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University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Natural and Artificial Diamonds
Pavel Zinin, Li Chung Ming
History
• The first river-bed (alluvial) diamonds
were probably discovered in India, in
around 800 B.C.
• In South Africa in 1870 diamond was
found in the earth far from a river source,
and the practice of dry-digging for
diamonds was born.
The Kooh-i-noor
The Kooh-i-noor has a longest history for an extant stone. Firstly, in 1304 as a
diamond in the possession of the Rajah of Malwa, later, it fell into the hands of the
Sultan Baber. This was a time when possession of such a gem symbolized the
power of an empire.
(109 carats)
The Koh-i-Noor was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 to mark
the 250th anniversary of the founding of the East India Company. It
was displayed at the Crystal Palace Exposition
In 1911 a new crown was made for the coronation of Queen Mary
with the Koh-i-Noor as the center stone. In 1937, it was transferred
to the crown of Queen Elizabeth (now Queen Mother) for her
coronation. It is now on display with the British Crown Jewels in
the Tower of London.
Orloff Diamond
189 carats
First, it may have been
set at one time as the
diamond eye of Vishnu's
idol (one of the Hindu
Gods) in the innermost
sanctuary temple in
Sriangam, before being
stolen in the 1700s by a
French deserter.
The time passed, the stone arrived at Amsterdam where the Russian count Grigori
Orloff was residing. The stone has been called the Orloff since then. Catherine received
his gift and had it mounted in the Imperial Sceptre.
In 1812 the Russians, fearing that Napoleon with his Grand Army was about to enter
Moscow, hid the Orloff in a priest's tomb. Napoleon supposedly discovered the Orloff's
location and went to claim it. However, as a solider of the Army was about to touch the
Orloff, a priest's ghost appeared and pronounced a terrible curse upon the Army. The
Emperor, Napoleon scampered away without the Orloff.
Cullinan, 530 carats
The Hope, Hope was once owned by Louis
XIV and was officially designated "the blue
diamond of the crown."
The Tiffany (128 carats), the best
known yellow diamond.
Pumkin Diamond
Diamonds ascend to the Earth's surface in rare molten rock, or magma,
that originates at great depths.. Just beneath such volcanoes is a carrotshaped "pipe" filled with volcanic rock, mantle fragments, and some
embedded diamonds. The rock is called kimberlite after the city of
Kimberley, South Africa, where the pipes were first discovered in the
1870s.
Diamond Mining
An "independent" operation using the
simplest technology: shovel, pan,
water, and muscles.
Structures of
Graphite and
Diamond
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Diamonds can form at depths as shallow as 150 kilometers
beneath the continental crust, while beneath oceans they need
depths of at least 200 kilometers, as shown by the diamond
boundary on the cross-section. Graphite is transformed in
diamond under high pressure 55000 atmospheres and 1400
degrees Co.
This magnitude of pressure is
difficult to comprehend. For
example, the pressure of 55,000
atmospheres necessary to make a
diamond at 1400 degrees C (orange
hot) would require the Eiffel Tower
(7000 metric tons) resting on a 5
inch plate.
Large
Volume
Press
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Mahalo
HIGP