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Can a diamond scratch another diamond?
- Thread starter MEV
- Start date
bob.oz
Active member
Wikipedia says..........
Diamonds are the hardest gems. In gemological terms, hardness means resistance to scratching. A diamond can scratch other gems, but nothing can scratch a diamond except another diamond. Cutting and faceting of diamonds can be done only with other diamonds because only diamond can cut diamond.
Diamonds are the hardest gems. In gemological terms, hardness means resistance to scratching. A diamond can scratch other gems, but nothing can scratch a diamond except another diamond. Cutting and faceting of diamonds can be done only with other diamonds because only diamond can cut diamond.
michaelosully
New member
It is somewhat dependent on where the other diamond wants to be scratched!
nero_design
New member
Yes indeed. This is why diamond dealers wrap each diamond in a small piece of thin paper when transporting them. Even the vibration of a motor vehicle would be enough for two diamonds to scratch one another. Uncut diamonds are usually placed together in the same container or bag. But diamonds that have been cut and polished will show abrasions from other diamonds if they are stored together.
Because it was widely known (in the days before the internet) that only a diamond can scratch a diamond, many people mistakenly believed that a diamond could not be damaged by crushing. Diamonds are indeed incredibly tough but they're also actually brittle enough that a diamond in a ring can be gouged or even smashed with a strong impact against ... say, a metal pole on the sidewalk. Recently on television there was a reality TV program about a bunch of guys who go dredging off the coast of Africa for diamonds and there's a scene in the final episode of them crushing a couple of diamonds with a pair or pliers in order to prove to themselves that the stones they had found were not diamonds. These fools were ruining perfectly good diamonds because they mistakenly thought that a diamond would otherwise be indestructible.
In Australia, there's a New South Wales town in the 1900s that found a lot of large, clear stones that they suspected were diamonds. Word got around that a real diamond couldn't be crushed so whenever they found one of these pretty gemstones they'd smash it on an anvil at the Blacksmith's forge to prove to themselves that it wasn't a diamond. Eventually, they gave up smashing these magnificent rocks and gave them to their children to play with. Years later, one man's child was quite ill so he travelled to the city of Sydney for advice from a doctor. The medical bills were mounting so he stopped by a local jeweller to ask if there was any value in the sparkling gems he had with him in his pocket. The jeweller immediately recognized the stones as being fine quality diamonds of unusually good clarity and size and not only offered to buy them from the father but he also asked where he came across them. Imagine the look on the father's face when he discovered they'd been smashing real diamonds on the Blacksmith's anvil?
Because it was widely known (in the days before the internet) that only a diamond can scratch a diamond, many people mistakenly believed that a diamond could not be damaged by crushing. Diamonds are indeed incredibly tough but they're also actually brittle enough that a diamond in a ring can be gouged or even smashed with a strong impact against ... say, a metal pole on the sidewalk. Recently on television there was a reality TV program about a bunch of guys who go dredging off the coast of Africa for diamonds and there's a scene in the final episode of them crushing a couple of diamonds with a pair or pliers in order to prove to themselves that the stones they had found were not diamonds. These fools were ruining perfectly good diamonds because they mistakenly thought that a diamond would otherwise be indestructible.
In Australia, there's a New South Wales town in the 1900s that found a lot of large, clear stones that they suspected were diamonds. Word got around that a real diamond couldn't be crushed so whenever they found one of these pretty gemstones they'd smash it on an anvil at the Blacksmith's forge to prove to themselves that it wasn't a diamond. Eventually, they gave up smashing these magnificent rocks and gave them to their children to play with. Years later, one man's child was quite ill so he travelled to the city of Sydney for advice from a doctor. The medical bills were mounting so he stopped by a local jeweller to ask if there was any value in the sparkling gems he had with him in his pocket. The jeweller immediately recognized the stones as being fine quality diamonds of unusually good clarity and size and not only offered to buy them from the father but he also asked where he came across them. Imagine the look on the father's face when he discovered they'd been smashing real diamonds on the Blacksmith's anvil?