637 - Diamond

ID	637
Mineral	Diamond
Location	Northern Yakutia - Russia
Fluorescence	LW-UV: close SW-UV: close
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ID	1282
Long ID	1:1:1282:5
Formula	`C`
IMA Status	APPROVED GRANDFATHERED
Description	Diamond is the hardest natural substance known. It is formed deep in the mantle and is only brought to the surface via kimberlite pipes, lamprophyres, eclogites and other rocks that originate deep within the mantle. It is also found in alluvial deposit...
Other Occurrences	Deep mantle-derived rocks such as kimberlites, lamprophyres, and others. With decreasing pressure, the diamonds dissolve back into the rock. To occur and survive in a metastable state at the surface they must arrive from depth quickly and very often crystals show dissolution features because the transport to the surface is not quick enough. Since diamond is extremely hard, it survives in alluvia.
Industrial	Cutting and grinding due to extreme hardness. Used for the windows on the Venera spacecraft to photograph Venus' surface.
Diapheny	Transparent,Translucent,Opaque
Cleavage	Perfect octahedral {111}
Tenacity	brittle
Colour	Colourless, yellowish to yellow, brown, black, blue, green or red, pink, champagne-tan, cognac-brown, lilac (very rare)
Hardness (min)	10.0
Hardness (max)	10.0
Luminescence	Some stones fluoresce pale blue, green, yellow, and, rarely, red.
Lustre	Adamantine
About the name	From Greek "adamas", 'invincible'. First known use by Manlius (A.D. 16) and Pliny (A.D. 100).
Streak	none
Crystal System	Isometric
Cleavage Type	Perfect
Fracture type	Irregular/Uneven
Morphology	Octahedral crystals, also dodecahedrons, cubes, tetrahedral. Often has curved faces.
Twinning	Spinel-type twinning on {111} (Slawson, 1950).
UV	Some - blue, also phosphorescent
Thermal Behaviour	Greatest thermal conductivity known. A sizeable stone held in the hand feels cold, hence the slang name "ice".
shortcode_ima	Dia

Diamond

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