Glass Diamond

Pink Diamond

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Diamond gift-2

Diamond Solitaire Pendants
Choose from a broad range of pendant styles in platinum or 18k gold. For a unique gift, use our Build Your Own Diamond Pendant™ feature to choose the perfect diamond and setting.

Starting at $380

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Diamond Earrings
Diamond earrings make the perfect gift because they are always the right fit. Whether she's sporting her favorite jeans or headed to the symphony, diamond studs add that perfect final touch to every outfit.

Starting at $200

Diamond colors Variety chart

Diamond Necklace

1 1/4 Carat Diamond 18K Tri Color Gold Necklace
The rarest of all the elusive South Sea pearls, golden South Seas have a rich beauty unsurpassed by any other pearl. In this exquisite necklace, a single South Sea is perfectly accented by diamonds and three tones of precious gold

Diamond Earrings

Vibrant blue topaz lends a brilliant blueish hue to these gorgeous earrings. Large dramatic cushion cut blue topaz sparkles gorgeously from an exquisitely crafted, prong setting of lustrous white gold. A stunning look.

Diamond WAtches

Features
# Round White Dial
# Steel and Yellow Gold Plate Case and Bracelet
# Kinetic Movement
# Automatic Power Generator
# Power Reserve Indicator Function
# Water Resistant up to 100 Meters
# Sweep Second Hand
# Date at 4 O'Clock
# Screw Down Case Back

Diamond Pendants

1/6 Carat Yellow Diamond 14K Yellow Gold Double Heart Pendant w/Chain

Diamond Bracelets

1 Carat Diamond Sterling Silver and 10K Yellow Gold Tennis Bracelet

Diamond Hardness Tester

Welcome to Hardness Tester Store a division of Brystar Tools

Brystar Tools is committed to customer satisfaction.

Allow us to serve your hardness testing needs. We offer repair, reconditioning, refurbishing,
retrofiting, new United Tru-Blue II, Starrett and Phase II Hardness Testers and accessories.


Refurbished
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Dynamic Impact - Leeb
Portable Hardness Testers
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Brystar Tools 222 AC Smith Road, Roxobel, NC 27872

Tel: (252) 344-2309 Fax: (252) 344-2313 Email: service@brystartools.com
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Reconditioned, Refurbished,
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HARDNESS TESTERS - Wilson Rockwell Hardness Testers, Portable Ultrasonic Hardness Testers, Brinell Hardness
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Diamond Hardness

Hardness is one measure of the strength of the structure of the mineral relative to the strength of its chemical bonds. It is not the same as brittleness, which is another measure of strength, that is purely related to the structure of the mineral. Minerals with small atoms, packed tightly together with strong covalent bonds throughout tend to be the hardest minerals. The softest minerals have metallic bonds or even weaker van der Waals bonds as important components of their structure. Hardness is generally consistent because the chemistry of minerals is generally consistent.

Hardness can be tested through scratching. A scratch on a mineral is actually a groove produced by microfractures on the surface of the mineral. It requires either the breaking of bonds or the displacement of atoms (as in the metallic bonded minerals). A mineral can only be scratched by a harder substance. A hard mineral can scratch a softer mineral, but a soft mineral can not scratch a harder mineral (no matter how hard you try). Therefore, a relative scale can be established to account for the differences in hardness simply by seeing which mineral scratches another. That is exactly what French mineralogist Friedrich Mohs proposed almost one hundred and seventy years ago. The Mohs Hardness Scale starting with talc at 1 and ending with diamond at 10, is universally used around the world as a way of distinguishing minerals. Simply put; the higher the number, the harder the mineral.

Below is the Mohs Hardness Scale:

1. Talc
2. Gypsum
3. Calcite
4. Fluorite
5. Apatite
6. Orthoclase
7. Quartz
8. Topaz
9. Corundum (ruby and sapphire)
10. Diamond

Diamond colors grading scales

Diamond color grading scales[2] GIA Status: current AGS Status: current AGS Status: historical: pre 1995 CIBJO Status: current IDC Status: current Scan. D.N. Status: current Old World Terms Status: historical
grade and description[3] grade and electronic colorimeter scale[4] grade and electronic colorimeter scale[4] grade[5] grade and description[5] grade for .50ct and over[6] grade for under .50ct series 1 scale[5] series 2 scale[5]
D Colorless 0 0 - 0.49 0 0 - 0.75 Exceptional white + Exceptional white + Colorless River White Finest White Jager
E 0.5 0.5 - 0.99 Exceptional white Exceptional white River
1 0.76 - 1.35
F 1.0 1.0 - 1.49 Rare white + Rare white + Colorless when viewed through the crown Top Wesselton Fine White
2 1.36 - 2.00
G Near Colorless 1.5 1.5 - 1.99 Rare white Rare white Top Wesselton
H 2.0 2.0 - 2.49 3 2.01 - 2.50 White White Wesselton White Wesselton
I 2.5 2.5 - 2.99 4 2.51 - 3.0 Slightly tinted white Slightly tinted white Slightly colored Top Crystal Slightly tinted white Commercial White Top Crystal
J 3.0 3.0 - 3.49 5 3.01 - 3.75 Crystal Top silver cape Crystal
K Faint Yellow 3.5 3.5 - 3.99 Tinted white Tinted white Top cape Tinted white Top cape
6 3.76 - 4.5 Silver cape
L 4.0 4.0 - 4.49
M 4.5 4.5 - 4.99 7 4.51 - 5.50 Tinted color 1 Tinted color Slightly colored to colored Cape Tinted color Light cape Cape
N Very Light Yellow 5.0 5.0 - 5.49 Tinted color 2 Low Cape
O 5.5 5.5 - 5.99 8 5.51 - 7.0 Light yellow Cape Very light yellow
P 6.0 6.0 - 6.49 Light yellow
Q 6.5 6.5 - 6.99
R 7.0 7.0 - 7.49 9 7.01 - 8.5
Dark cape
S Light Yellow 7.5 7.5 - 7.99 Tinted color 3 Yellow
T 8.0 8.0 - 8.49
U 8.5 8.5 - 8.99 10 8.51 - 10.00
V 9.0 9.0 - 9.49
W 9.5 9.5 - 9.99
X 10.0 10 + 10+
Y
Z

"D" color has a unique "icy" look to it. Diamonds that rate toward the colorless end of the range are sometimes known as "high-color" diamonds, and those toward the other end, "low-color" diamonds. These terms refer to the relative desirability (as demonstrated by market prices) of color grades, not the intensity of the color itself.

[edit] Grading fancy color diamonds

Yellow or brown color diamonds having color more intense than "Z", as well as diamonds exhibiting color other than yellow or brown are considered fancy colored diamonds. These diamonds are graded using separate systems which indicate the characteristics of the color, and not just its presence. These color grading systems are more similar to those used for other colored gemstones, such as ruby, sapphire, or emerald, than they are to the system used for white diamonds.

diamond Colors

Possible colors
Main article: Diamond type
The Hope Diamond, 45.52 carats (9.104 g), Fancy Dark Grayish-Blue
The two-hundred-and-ninety-six gems of the Aurora Diamond Collection as exhibited in the Natural History Museum in London under natural light.

Diamonds occur in a variety of colors — steel gray, white, blue, yellow, orange, red, green, pink to purple, brown, and black. Colored diamonds contain interstitial impurities or structural defects that cause the coloration, whilst pure diamonds are perfectly transparent and colorless. Diamonds are scientifically classed into two main types and several subtypes, according to the nature of impurities present and how these impurities affect light absorption:

Type I diamond has nitrogen (N) atoms as the main impurity, commonly at a concentration of 0.1 percent. If the N atoms are in pairs they do not affect the diamond's color; these are Type IaA. If the N atoms are in large even-numbered aggregates they impart a yellow to brown tint (Type IaB). About 98 percent[citation needed] of gem diamonds are type Ia, and most of these are a mixture of IaA and IaB material: these diamonds belong to the Cape series, named after the diamond-rich region formerly known as Cape Province in South Africa, whose deposits are largely Type Ia. If the N atoms are dispersed throughout the crystal in isolated sites (not paired or grouped), they give the stone an intense yellow or occasionally brown tint (Type Ib); the rare canary diamonds belong to this type, which represents only 0.1 percent of known natural diamonds. Synthetic diamond containing nitrogen is Type Ib. Type I diamonds absorb in both the infrared and ultraviolet region, from 320 nm. They also have a characteristic fluorescence and visible absorption spectrum (see Optical properties of diamond).

Type II diamonds have no measurable nitrogen impurities. Type II diamonds absorb in a different region of the infrared, and transmit in the ultraviolet below 225 nm, unlike Type I diamonds. They also have differing fluorescence characteristics, but no discernible visible absorption spectrum. Type IIa diamond can be colored pink, red, or brown due to structural anomalies arising through plastic deformation during crystal growth—these diamonds are rare (1.8 percent of gem diamonds), but constitute a large percentage of Australian production. Type IIb diamonds, which account for 0.1 percent of gem diamonds, are usually a steely blue or grey due to scattered boron within the crystal matrix; these diamonds are also semiconductors, unlike other diamond types (see Electrical properties of diamond). However, an overabundance of hydrogen can also impart a blue color; these are not necessarily Type IIb.

Also not restricted to type are green diamonds, whose color is derived from exposure to varying quantities of radiation.

Diamond colours

Diamond Types

Diamond Types

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Diamonds Index

Fancy Coloured Diamonds are Very Rare


Uncut Diamonds of Many Colours

Diamond Types
Diamonds can be scientifically classified into 4 types, known as type 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b.
Diamonds are made of carbon, and are extremely pure, but in almost all diamonds there are tiny proportions of other elements, interspersed within the carbon as part of their crystal structure. These "impurities" are not what are known as inclusions, and are so small as to be invisible even under a very powerful microscope.
Type 1 Diamonds
Type 1 diamonds contain nitrogen. About 98% of all diamonds are type 1a


Type 1a
If the nitrogen atoms are clustered together within the carbon lattice, then the diamond is said to be a Type 1a diamond. Because these diamonds absorb blue light, they can have a pale yellow or brown color. 98% of diamonds are Type 1a.

Type 1b
If the nitrogen atoms are evenly spread out throughout the carbon lattice, then the diamond is said to be a Type 1b diamond. These diamonds absorb green light as well as blue light, and have a darker color than type 1a diamonds. Depending on the precise concentration and spread of the nitrogen atoms, these diamonds can appear deep yellow ("canary"), orange, brown or greenish. Less then 0.1% of diamonds belong to Type 1b.

Type 2
Type 2 are diamonds that absorbed no, or very few, nitrogen atoms.


Type 2a
These diamonds can be considered as the "purest of the pure" - they contain no, or minuscule amounts of impurities and are usually colorless. Unless, that is, the carbon tetrahedrons that make up the diamond were twisted and bent out of shape while the diamond rose to the surface of the earth. An imperfect carbon lattice will make the diamond absorb some light, which will give it a yellow, brown or even pink or red color. 1-2% of diamonds belong to Type 2a.

Type 2b
These diamonds contain no nitrogen - but they do contain boron, which absorbs red, orange and yellow light. These diamonds therefore usually appear to be blue, although they can also be grey or nearly colorless. All naturally blue diamonds belong to Type 2b, which makes up 0.1% of all diamonds.

Summary of Diamond Classification Type Prevalence Feature Colours
1a 98% Clustered Nitrogen Atoms Colourless, Yellow
1b 0.1% Scattered Nitrogen Atoms Yellow, Orange, Brown
2a 1 - 2% Highly Pure Carbon Colourless, Yellow, Brown, Pink, Purple
2b 0.1% Boron Atoms Blue, Gray


Green Diamonds
Green diamonds are a separate case: these diamonds can contain clustered nitrogen atoms or they can contain no nitrogen atoms - what gives them their color is that they have been bombarded by nuclear rays during their growth. This bombardment makes them absorb magenta wavelengths, which gives them their green color. These diamonds are extremely rare.

Type 1 or I, Type 2 or II
Some works cite the diamond types as Ia, Ib, IIa, and IIb, rather than 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b. As you can see, we have chosen to use Arabic numerals rather than Latin.