What is a diamond made of?

Where diamonds are made, how they are cut, and many other factors determine their fineness and price.

For centuries, we have been captivated by diamonds. From breathtaking symbols of love, nestled in engagement rings, priceless heirlooms to sturdy industrial tools, diamonds have touched all aspects of life. But have you ever wondered what is a diamond made of? As the hardest natural material in the world, as well as one of the most beautiful, we are going to take a close look at just what diamonds are made of as well as what minerals alter its appearance, creating rich colors such as deep reds and soft blues. Keep reading to discover what is a diamond made of as well as how to sell your own diamonds easily and for the highest price.
The answer to what is a diamond made of is quite simply carbon. Graphite, just like the kind in your pencil, is also composed of carbon, but diamonds have entirely different properties. Diamond’s distinctive properties come about during their formation process.

How are diamonds are formed?
Diamonds can be formed in four ways:
1.The first formation method we will discuss is for diamonds that were created within the Earth’s mantle between one and three billion years ago. These diamonds are formed within diamond stability zones which contain the perfect environment for a diamond to form. Diamonds are formed about 100 miles below Earth’s surface, with at least 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and 725,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. In this environment, carbon atoms form a rigid bond with each other, resulting in outstanding durability. Deep-source volcanic eruptions help bring these diamonds to the Earth’s surface. These types of volcanoes are three times as deep as typical volcanoes. High amounts of magnesium and carbon dioxide force the volcano’s magma to the surface, causing a powerful eruption. These deep eruptions are pushed through cracks in the Earth called Kimberlite pipes and carry diamonds during their ascension.
2.Diamonds can form in subduction zones, which are when two tectonic plates meet and one plate is forced down the Earth’s mantle. During this time, carbon rocks are exposed to the mantle’s heat and the pressure from the colliding plates. This great heat and pressure can cause diamonds to form, however, the resulting diamonds are too small for jewelry and industrial use.
3.Diamonds can also be made synthetically in a lab by artificially creating great heat and pressure, known as High Pressure High Temperature or HPHT. The first commercially successful synthetic diamond was made in the 1950s by General Electric. These artificial diamonds are used in jewelry and come at a lower price point than their natural counterparts.
4.Diamonds can also form when an asteroid hits earth, which creates intense heat and pressure. These diamonds are mainly used for industrial purposes because they are small and do not meet the desired qualities for jewelry piece diamonds.

What are colored diamonds made of?
Diamonds can come in an array of colors because of mineral contamination during the formation process or changes in its molecular structure. Below are several fancy colored diamonds along with what gives them their distinctive color.

What are white diamonds are made of?
White diamonds are essentially colorless and are devoid, or have very few minerals, that will alter its color, such as nitrogen. When diamonds are evaluated, one of the characteristics that gemologists look at is a diamond’s color. White diamonds are graded on a scale from D to Z, where D is colorless and Z is a light yellow. Ideally, a white diamond should have a color grade as close to D as possible.

Colored diamonds:

• Blue: Boron
• Yellow: Nitrogen
• Orange: Nitrogen
• Purple: Hydrogen
• Red: Structural defects
• Green: Radioactive materials
• Brown: Irradiation or nickel impurity
• Grey: Nitrogen impurities and select boron atoms
• Pink: Some scientists believe that the pink color comes from structural defects which selectively absorbs light, but no one really knows for sure.

Unlike white diamonds, fancy colored diamonds do not have a letter color grade, instead they are graded from a scale of Fancy Light to Fancy Vivid depending on their color intensity. It takes a highly trained gemologist to identify a diamond’s proper color. The stronger the color, the more the diamond is worth. The rarest fancy colored diamonds are red diamonds followed by blue diamonds, while brown diamonds are the most common. Many fancy colored diamonds can contain multiple colors such as purplish pink or orangey yellow.

The article source：https://jewelrybymail.wordpress.com/2019/05/09/what-is-a-diamond-made-of/

What is the most expensive color of a diamond?

It's no secret that diamonds are expensive, but have you ever wondered what the most expensive color of a diamond is?The answer depends on whether we are talking about white diamonds or color diamonds.White diamonds are colorless in nature, while fancy diamonds exist in a variety of colors, such as blue, red, pink, orange or green.Let's take a closer look at the most expensive diamond colors, what makes them so popular, and detail some of the most famous diamonds.

WHAT IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE DIAMOND COLOR?

Red is the most expensive diamond color. However, if you are looking at white diamonds, the most expensive diamond color grade is D.

Colored Diamonds: Red

When it comes to the most expensive diamond color, red diamonds stand above all colored diamonds. The bottom line is that red diamonds are incredibly rare. And pure fancy red diamonds even more so, as most red diamonds have color modifiers such as purple, orange and brown.

Unlike other fancy colored diamonds whose color is graded on a scale from Fancy Faint to Fancy Vivid depending on their color intensity, red diamonds only exist as Fancy. The Gemological Institute of America’s researchers are not exactly sure what causes red diamond’s color. Fancy colored diamonds such as blue and yellow diamonds gain their color from impurities present during their formation process. As for red diamonds, experts speculate that their color comes from changes made to the diamond’s molecular structure.

These elusive red diamonds are found in Africa, Australia and Brazil. 90% of the global supply of red diamonds come from the Argyle mine in Australia. This mine produces 14 million carats of diamonds a year, which also includes pink, white and brown diamonds. Less than 20 carats of certified red diamonds have been sold from the argyle mine as they have a low production of gem-quality diamonds. Furthermore, most red diamonds weigh less than half a carat, with the world’s largest red diamond weighing in at 5.11 ct., a stark contrast to the Cullinan I, which is the world’s largest cut and polished white diamond at an astonishing 530 ct.

The Argyle mine has been in operation since 1983 but is expected to close in 2020 as its diamond supply is running low. With the mine’s looming closure, the value of red diamonds is constantly rising. Even a one carat red diamond can be sold anywhere from $300,000 to $2 million dollars, depending on the quality of the diamond, easily making fancy red diamonds the most expensive diamond color in the world. Rather than being bought by consumers, these extremely expensive red diamonds are mainly bought by collectors and investors.

As red diamonds are by far the most elusive and expensive diamond color, we’ve collected a list of some of the most famous red diamonds:

The Moussaieff Red: Also known as the “Red Shield,” this the largest red diamond in the world at 5.11ct. When found by a Brazilian farmer in the 1990s, this diamond originally weighed 13.9ct and was later shaped into a trilliant cut. This sizable red diamond gained its current name once it was acquired by the Moussaieff jewelry firm for $8 million during the early 2000s.
The Kazanjian Red Diamond: The second largest red diamond in the world weighs in as a 5.05ct emerald cut, believed to be worth over $50 million. When found in South Africa in 1927, this diamond weighed a massive 35t in its rough state.
The DeYoung Red Diamond: This 5.03ct round cut red diamond is the third largest red diamond in the world. This diamond was named after Sydney DeYoung, the Boston jeweler who eventually donated this diamond to the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. DeYoung’s company acquired this diamond through an estate sale when the stone was just believed to be a garnet hat pin. Today, this remarkable diamond is estimated to be worth about $5 million.
The Hancock Red: While weighing in at 0.95ct, this Brazilian purplish red diamond became famous in 1987 when it sold for $880,000 making it the most expensive per-carat gemstone ever sold at auction. This diamond was named after its collector Warren Hancock who had bought the diamond for just $12,500 in 1956.

White Diamonds: D

You may have heard of the 4 C’s of diamonds, which are the basics of diamond grading. One of the 4 C’s is Color, and it refers to the amount of color (or lack thereof) that a white diamond displays. Diamond color is graded on a scale of D to Z, with D as colorless and Z as a light yellow. Keep in mind that this color grade only applies to white diamonds. A white diamond with a D color grade is the most expensive white diamond color as these diamonds allow more light to pass through the stone, creating a sparkling appearance.

When buying a diamond, some people may prioritize selecting a diamond with a color grade that’s as close to D as possible. In order to afford a diamond with a D color grade, the buyer might compromise on one of the other 4 C’s such as carat weight or clarity.