Introduction To Raw Diamonds
There is a common belief that Diamonds are formed by the metamorphism of coal. This is an age-old myth that has been doing rounds for many centuries.
To your surprise, let us tell you that Diamonds are made by the fusion of carbon atoms in a specific structure under high pressure and heat deep under the earth’s surface. After this process, the carbon cools down very quickly and turns into crystals. These crystals are termed “Raw” or “Rough” diamonds.
Rough diamonds do not hold any shine and luster. They look like ordinary pale-colored glass. These stones are then cut down and polished to shine out on your jewelry pieces.
Why are Diamonds Expensive?
Diamonds are made of the single element carbon. This makes the diamond a most durable gemstone. It contains 99.95% of carbon and the rest of the elements are present in a very little amount. These other elements result in the altered purity and color of the diamond.
Extracted in raw form, not all crystals turn out to be precious gems. Only 40-50% of diamonds end up as polished diamonds. Paler the color, lesser the sparkle. The naturally palest of all or the colorless ones pass the gem-quality test. It takes around 8 hours to cut 1ct of a diamond because only a diamond can cut another diamond. A lot of money and effort is spent on this work. Thus, the quality and price of the polished diamond are higher than its counterparts.
How to check the authenticity?
Diamonds may look like any other stone on the ground. There are chances you find one of these precious stones someday. But it’s not that easy to differentiate it from quarts or other colored glasses. One way to check its authenticity is “the scratch test”. The original diamond gets scratched by another diamond only.
These enlisted tests can be performed further to find the originality of the stone.
- Corundum is used to test the hardness of the Diamond. If the crystal scratches the corundum then it’s quite possibly a diamond.
- A gravity test is carried out to check the density of the diamond. You can perform it at home but the accuracy rate on smaller samples is very low.
- A thermal absorption test is done to check the heat absorption level of the crystal.
After all these tests, there are still chances of you being wrong about the crystal you have. You may need an appointment with a gemologist to get your stone evaluated.
Are Rough Diamonds Worth Anything?
The natural quality of the diamond determines its future value inclusive of its size, shape, and color. An uncut diamond with few inclusions values more than a polished diamond with several inclusions. Natural colorless diamonds occur very rarely. Many people have pre-bookings for these expensive gems. It takes a lot of time to fulfill the demands of the clients. Most of the time these unique single stones get out of stock.
With the modernization in jewelry trends, raw diamond jewelry is getting extremely popular for its untouched texture and natural hues. You must explore the numerous jewelry designs embellished with these precious stones before paying for a Solitaire. You must consider the engagement and wedding ring with raw diamonds. These are unique in color, texture, shape, and clarity. These artsy stones will look incredibly exceptional.
Due to all these reasons, many people are now favoring raw diamonds. These are much cheaper than polished ones. You must consider buying an uncut diamond as an asset to your collections.
Different Shapes of Raw Diamonds
Raw Diamonds are found in a lot of geometrical shapes and sizes. The crystal classification of diamonds depends upon the arrangement and the internal structure of atoms composing it. They belong to the most symmetrical system which is, the cubic system.
These are the enlisted natural shapes of raw diamonds based on their classification.
1. Octahedron Shaped
The octahedron shape is the most basic of the cubic system. This diamond has 8 sides of a triangular shape which seems like two pyramids joined at the base. This shape gives a literal meaning to diamond. This diamond is usually cut into round brilliant cut diamonds after splitting it into two parts from the center.
2. Dodecahedron Shaped
The dodecahedron diamond looks more like a rhombus with 12 sides or faces. These shapes are formed by the high pressure inside the earth’s womb. This process leads to a shift of carbon atoms resulting in some masterpiece natural shapes. Usually, the square or fancy-shaped diamonds are cut out of this raw diamond.
3. Hexahedron Shaped
The hexahedron shape is the closest shape to the cubic system. This rare raw diamond is cut down to make beautiful diamond engagement rings. With the geometric lines and aesthetic these diamonds look beyond the words. These diamonds look extraordinary in platinum jewelry.
4. Round shaped
The raw diamonds are a true example of nature’s wonders. Diamonds with unrealistic colors and shapes are extracted to date. Naturally, round-shaped diamonds are not perfectly round in shape but somehow justify their shape. These are generally used for making round-cut diamond jewelry.
5. Angular Shaped
Angular shapes of raw diamonds are frequent than the other shapes. These diamonds can be cut down to any shape due to their irregularities. The designers have to look deeply for inclusions and other structures to shape them into some valuable polished diamond.
6. Elongated Shaped
The elongated-shaped diamonds turn out to be the best option for long-shaped diamond rings. The emerald cut, radiant cut, hybrid cut, and cushion cut are some of the usual designs made of this raw diamond. The oval-shaped diamonds are easy to carve out of elongated-shaped diamonds. However, the shape isn’t the only factor, the final design and shape depend upon several other reasons.
7. Triangular Shaped
The triangular-shaped crystals are mostly formed due to distortion during growth. These diamonds have three sides and a flat table on the top or bottom. Triangular-shaped diamonds are commonly called trillion or Trillion cut diamonds. They are usually used as accent diamonds in jewel pieces. These diamonds do have the potential of being a centerpiece but most of the designers still prefer to use their sparkle otherwise.
So, whether it be the raw diamonds or polished ones, you must embrace these treasures because as they say ”Diamonds are forever.”