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).
Even without pure oxygen, diamonds can be damaged by flame, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). 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.
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.
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 are designated to burn at about 900 degrees Celsius when there is adequate oxygen. However, melting diamonds requires a minimum of 4500 degrees Celsius at a pressure of 100,000 bar. Diamond requires oxygen to burn, which leads to the formation of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.
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.
Minerals are assigned a number between 1 and 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale to describe how resistant to scratching they are. Diamonds are given the highest number, a 10. There is nothing that can scratch a diamond except another 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.
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.
Diamonds do not shatter when dropped, but they may chip from powerful, accidental blows. They can also break when there is pressure buildup inside the stone called 'strain. ' A small tap results in breakage for the pressure to escape. While it is very rare for diamonds to break this way, it's a fact worth noting.
Nonetheless, irradiated diamonds are sensitive to heat; jewelry repair procedures, recutting, and repolishing can change their colors.
Many are unsure if boiling a diamond ring is an acceptable cleaning method, but it is! At-home cleaning with boiling water is a safe and effective way to clean it.
Visit A Trusted Jeweler
Many jewelers will appraise your stone free of charge and experts will often be able to tell immediately if your diamond is authentic or not. If your stone came with a certificate, your jeweler should be happy to take a look at it and tell you whether it is from a trustworthy source.
Simulated diamonds are also known as diamond simulants and include things like cubic zirconia (CZ), moissanite, and YAG. They can also include some natural clear gemstones like white sapphire, white zircon or even clear quartz.
The way that diamonds reflect light is unique: the inside of a real diamond should sparkle gray and white while the outside should reflect a rainbow of colors onto other surfaces. A fake diamond, on the other hand, will have rainbow colors that you can see inside the diamond as well.
Diamonds are very stable and invulnerable to virtually all acids. They can also withstand higher temperatures than most gemstones. Sudden extreme temperature changes can cause damage, however. Diamonds can chip or fracture from hard impact, especially in areas where the carbon atoms are not tightly bonded.
Are they truly indestructible? The answer is no. Much like everything else on earth, diamonds can be damaged and even destroyed. Diamonds are the hardest mineral on earth.
Yes, a diamond can break – including a lab-grown diamond. Just like how diamond cutters are used to shape and sculpt a rough diamond, it can break if enough force is applied. Diamonds don't shatter when dropped, however, they can chip or break from powerful blows.
However, you needn't worry about leaving a diamond in the sun. It would take a temperature of 700-900°C before it started to burn, since the carbon atoms in a diamond are in a tight three-dimensional array that's very hard to disrupt.
1. Cullinan Diamond. The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality Diamond ever found, weighing in at an enormous 3,106.75 carats. A miner named Thomas Powell discovered the Diamond in the Premier Mine in Cullinan, South Africa.
Diamond is the high-pressure phase that forms deep in the earth. Under normal conditions, diamond is metastable, meaning that it converts back to graphite when the process is initiated with sufficient energy.