If diamond contains an alien mineral is it not then a rock rather
than a mineral by definition? Does the word carbonatite apply to
the rock?
If you had a material that was clearly defined as a mix of diamonds
with other minerals as a mix of the different crystals, then that
would be a rock. I’m not aware of any such, but that doesn’t mean it
couldn’t exist. The name of such a rock could be whatever the
geologist describing it wishes to name it. Granite, for example, is
a name that clearly describes a certain class of rock, but which
gives no clue to the seperate mineral types that mix to make up a
granite. But be careful. Simply having a few diamonds imbedded in
something doesn’t make that “something” a different material. Shale
with dramatic crystals of garnet imbedded in it makes wonderful
specimins, but it’s still a shale, abeit one with nice garnet
octahedra imbedded in it. And accidental inclusions of some other
mineral inclusions within a diamond crystal doesn’t change the
identity of the diamond. It just makes it a diamond with certain
inclusions, which might, if they are interesting or significant, be
themselves identified.
Is it more correct to call coloured diamonds, carbonatite?
“Earth to Peter”… Are you listening? Did you read what I wrote the
last time? I’m beginning to wonder why I bother responding to your
posts since you clearly are on your own trip, and not actually paying
attention to given you unless it agrees with what you’ve
already decided you want to be true. Maybe that’s unfair, but I’m
beginning to suspect…
Anyway. No. Colored diamonds are diamonds. And by the way, the
impurities that give colored diamonds their color are NOT pigments,
and don’t function the way pigments do. Pigments are minerals that,
as particles or grains of significant size, are able to reflect or
absorb certain wavelengths of light all on their own. The pure
pigment powder has a color because of this. Mixed into a binder, or
imbedded in another material, they still function on their own,
optically distinct from the host material. So pigment mixed with
linseed oil gives you a paint the color of the pigment. Nitrogen, on
the other hand, is colorless. If it worked as a pigment, it’s
presence as a trace impurity in diamond would do nothing. Instead,
it gives us yellows. And as has also be noted, many colored diamonds
do not owe their color to an impurity at all, but rather to damage,
defects or dislocations in the lattice structure. As with the
occasional replacement of a carbon atom with a nitrogen one, this
affects the way the overall structure affects light. It’s not the
nitrogen by itself. It’s what the nitrogen or other impurity does to
the way the whole crystal-- carbon, impurity, and the resulting
structure-- does to light and absorption spectra.
Please stop trying to invent new descriptions of why colored
diamonds are colored. The structures and mechanisms of these things
are already quite well known. You don’t need to imagine new and
wonderful names and mechanisms, just read up on what’s already been
described. Reinventing the wheel doesn’t work so well if your apple
cart sports a brand new wheel that is square, and has the axle
mounted in one corner. Well, I’ll restate that. Keep on doing it if
you like. But you’re wasting your (and our) time.
Mineral pigments in diamond could, from a layman's perspective, be
due to microscopic cracks which fill with mineral pigments
suspended or dissolved in water. This might be called sedimentary.
This does, actually, rarely occur. Usually gives reddish dirt
coloring to the cracks. Doesn’t color the whole diamond. Not
generally a good or desireable effect, but can be interesting in an
academic sort of way. Not called sedimentary, since sedimentary
deposits are actual sediment, such as silt or sand settling out from
a body of water. Traces of a mineral being carried into a crack is
generally just called a stain…
Later intense heating of the diamond stones might then have an
effect on the colour and/or bonding of pigment to host stone.
Metamorphic?
No. Just a burned diamond. Geez, dude… Relax, will ya?
Does anyone here make synthetic diamonds in their garage? Does
anyone here sell the machinery to make diamonds? What kind of
prices are we looking at?
Depends on what you call a “Garage” Chatham has a building in which
they make diamonds. So does Gemysis (spelling?) and so do others. But
the custom built machines used for this are themselves about the size
of a small car. And they aren’t cheap. Generally need a whole lot
more electricity than is available in the normal residential
garage… I doubt you can just find a catalog to buy the things. But
if you root around enough in the right industries over in Russia, you
might always find someone with such surplus equipment (where these
things were first made for actual commercial production) I’d guess
these things cost somewhere between a few hundred thousand to a few
million each. Just a very rough guess… Oh, and did I mention, THEN
you have to figure out how to actually make diamonds with the things.
Not as easy as just having the machines…
How would one add mineral pigments to the magma so as to bond the
pigments inside the diamonds (igneous action)?
Holy Crap, dude. You want to add mineral pigments to MAGMA? (Not
lava. That occurs at the surface with volcanic eruptions, but
diamonds don’t form in it there. Magma is a lot deeper. ) Ok. Here
goes. First hitch a ride on Jules Verne’s expedition to the center of
the earth, or any of those several bad Science Fiction films that
purport to be traveling into volcanos or otherwise in the general
direction of magma. When you figure that part out, get back to me and
we’ll figure out your damn pigment. Remember that if you want to be
affecting color in diamonds, you’re gonna need to get around a
hundred miles down, well below the crust, and into the upper mantle
of the earth.
Oh, and did I mention too, diamond color isn’t due to pigments?
yeah, I think so. As to adding anything, that part’s easy. In the
case of nitrogen in diamond, for example, the reason that synthetic
diamond production is mostly yellow colors is that it’s really hard
NOT to get nitrogen into the stones, given the fact that synthesis is
being done here on the earth surface, where we have this atmosphere
thingy that’s mostly nitrogen. The stuff is everywhere. No doubt bad
for you. Try not to breath too much of it. Prolly causes cancer or
something. Other impurities, well, again, if the atoms of the
appropriate other impurities are floating around in the same stuff
where the diamonds are growing, then they’ll be incorporated
automatically. They’re not added after the crystals are grown.
I'll see if I can get Nassau's book.
PLEASE DO. And a few others too, while you’re at it. The need is
obvious.
BTW, would even the De Beers lab at the University of Alberta know
if a rogue prospector had "salted" a deposit in the tar sands
region of Northern Alberta with diamonds made in his garage? They
are prospecting in blue clay are they not?
Hey, if you’re gonna be salting deposits with your hard grown
synthetics, would ya let me know? Please salt my back yard, while
you’re at it, so I don’t have to go so far. Thanks.
Oh, and yes, DeBeers or GIA or others could tell the difference.
Synthetic diamonds, like many other gems both synthetic or natural,
leave trace clues to their origin. Not always easy, but so far, they
can tell the difference. Not to mention that usually, if they find
diamonds where the geology doesn’t strongly suggest that there SHOULD
be diamonds, then they’re more than likely to be bright enough to
take a good hard look… And tar sands have a VERY different
geologic history than sediments or primary deposits likely to have
diamonds.
Not that I would do this but my sidekick, Penelope Dirtbag might
do the deed.
Naughty girl. But save her the potential legal hassles of a hoax or
fraud. Like I said, I volunteer my back yard, or better, the floor on
my workshop under my workbench, as a great place to toss your
synthetic diamonds. I’m often down there already, looking for genuine
diamonds I’ve dropped, so your salted diamonds are much more likely
to be discovered. I can make an appointment for you or her to come
over and perform this salting at any time you wish. I await your
call. If the line is busy, please don’t hang up. I’m probably talking
to that fellow from Nigeria that has all those millions of dollars he
wants to give me 'cause he knows he can trust me and all. Still
working on that angle, but when it pans out, I’ll help you as an
investor in the cost of your diamond growing machine…
Peter Rowe
(and please, don’t confuse me with the Peter I’m replying too. We’re
VERY different people, I suspect…)
