Q-Carbon, A Product That Is Harder Than Diamonds

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Discover Magazine: Q-carbon Puts Diamonds in Second Place

Long ago, ancient scientists attempted to master the craft of alchemy, or the mythical process of turning lead into gold. Alchemy has since been proven to be a hopeless task, but modern scientists have successfully unlocked the secrets to an even more stunning transformation: turning carbon, the basic building block of life, into diamonds.

A new, simple carbon-transforming technique that uses a laser to produce tiny diamond “seeds” is yielding even more sparkling results. Researchers, in a new study, used their method to create an entirely new phase of carbon that surpasses even diamonds in terms of hardness, and the new material could have a number of applications in medical and industrial fields.

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CSN Editor: The applications are endless.

Unique And Rare Diamond Up For Sale

Rare Royal Diamond Up For Sale -- The Telegraph

An extremely rare, aristocratic Beau Sancy diamond, which has passed through the royal families of France, England, Prussia and the Netherlands' House of Orange, is to go up for auction at Sotheby's.

The stone, a 35-carat modified 'pear double rose cut' diamond belonging to Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia and head of the former ruling dynasty of the German empire, is expected to fetch betweem $2m (£1.24m) and $4m (£2.47m).

Chairman of Sotheby's jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, David Bennett, who sold a pink diamond for $46.2m (£28.5m) in 2010 which was a record for any jewel at auction, said estimating the value of a stone like the Beau Sancy was difficult given its rarity.

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My Comment: The history of diamond goes back 500 years .... the stories that it can tell.

The Economics Of Engagement Rings

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The Strange (and Formerly Sexist) Economics of Engagement Rings -- The Atlantic

Diamonds are forever, but the meaning of the diamond engagement ring has changed dramatically in the last century. Today's symbol of love was once something more like virginity insurance.

Why do men buy diamond rings for our fiancées? There's the emotional story. We enjoy making grand gestures of commitment to the people we love. Behind that, there's the marketing story. DeBeers' historic ad campaign, crafted by the real-life mad men at N.W. Ayers, convinced generations of lovers that diamond bands were synonymous with eternal devotion. But behind that, there is economic story that is just as important and fascinating.

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My Comment: Gone down this road .... and yes .... never again.

Now THAT'S An Engagement Ring!

Groundbreaking: This extraordinary creation claims to be 'the world's first diamond ring'

Now THAT'S An Engagement Ring! Jeweller's $70m Diamond Sparkler Cut Entirely From One 150-Carat Rock -- Daily Mail

A Swiss jewellery company has created a ring made from one enormous chunk of diamond.

Shawish Jewellery, a company based in Geneva, unveiled what they have billed as ‘the world’s first diamond ring’.

The 150-carat ring has been valued at around $70million and took one year to construct.

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My Comment: $70 million for a rock .... albeit a diamond one .... I have only one word for that .... ouchhh!!!!!

Australia's Largest Rough Pink Diamond Unearthed

Unearthed in Western Australia, the Argyle Pink Jubilee is a rare pink diamond (Image: Rio Tinto)

Australia's Largest Rough Pink Diamond Unearthed -- BBC

An Australian mining company says it has found a 12.76-carat pink diamond, the largest rough pink diamond found in the country.

The rare diamond was found at Rio Tinto's Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia's East Kimberly region.

Estimated to be worth millions, it has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee, and is being cut and polished in Perth.

It will be sold later this year after being shown around the world, including in New York and Hong Kong.

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Update: 'Unprecedented' 12.76 carat pink diamond worth £7 million mined -- The Telegraph

Mysterious, Rare Red Diamond On Display

The Kazanjian Red Diamond, one of only three red diamonds of more than five carats, is on display at the American Museum of Natural History. Credit: AMNH/D. Finnin.

From Live Science:

NEW YORK — Among colored diamonds, red is particularly rare, and mysterious, since no one knows for certain the origin of the color within the stone.

One of the three known red diamonds weighing more than 5 carats (1 gram), an emerald-cut stone about the size of a small fingertip rests against a gray background in an American Museum of Natural History display case. This stone, known as the Kazanjian Red Diamond, has a dark hue resembling that of a garnet or a ruby, and in its nearly century-long history, it has been mistaken for the latter.

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Triangular Blue Diamond Expected to Draw $15 Million

Photo credit: Christie's Images LTD.

From Discovery News:

The auction house, Christie's will soon be offering a two-stone ring featuring an extremely rare triangular-shaped blue diamond paired with a white diamond on a gold band. The auction for the BVLGARI diamonds could bring a cool $15 million.

The 10.95-carat blue diamond is the largest of its kind ever to come to auction, according to Christie's.

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Most Flawless Diamonds Ever Are Meant for Lasers, Not Rings

More Flawless Diamonds Diamonds are a laser's best friend ... at least diamonds better than this Wikimedia

From Popular Science:

Scientists need the diamonds to build the next generation of X-ray lasers .

Powerful X-ray lasers may allow scientists to image tiny drug molecules or even precisely target cancer cells, but the lasers require extremely high-quality mirrors to function well. Now researchers have created a nearly-flawless diamond that can do the job, according to Discovery News.

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Diamonds Are A Girl's Toughest Friend

This time-integrated photograph shows the high-powered laser shot at the diamond target (center), which is surrounded by several instruments. The bright white light is plasma. At just over 1 million atmospheres of pressure the diamond failed. Credit: Eugene Kowaluk/LLE

From Live Science:

We've all heard that diamonds can cut through glass, but now scientists have found Earth's hardest solid can withstand pressures just over a million atmospheres before getting crushed.

For comparison, the pressure at the center of Earth is about 3.5 million atmospheres, according to the researchers. One atmosphere is the natural pressure of air at sea-level. And the human body can withstand about 27 atmospheres, if it's applied gradually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Diamonds Become Stronger When Squeezed Rapidly Under Extreme Conditions

Time-integrated photograph of an OMEGA laser shot (43633) to measure high-pressure diamond strength. The diamond target is at the center, surrounded by various diagnostics. The bright white light is ablated plasma, and radial yellow lines are tracks of hot target fragments very late in time. (Credit: Photo by Eugene Kowaluk/LLE)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 27, 2010) — Most people know that diamond is one of the hardest solids on Earth, so strong that it can easily cut through glass and steel.

Surprisingly, very little is known about the strength of diamond at extreme conditions. But new research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists shows that diamond becomes even stronger during rapid compression.

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