most dense atomical
configuration Diamond is transparent over the greatest
number of wavelengths |
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Uses | The most notable use of Diamonds is in the
jewelry market. Due to its brilliance, hardness, and
rarity of Diamond, it is the most famous and of the most
costly gems. Only about 20 percent of Diamonds are fit for gem use. The other 80 percent mined are used as abrasives; as thermal insulators; in optics; and in electronics. Also see the gemstone section on Diamond |
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Striking Features | Immense hardness, adamantine luster, and specific localities |
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Complex Tests | Diamond is the most inert and durable material, and is not effected by any substance. |
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Popularity (1-4) | 1 |
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Prevalence (1-3) | 3 |
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Demand (1-3) | 1 |
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Distinguishing Similar Minerals |
The only mineral that can possibly be be confused with Diamond is waterworn Quartz pebbles which resemble waterworn Diamonds, but the hardness and luster of Diamond will differentiate the two. |
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Commonly Occurs With |
Olivine, Magnetite, Pyrope, Phologopite, (Kimberlite) |
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Noteworthy Localities |
There are not many localities where Diamonds are found. South Africa (especially famous is the Kimberly Mine), Namibia (particularly the coastal region), Russia (most famous in the Mir Pipe, Yakutsk), Australia (the Echunga area of South Australia), and Brazil (Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso states) are major contributors to the gem industry. In the U.S., there is a large Diamond pipe near Murfreesboro, Pike Co., Arkansas, but it is insignificant compared to the output from the other areas. In California, there have been some small occurrences in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Gold producing regions, where glaciers left waterworn pebbles in placer deposits. A new, large Diamond field was recently discovered in Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories, Canada. |
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