Did you guess which crystal is the diamond?

Click here to return to the linked post on another blog.

Which one is the real diamond?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Number 6 is the diamond.

It’s uncut and is only industrial quality so isn’t  worth much but it is a diamond.

Let’s look at each crystal and learn a little about them.

1. Smoky Quartz (cut)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) –  silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)

It is a type of quartz. The grey to black colour comes from free silicon in the crystal.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 

2. Amethyst  (uncut)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) –  silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)

It is a type of quartz. Its colour comes from quartz being irradiated (exposed to radiation) and having iron (Fe) in it.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Amethysts in a geode.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 

3. Peridot (cut)

(Mg, Fe)2SiO4 –  magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)

Like quartz, peridot is a silicate (has silicon and oxygen) but also has magnesium and iron. Can you see it has 4 Oxygen rather than 2 for quartz?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

4. Fluorite or fluorspar (uncut)

Calcium fluoride (CaF2) – calcium (Ca) and fluorine (F)

I must try to get a photo of this crystal in ultraviolet light because it is said to be very colourful under UV, that is it reflects UV light.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

5. Cubic Zirconia (cut)

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) – zirconium (Zr) and oxygen (O)

This crystal isn’t natural. Cubic zirconia is made and can come in a number of colours. It does look like a diamond.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

and under the flash from a camera

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

6. Diamond (uncut)

Carbon (C)

Diamonds are pure carbon although they can be different colours if defects or impurities are in them…

Blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (with defects like mine), green (exposed to radiation) as well as purple, pink, orange and red.

Did you know diamond can break down (VERY slowly) to graphite (the grey stuff in pencils)? Diamond and graphite are forms of carbon.

Diamonds are formed deep underground at about 140 to 190 kilometres  (87 to 118 miles) down and can take 1 to 3.3 billion years to form. Volcanic eruptions can bring them to the surface in magma.

We now also have artificial (human made) diamonds but I don’t think they are quite as hard as natural diamond.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

7. Quartz  (uncut but polished in a tumbler)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) – Siilicon (Si) and Oxygen (O)

This is quartz just like smoky quartz and amethyst but tends to be colourless.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 

8. Amethyst (cut)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) –  silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)

It is a type of quartz. Its colour comes from quartz being irradiated (exposed to radiation) and having iron (Fe) in it.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

9. Citrine (cut)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) –  silicon (Si) and oxygen (O)

It is a type of quartz. Iron (Fe) impurities give it the yellow colour.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Click on here to go back to linked post on another blog.

 

2 thoughts on “Did you guess which crystal is the diamond?

    • Most would think it’s 5 because they come to expect diamonds to look well cut and shiny. I wanted to buy a diamond people wouldn’t expect so bought the industrial quality diamond much cheaper than it would have been if 5 had been the diamond. If 5 had been real, it would have been worth thousands of dollars.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *