Diamonds can chip or fracture from hard impact, especially in areas where the carbon atoms are not tightly bonded. These areas, called cleavage planes, are the major source of damage to diamonds (figure 2).
Even though diamonds are hard, like 58 times harder than corundum, the next hardest mineral on earth, you can still chip the edges (or girdle) of your diamond. Hitting your ring at just the right angle with just the right impact could chip the diamond.
Diamonds are exceptionally delicate, and thus, they require the utmost care. Harsh chemicals like acetone, chlorine, bleach and other abrasive substances like baking powder and toothpaste will damage your diamond beyond repair.
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. A mineral like talc, on the other hand, is a 1 on the scale.
Diamonds don't shatter when dropped, however, they can chip or break from powerful blows. The most vulnerable parts of a diamond include the girdle which is the diamond's outermost edge, creating the outline.
Chips typically occur when the girdle (edge) or point of a diamond strikes something hard. Bathroom and kitchen countertops, as well as jewelry items with diamonds worn next to each other, are common causes of chips.
The diamond can be repolished or recut so that the damaged area is removed or perhaps polished down and perhaps after only losing a little bit of weight, the diamond can look as good as new. If, however, the chip is rather large, or the stone is very small, re-cutting may not be a practical option.
Mohs Hardness Scale
Diamond is the hardest mineral; no other mineral can scratch a diamond. Quartz is a 7. It can be scratched by topaz, corundum, and diamond. Quartz will scratch minerals that have a lower number on the scale.
Is it possible to scratch a diamond using sandpaper? A diamond cannot be scratched by sandpaper. Sandpaper grit has a hardness of 7 to 9 on the Mohs scale, making it softer than a diamond. Many people use sandpaper to determine whether a diamond is genuine or not.
While incredibly tough, diamonds are still vulnerable to scratches just like other gemstones. The Mohs' scale (scale of mineral hardness) specifically defines hardness as the resistance to being scratched.
Moissanite: The Second Hardest Mineral in Nature after Diamond. The colors seen in moissanite from the Mount Carmel area of northern Israel range from dark blue to light green. photo by Aurélien Delaunay. Moissanite is the name given to naturally occurring silicon carbide and to its various crystalline polymorphs.
To answer the question posed, no, it is not easy to shatter a diamond. But they are breakable if you try hard enough. In fact, despite the enormous evidence of how tough diamonds are, they can still be incredibly fragile. Hitting a diamond at the right spot and the correct angle could cause it to chip.
Chlorine bleach or abrasives (such as household cleansers or toothpaste) should never be used when cleaning diamond jewelry. Chemicals like chlorine can damage some of the metals used to alloy gold for diamond settings and abrasives can scratch gold and other metals.
You have to hit it in the exact right spot and then also ensure that you are using enough force. Here's the science behind breaking a diamond. To say something is “hard” is not the same as saying it is “strong”. As an example, you can scratch steel with a diamond, but you can easily shatter a diamond with a hammer.
The Mohs scale is a scientific measurement of mineral hardness. Glass is rated a 5.5, and diamonds, the hardest mineral, are a 10. So, genuine diamonds will scratch a mirror. On the other hand, so will quartz (7), moissanite (9.25), and cubic zirconia (8).
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.
There are many common cleaning products that people may think are good to clean diamond rings with, but they can actually be quite damaging. Chlorine bleach, abrasives (like toothpaste or baking soda), or acetone should never be used on any jewellery.
It's a common myth that toothpaste can be used to clean jewelry. However, toothpaste can easily damage your diamond ring and gemstones. Diamond might be hard and strong, but this doesn't mean it has to be cleaned using toothpaste. The chemicals in the flavor used to make toothpaste are corrosive to metals.
Use a sandpaper against the 'gem': Diamonds, the world's hardest stones, cannot be scratched by the rough surface of the sandpaper. The most common “fake” diamond is cubic zirconia and if you scratched it with sandpaper, it would scratch up just like any other material that is not a diamond.
Ammolite. In 1981, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) declared ammolite a new organic gem. Occurring in limited deposits in the Rocky Mountains, this gem material is much rarer than diamond.
The “crack” is a reflection from the diamond's girdle and is a so-called girdle reflection. This phenomenon is caused by the pavilion facets and is the answer to the horizontal line in the diamond. As you can see in the image above, the reflection is only visible from the side and not when seeing the diamond face up.
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So, yes, diamonds can break. This comes with good news and bad news. The bad news is that no diamond is impervious to breaking, but the good news is that it is an extremely rare occurrence. The most important step comes when selecting your diamond.