Do You Think You Found a Diamond Learn How to Identify Rough Diamonds

Every week I get an email from somebody that thinks they found a diamond. Maybe you are reading this because you think you found a diamond. This article will tell you how, and how not to identify rough diamonds as they are found in nature. The chances of finding a rough diamond are extremely rare. Odds are you did not find a diamond. First a few questions: 1. Is the suspected diamonds larger than 8 mm (3/8 of an inch)? 2. Does the suspect diamond weigh more than 2 grams (10 carats)? 3. Did you find more than one suspected diamond? If the answer to any of those questions is YES, then I have bad news - you probably did NOT find a diamond. Diamonds over 8 mm, in excess of 2 grams in weight are extremely rare. The chances of finding a diamond are 1 in 10,000,000. The chances of finding a diamond over 8 mm, in excess of 2 grams in weight are 1 in 1,000,000,000. That is one chance in a billion! OK, so you think you beat the odds and actually found a rough diamond. Now how do you test it to confirm it is a diamond? Crystal Form: Looking at the crystal form is a quick way of differentiating diamond from most of the other minerals that look like diamond. Diamonds are cubic (isometric) form. The most common mineral that looks like a diamond is quartz and it is hexagonal form. When looking down on the crystals from the top, with the point of the crystal aimed at your eye, quartz will have six sides and a diamond will have four sides. If you see six sides than you probably found quartz. Fracture: When diamonds break, they will cleave creating smooth, flat surfaces. Quartz and glass will create conchoidal surfaces when they break. If you see curved conchoidal surfaces (see photo above) then you know your sample is not a diamond. Test Hardness: You CANNOT test the suspect diamond by scratching glass. Many minerals scratch glass. Glass is 5.5 on the Moh's Scale of Hardness. The following list is of common minerals that scratch glass, may look like diamond and they are much more common the diamonds: Albite Beryllonite Boracite Corundum Danburite Elbaite Euclase Grossular Marialite Oligoclase Orthoclase Petalite Phenakite Pollucite Quartz Sanidine Sillimanite Spodumene Topaz Zircon Zoisite So do not try scratching glass with the suspected 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. Click here to buy inexpensive corundum crystals for testing diamond hardness.

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