Diamond Treatments

The irradiation of a type Ia diamond,followed by heating at 800°C, resulted in diamonds having a yellow or orange colour. This treatment is easily detected because an absorption line is also produced between 594 and 595 nm; this absorption is very rarely seen in a faceted natural fancy-coloured diamond. With a type Ib diamond, either natural or synthetic HPHT, irradiation followed by annealing produces a treated pink diamond.

Radiation Followed by High Temperature (c.1400 °C) can give the diamond an attractive green colour.

A tinted yellow (cape) diamond could be given a fancy canary yellow colour by HPHT processing.Following this processing, it is possible to subject the diamond to irradiation and annealing at 800 °C. It gives the diamond a pink or mauve colour.

Diamond Simulants

An enormous number of materials, both natural and artificial, have been used as diamond simulants for thousands of years.

Glass, quartz and other gemstones have been used throughout recorded history to simulate Diamonds, but a true diamond simulant must have the high dispersion that is characteristic of diamond, and ideally be hard enough to be used as a gemstone.

lead glass - a glass with a high refractive index, has been used to simulate diamond for a very long time, it is of course much softer than diamond.

cubic zirconia, or CZ, is probably the most economically important diamond simulant, in use since the 1970s it is very similar visually to diamond but very low cost to produce.

Strontium titanate is an artificial gemstone that was used frequently as a diamond simulant from the mid 1950s until the 1970s.

Yttrium Aluminium Garnet or YAG, and Gadolinium Gallium Garnet or GGG, are two artificial garnet-type gemstones that were frequently used as diamond simulants in the early to mid 1970s, until the availability of cheap Cubic Zirconia.

Moissanite, or silicon carbide, is a much more recent synthetic gemstone, having been first produced commercially in 1998. Unlike most other diamond simulants, it has a very high hardness - second only to diamond itself in the gem world, with higher refractive index and dispersion than diamond.

Synthetic Diamond

Synthetic diamond: Colourless, yellow, brown, green, blue, red, pink; Transparent; Hardness 10; RI 2.417; Opt. isotropic; SG 3.52; Perfect cleavage; Fluorescence: SW - distinct yellow, yellowish-green or whitish-yellow; Inclusions: metallic residues (partly magnetic), internal growth and colour zoning - Gemmological Tables, Ulrich Henn and Claudio C. Milisenda, 2004, p 31 [37]

The diamond is the hardest gemstone and one of the most valued. It does come in yellowish colors, green and blue, but the clear or white is the most used in jewelry. Most diamonds come from South Africa.

It is said diamonds are good for coughs and mucus problems.

Diamonds are the symbol of innocence and constancy. Diamonds have been prized as Crown jewels. They are used today as an engagement ring.

Diamond does not have a specific healing nature. It does supplement the energy of other gemstones. The Diamond will increase the power of the Emerald and the Amethyst to a higher level. Healers often have rings or necklaces set with Diamonds surrounding the Amethyst.

Care must be used when wearing a Diamond necklace as it can block the energy flow if the wearer has negative thoughts or feelings. [5]