The Diamond High Council’s (H.R.D.) research center has launched the Gem Defensive Initiative (GDI) in Leer near Antwerp. H.R.D. The main objective of this institution is to maintain the credibility of the certificates issued for Diamonds.
In this short span, G.D.I. has gained much knowledge about high-pressure and high-temperature treated black diamonds. In the presented article G.D.I. Presented are excerpts from a report from the U.S. that shows how simple borates (industrial diamonds) worth $5-10 per carat are converted into black diamonds and can be sold for at least $1,000 per carat.
It is said that the gemstone Shiromani Diamond is generally free from all colors and defects. This is why the rays of light are well reflected from it. This quality is present only in white-colored diamonds, whereas just opposite to this, black-colored diamonds have so many impurities that the light is completely absorbed in them. Hence there is a complete lack of brightness and aura in it.
What is called black diamond?
Black diamonds are diamonds that are naturally colored black. They are relatively rare, and their color is caused by the presence of various impurities or structural defects within the diamond’s crystal structure. Black diamonds are often found in Brazil, and the Central African Republic, typically mined from alluvial deposits or kimberlite pipes.
Black diamonds are often used in jewelry and are prized for their unique color and rarity. They are usually cut into various shapes, including round, oval, pear, and cushion, and they can be set in various metals, including gold, silver, and platinum.
Black diamonds are more popular :
Despite all the flaws, jeweler designers give more importance to black diamonds. Designers who find beauty even in its black color believe that by rooting it among white diamonds and other colored gems in gemstones, they blossom even more. By using them, new dimensions can be given to the design.
It isn’t easy to get black diamonds:
It is challenging, if not impossible, to obtain black diamonds in cut and polish able sizes. Carbonado has also been used as a substitute for black diamonds. It is opaque, gray, or black. Due to its abundance of porosity (fine holes), it lacks density compared to diamonds. Cut and polished is quite harsh from the point of view, but in recent years laser technology has been used for cutting work, due to which the cutting work of Carbonado has become relatively easy. No matter how many efforts are made to polish it, Carbonado never shines like a diamond. One of the reasons for the high prices of black diamonds is that they are tough to cut. Fawaz Grousi, in his book ‘The Black Diamond’, it is written that cutting and polishing black diamonds is challenging. As much work can be done on a white diamond in one hour, it takes at least five hours to do the same position on a black diamond.
When nature does not help man, he resorts to unnatural means, so such a technique was discovered so that ordinary colored diamonds could be converted into black and made precious.
Unnatural process for Black Diamond:
One of the oldest and most unsightly methods of preparing unnatural black diamonds is to paint the surface of low-quality colored diamonds black. But the diamonds created by this process are easily identified as unnaturally created. Color plating is not permanent, and the material used as color is softer than diamond, so that it can be scratched easily.
A better method than that is the explosion of electrons or neutrons on diamonds in a nuclear reactor. If heat treatment is also added to this method, then very good results of colors are seen. Dark green diamonds are easily converted into black diamonds due to radiation.
Irradiation Method:
Although the method of darkening diamonds with the help of radiation was known in 1904, it took about 75 years for it to become widely known. In the early 1990s, a warning was also circulated that radioactive black diamonds existed in the market.
The result of this warning was that the diamond industry began scrutinizing every black diamond that entered the market. H.R.D. Every black diamond that is brought to the certificate department is necessarily tested for radioactivity with the help of a Geiger counter.
Method of implanting moving atoms (ion):
Another method of artificially producing black diamonds is the implantation of moving atoms (ions). An electron is removed from an atom of a diamond and implanted with an ‘electron gun’ with high-volt power.
This method usually does not work because it allows the effect of colors on the surface of the diamond. The effect of color ends when the diamond is re-cut, polished, or exposed to high temperatures.
Making Black Diamonds from Bort:
Many years ago, there was a flood of black-colored diamonds in the market. On examination, the diamonds were treated by annealing at high temperatures. On investigation, it was found that simple, cheap material can be used to keep the bort at 1,000 degrees Celsius in an airless environment or inert gases. It is heated with heat for several hours. The equipment used in this procedure is relatively inexpensive compared to radiation or ion implantation methods.
The color of black diamonds prepared by heating bort is also stable. So far, such instruments are unavailable in the gem testing centers, with the help of which such diamonds can be detected. The specialty of these diamonds is that if a diamond merchant sells them to a customer without disclosing their genuineness, he may not even know about them.
Black Diamonds through CVD process:
It is possible to produce black diamonds through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In this process, a substrate material is placed in a chamber and heated to a high temperature. A gas mixture is then introduced into the chamber, and the gas reacts with the substrate to form a thin layer of diamond on the surface. The substrate material can be a variety of materials, including silicon, sapphire, or other materials.
CVD is a commonly used method for producing synthetic diamonds, and it can be used to create diamonds in various colors, including black. CVD-grown black diamonds are typically grown from a substrate material that is black or dark in color, and the resulting diamonds are also black or dark in color.
CVD-grown black diamonds are generally not as valuable as natural black diamonds, as they are not naturally occurring and do not have the same level of rarity. However, they can still be used in a variety of applications, including jewelry and industrial uses.
H.R.D., G.D.I.’s Dr. Catherine de Court says,
“Any merchant can buy borates worth as little as $5-10 per carat and make black diamonds worth $700-1,000 per carat, which is not difficult at all.” Dr. Court says we are collecting such diamonds in maximum quantity so that all the information related to them can be received.
