What happens if a diamond is hit with a hammer. A real diamond under hydraulic pressure. Is there a way to restore a stone with broken edges

You've spent a lot of money on this beautiful, sparkling diamond and just love it. However, one day you take a closer look at it and see a small chip.

Your stone is no longer beautiful, and while this little flaw may be barely visible to others, it is quite noticeable to you and it drives you crazy. What can be done?

Is there a way to restore a stone with broken edges?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Once damaged, the stone cannot return to its original integrity.

Even worse, this diamond is likely to break if damaged again, as its internal structure has already been weakened.

Once damaged, a diamond can no longer be intact. However, if your stone has been broken, you still have a few options.

Is your diamond insured?

If you have insured a stone against damage, check your insurance policy to see if it lists accidental chips, scratches, etc.

You may need to talk to your insurance company to see if they will pay for a replacement stone.

It is possible that you will receive a refund and save a lot of effort and nerves.

Exchange.

You can exchange your damaged diamond for a new one at the jewelry store.

However, it is quite expensive. Since a chip is considered a flaw in a stone, its clarity rating will drop significantly. This means that the value of the diamond will decrease.

Therefore, if the jeweler agrees to an exchange, then you will be given a stone that costs less than you paid for your original diamond. You can also get a better stone by paying extra money by selling your old one.

In any case, make this choice only if you are sure that your insurance company will not cover the damage.

What is recutting and how can it help?

Recutting is simply the process by which a jeweler creates a smaller stone from a larger one. The name itself suggests that the diamond is cut again, part of it is removed and the stone is lowered in carat weight.

A lower carat weight means your diamond also becomes less valuable. How much your stone will lose in terms of value will depend on how severe the damage is.

The more chips, the more diamond the jeweler will have to remove. In addition, re-cutting will cost you extra money.

If you don't want to pay more and the chip doesn't bother you that much, you can always leave it as is.

No matter what you do, always remember to handle your diamonds with care.

How to protect a diamond from chips and cracks?

How can a diamond be protected from chipping, and is there any indication that the stone is in danger of being damaged? Let's see what you should not miss.

Check your teeth.

One of the most common reasons a stone can be damaged is if the prongs holding it in place are bent or broken.

Even when only one prong is damaged, the diamond is no longer held securely in the setting.

If you accidentally strike your ring somewhere, such as the part of the stone where the prong is bent, it can easily break during the impact.

This is why you should always repair your teeth as soon as you notice any damage to them.

Be careful with the cast setting.

There are settings that pose a higher risk to the stones set in them than others.

A good example is the semi-blind cast setting, in which the diamond is held between the two ends of the ring, tightly compressing the sides of the stone.

The first problem with this setting is that it puts pressure on the diamond and you have to be careful not to hit the ring because the stone could crack.

If you are going to purchase a diamond in this type of setting, remember that sometimes stones can also be chipped when set in a ring with this design.

The second problem with this setting is that it exposes most of the diamond to impacts that can be damaging.

So, if you have a ring with this setting or plan to purchase one, be very careful with it.

Avoid too many inclusions.

Nobody likes diamonds with inclusions - not only are these stones not the best visual treat, but they are also more prone to chipping and cracking.

The more internal flaws a diamond has and the more they are, the weaker its internal structure.

In general, avoid diamonds that are graded I2 or I3 on the G.I.A. (Gemological Institute of America) - Inclusions in these stones may compromise their integrity.

Handle a chipped diamond with care.

If your diamond is already chipped, you must be especially careful with it. Once damaged, the stone may chip or crack a second time if the impact hits where it is already vulnerable.

Examine your diamond with a magnifying glass or by touching it to find any chips. If your stone is damaged, handle it with care.

It would be better if such a diamond is set in a setting that covers the damaged area and protects it.

Protect stones with thin edges.

Round diamonds with thin belts (the so-called edge of the stone) are also at risk of shattering, since the edges of these stones are very vulnerable.

If you have such a diamond, you need a setting for it that protects the belt of the stone well.

Likewise, there are stones that are more prone to chipping simply because of the shape of the cut.

Typical examples of these cuts are the trillion and marquise cuts, which have sharp edges and points that can cause the stones to chip off more easily at the ends.

They need a frame that can adequately protect their edges, mounting in V-prongs is a good solution.

From ancient times diamond beckoned and attracted people to him, he fascinated everyone with his brilliance and struck with hardness. The Greeks called this indestructible, the Arabs - the hardest, the Chaldeans - divine. Diamond brought happiness and good luck, it protected and healed. This noble stone is firmly shrouded in myths, legends and traditions. Let's try to lift the veil of secrets that has bent over diamonds and diamonds...

Diamond can be broken with a hammer. In ancient times, it was believed that it was impossible to break this indestructible stone. Unfortunately, this is just a myth. One has only to conduct tests with diamonds, a hammer and an anvil ... The result will be unexpected - not all "test subjects" will withstand such harsh treatment. Diamond indeed. the hardest mineral on the ground (it can only be scratched with another diamond), but far away not the most durable! It is easily broken by a heavy object and burns out from a jet of oxygen at a high temperature (over 720°C).

Brilliant cut. Another myth is that diamond cutting has always existed. In fact, until the 13th century, diamonds were only polished, which was a very laborious task. Then grinding machines and diamond powder began to appear, with the help of which they only polished the already existing numerous facets of the crystal. A , which allows you to make a round or square, oval or pear-shaped diamond, was invented in Paris only at the end of the 16th century. Precisely because in ancient times people did not know how to cut diamonds, they were considered less valuable than pearls, rubies and emeralds.

Diamond is not the hardest mineral on earth. It really is! For many centuries, absolutely no one dared to compete with diamond in hardness. So far, in 2005, scientists have not invented a substance that exceeds the hardness of diamond by 11%. The new record holder was called "hyperdiamond".

Diamond mining methods. A rather unusual way of mining diamonds existed in South Africa. Domestic birds were allowed to roam the mine workings. "Smart" birds, seeing the shiny "grains" among the ground, immediately rushed to swallow them ... Then the goiter of each slaughtered bird was carefully examined. Even information about a dove from such a diamond mine has been preserved, in the goiter of which 23 stones with a total weight of 5.5 carats were found!

The biggest diamond. If diamonds are quite rare on Earth, then in space they are full of them! This is the conclusion that scientists came to after discovering 50 light-years from Earth in the constellation of the Centaur of the diamond star "Lucy", weighing 10 carats with 34 zeros! The core of this extinct star - a white dwarf - consists of crystallized carbon, with a diameter of 1500 km. For comparison, the weight of the largest diamond found on Earth is 3100 carats. And this is far from the only case of diamonds found in space. Scientists have even found diamonds in some meteorites that fell to Earth...

Even though a diamond is the hardest stone on earth, it can be broken. This is especially true of a diamond, whose vulnerable parts are the ribs between the facets and the culet (thorn).

It takes this much time to form a diamond under the influence of enormous pressure and temperature of 1000-2000 ° C at a depth of more than 100 kilometers. Diamond crystals became available for human mining by rising closer to the Earth's surface as a result of volcanic activity.

There are red, pink and blue, yellow, brown, black and so on. The first three are the rarest.

True, this requires a temperature of 850 degrees Celsius and access to oxygen. Under such conditions, the diamond will instantly turn into carbon dioxide.

The word "carat" comes from the name of the seed of the Mediterranean carob tree - it has long been used as a standard for weighing precious stones. 1 carat = 0.200 grams. And YES, carat is a measure of weight, not size, as many people think.

It was called the Cullinan, it weighed 621 grams, had a size of approximately 10 by 10 by 10 centimeters. The right to cut this diamond was given to the famous master Josef Assker. The poor fellow has been looking for an "approach" to the diamond for more than three months, because there is only one point from which you can start cutting and one blow. There is no second chance, the unique stone could be damaged. In the presence of several famous jewelers, in the midst of solemn silence, Assker put a chisel to the diamond, hit it with a hammer and lost consciousness. But the calculation turned out to be correct, from Cullinan 9 large and 96 small pure water bluish-white diamonds were obtained, most of which adorned the crown of the English king.

Many people think that the best way to distinguish imitation diamonds from real stones is to cut glass with them. However, everything is not so simple. Diamond does cut glass, but the fact is that glass and its four synthetic counterparts, which are often passed off as diamonds, cut in exactly the same way. Therefore, the simplest diagnostic method is to place a rimless stone on a black, preferably polished, surface with the base down and the tenon up. Imitation in this case, as it were, goes out and stops playing, because it transmits light. But diamonds remain diamonds. But, of course, it is best to have the authenticity of the stones determined by a professional.

Since ancient times, the diamond was considered, and by some people even today it is considered, indestructible. Previously, it was even argued that the anvil would go into the ground sooner than the diamond could be broken. True, there were those who questioned such statements. For example, the famous naturalist Pliny was sure that a diamond can be broken if soaked in the blood of a goat. And the medieval naturalist and philosopher Albert the Great (circa 1193–1280) clarified that a goat should be fed parsley and drink wine before bleeding. In reality, diamond is brittle, however, like most other hard minerals. Breaking a diamond with a hammer is not at all difficult, and sometimes it is quite unfortunate to hit it against something.

As for the chests full of diamonds that were found by some fairy-tale and literary heroes, Ludwig Soucek writes about this: “A diamond did not decorate the treasuries of Ali Baba, fabulously rich khans and viziers. Opening their iron-forged chests, the admiring spectator did not admire the cold diamond brilliance: until the middle of the 15th century, diamonds were embedded in jewelry in their raw form, as rather shiny, but not very beautiful stones, because, unlike other precious stones, the diamond resisted processing. . The ability to grind these stones with diamond powder was discovered in the middle of the 15th century by Ludwig van Berkvem from Antwerp. This was only the first step, the work was incredibly difficult and painstaking, so that the first diamond commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin did not see the world until 1660.”

Ludwig Soucek also notes the fact that it is impossible to put an equal sign between a diamond and a brilliant. A diamond is usually understood as a faceted polished diamond, but white sapphire, crystal and even ordinary glass can be cut in exactly the same way.

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (A) author Brockhaus F. A.

Diamond Diamond is the first among precious stones; the Greeks called it invincible (for a long time, back in the Middle Ages, it was believed that a diamond dissolves in fresh goat blood) adamaV, from where its name comes from: Diamant. Diamond crystallizes in the correct system, being

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (AL) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (IV) of the author TSB

From the book of 100 great treasures of Russia author

Diamond "Orlov" The diamond "Orlov", found in the Indian historical region of Golconda at the beginning of the 17th century, was a rounded dodecahedron (dodecahedron), with a piece broken off from it. The stone weighed presumably 350–400 carats (its exact weight is unknown), C

From the book Crossword Guide author Kolosova Svetlana

Diamond "Shah" (According to the materials of Dr. V. Eliseev) "Shah" is a world-famous historical stone, impeccably transparent, with a yellowish tint (due to the presence of hairline cracks with iron oxides in it) and strong diamond glitter. It was found in Golconda at the end of the XVI

From the book All About Everything. Volume 4 the author Likum Arkady

The most expensive diamond 2 "D" - a diamond sold to Sheikh Ahmed

From the book All About Everything. Volume 5 the author Likum Arkady

The largest diamond 7 "Kullian" - South Africa.

From the book The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Delusions [with illustrations] author

Why does a diamond sparkle? Imagine if diamonds weren't so rare. Imagine if they were inexpensive and anyone could buy them. Would diamonds remain as valuable? Two things could make people still want to own diamonds. The first one is what

From The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Our Delusions [with transparent pictures] author Mazurkevich Sergey Alexandrovich

How is a diamond processed? How is diamond processed if it is considered the hardest substance? This becomes possible for two reasons: the first is the structure of the diamond and the second is the way it is processed. Diamond is highly crystallized carbon. carbon atoms,

From the book Dictionary of Slavic Mythology author Mudrova Irina Anatolyevna

From the book 100 great curiosities of history author Vedeneev Vasily Vladimirovich

Diamond Many people think that the best way to distinguish imitation diamonds from real stones is to cut glass with them. However, everything is not so simple. Diamond does cut glass, but the fact is that glass and its four synthetic counterparts, which often

From the book Encyclopedia of Slavic Culture, Writing and Mythology author Kononenko Alexey Anatolievich

Diamond-stone As a healer, diamond is good for the eyes, it improves eyesight and gives unusual vigilance, cleanses the mind from excessive guardianship and anxiety, increasing its sharpness to important objects of life, heals the liver, bile ducts, and skin diseases. However, it must be worn

From the book 100 great secrets of the East [with illustrations] author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

Cleopatra's Diamond The name of this precious stone in ancient Greek sounds like "alamas", which translates as "indestructible". Indeed, this stone is surprisingly hard, has a unique brilliance and, in general, has many unique properties. It is forbidden

From the book Great Secrets of Gold, Money and Jewelry. 100 stories about the secrets of the world of wealth author Korovina Elena Anatolievna

From the author's book

Brides Diamond Four years ago, the world was shocked - a blue-gray Wittelsbach diamond was found, which possessed not only the sophistication of facets and exceptional purity, but also an incredibly exciting story that has passed through the centuries. Jewelers mourned his loss, because the stones

Diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth, but if it is placed in an oven and the temperature is approximately 763 degrees Celsius (1405 degrees Fahrenheit), it will simply disappear without even leaving ash behind. It will turn into carbon dioxide.

Diamonds formed over a billion or more years at great depths - about 150 km (90 miles) - and were ejected to the surface by volcanoes. Most diamonds are found in volcanic rock called kimberlite or in the sea, being carried away by rivers when they were thrown to the surface.

Diamond is 58 times harder than any of the hardest minerals on earth, such as corundum, from which rubies and sapphires are formed. Back in the 15th century, it was discovered that diamonds are brittle. If you hit it with a hammer, it will collapse.

The biggest diamond

The world's largest diamond is found in South Africa in 1905. It weighed 3106.75 carats. From it they made the "Big Star of Africa" - weighing 530.2 carats, the "Small Star of Africa" - which weighs 317.40 carats, and 104 other diamonds of almost flawless color and quality. Now they are all part of the British Royal Jewels.

The world's largest recorded cut - unearthed in 1986, also called "Unnamed Brown" in South Africa. It weighs 545 carats and was made from a 700 carat rough diamond. It took 3 years for an international team of experienced craftsmen to complete this masterpiece. Another impressive diamond that also took 3 years to cut and is also part of the British Royal Jewels is the Centenary Diamond. It weighs 273.85 carats and is the largest and most flawless diamond in the world.

Not all diamonds are white. The admixture gives diamonds different shades - blue, red, orange, yellow, green and even black. The green diamond is the rarest. More and more diamonds are mined every year. But 80% of them are not precious, they are used in industry. Only very high quality diamonds are precious.

Synthetic diamonds

We can find the first mention of synthetic diamonds at the end of the 19th century, when the Scottish scientist James Ballantyne mixed lithium with bone oil and kerosene, sealed it in an iron tube and heated it. He claimed that the resulting stones were diamonds.

Weighing diamonds

Diamond carat is different from gold carat. Gold carat indicates purity - pure gold being 24 carats. One diamond carat is 200 milligrams (0.007055 ounces). The word "carat" comes from the carob bean. Gemstone dealers used to balance their scales with carob beans because the beans were the same weight.

The colorless Cullinan is the largest diamond ever found, weighing 0.62 kilograms (a pound and a quarter).

The word diamond comes from the Greek word adamas meaning "invincible".
Diamond - a stone corresponding to the sign of the zodiac, falling on April, as well as a precious stone that is given on the 10th and 60th anniversaries of marriage.

The tradition of the diamond engagement ring began in 1477, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria got engaged by wearing a diamond ring to his beloved. The modern tradition is the result of a clever advertising campaign designed by N.W. Ayer in the 1940s, playing on the fact that diamonds have good investment value.