We may not be familiar with De Beers, but probably no one is unaware of its famous slogan: Diamonds are eternal, and one is eternal. Diamonds are defined as a testimony to love, and the price has remained high, ranking in the luxury world for a hundred years.
Natural diamonds are a gift of time, almost the same age as Earth, and geologists believe that even the most "young" diamonds formed long before the age of the dinosaurs, who became extinct about 65 million years ago. The diamonds we see today were formed 3 billion years ago, so to have a natural diamond is to have a timeless gem that is almost the same age as the earth.
It can be said that our encounter with every natural diamond is a miracle created by heaven and place. Underground 100-300 km, the formation of each natural diamond requires just the right temperature (above 1000 degrees Celsius) and harsh pressure conditions (4.5-6.0 gpa), after two or three million years of squeezing convergence, with the help of volcanic activity to the surface, so that it is possible to cross the sea of people, come to us.
With such a high temperature, we don't have much to say, what is the concept of 6 gpa pressure? It's like 6 10-ton African elephants, stepping on the little thumb of your foot.
But what do these diamonds look like under scanning electron microscopy? What is the difference between a broken diamond and a large diamond? We did a little experiment.
Two natural diamond rings were selected as test samples: Sample 1: Broken Diamond Ring and Sample 2: Large Diamond Ring
2. Ultrasonically clean for 3 minutes
3. Prepare the sample and place it in the sample cup
The sample is placed in the Phenom pharos g2 of the Feina benchtop field emission scanning electron microscope, and first of all, under the navigation of the optical microscope, the two diamond rings are like this, still brilliant.
Next, under the high-power scanning electron microscope, the diamond immediately appears as a "prototype"!
The surface of the crushed drill is magnified by 130x
We can find that the surface of the broken diamond is not so perfect, the surface of the broken diamond has many flaws, the cut is relatively rough, we further zoom in to see the location of these defects. After further enlargement, the defects on the surface of the crushed drill are very obvious, there are various cracks, and the surface is not clean and flat enough.
Various defects in the surface of the crushed drill Magnification 3000x
So let's take a look at the higher price of the large diamond ring, what about the surface?
We can see that the surface of large diamonds is relatively flat, there are no obvious flaws, and the cut is relatively perfect, so the price will be higher than that of broken diamonds. As we all know, diamond is also diamond, the main component of natural diamond is C, but because it is formed in the natural high temperature and pressure environment, there will also be other metallic and non-metallic elements. Its unique crystal structure makes it the material with the highest hardness on the Mohs scale, but Xiaobian found that in the actual wear, bumping, friction, etc. will also have an impact on its surface.
Bumps that arise during wear
Diamonds are the hardest stones, but they are not indestructible, they are brittle and can be damaged by heavy blows, especially in angular positions, where bumps are more pronounced. From the energy spectrum results of the bump position, it can be seen that the location contains fe elements and a small amount of cr and mn elements, which may be caused by the minerals contained in the diamond or the diamond ring during the wearing of the metal product.
Finally, Xiaobian will share with you a few tips for maintaining diamonds:
1. Do not collide with hard objects: When doing housework or other manual labor, it is best to take off the diamond jewelry worn and put it away, so as not to accidentally collide with hard objects and cause damage to the diamond.
2. Stay away from oily substances: Diamonds are lipophilic, and oil stains, stains, etc. will cover up their luster when they get on the surface. Therefore, when washing dishes and cooking, you should take off your jewelry to avoid stains, oil smoke, etc.
3. Clean diamonds regularly: Diamonds can be washed directly with water during wearing; you can also use a neutral cleaning agent such as dish soap to gently brush the surface of the diamond with a soft-bristled toothbrush and absorb moisture with a dry flannel cloth; or buy a special jewelry cleaning liquid at the jewelry store and wash the diamond according to the instructions for use.
4. Don't swim with diamonds: The substance in the pool has no effect on a single diamond, but it will have some effect on the metal material inlay of the diamond, which may cause the metal to change color.