Reported February 2007

BACKGROUND: The growing availability of cultured "man-made" diamonds to consumers is helping to bring down the overall cost of the gems, especially colored versions, such as yellow diamonds, which rarely occur in nature. For instance, Gemesis, a company in Sarasota, Fla., makes cultured diamonds that are nearly identical to natural stones; the differences can only be distinguished by using cutting-edge laboratory equipment.

ABOUT DIAMOND: Diamond is a crystalline form of pure carbon that forms under intense heat and pressure -- conditions found in volcanic pipes, for example, or when meteors strike the earth and create shock zones of high pressure and temperature. Diamond is the hardest known naturally occurring material, which is why it is popular for cutting and grinding tools, such as diamond-tipped drill bits or saws. Cultured diamonds are formed in the same way as natural mined gems, except they are created in a heavy steel chamber about the size of a washing machine. Lumps of carbon/coal are placed in a globe-shaped chamber, which is then sealed before raising the internal heat and pressure to the same conditions required to compress diamond.

MELTING DIAMOND: Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories use strong acoustic shock waves to melt diamond. Diamond is one of the toughest substances known, but when it encounters acoustic shock waves with strengths between 6 Megabars and 10 Megabars, the result is a mixture of molten carbon and solid diamond. Melting diamond completely requires shock waves stronger than 10 million times earth's atmospheric pressure. The shock wave transfers large amounts of energy to the diamond material when it strikes, increasing not just the pressure, but also the temperature. If the shock wave is powerful enough, the temperature will get so high, the diamond will begin to melt into liquid carbon.

The Materials Research Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Britta Schlager
Media Relations
The Gemesis Corporation
Sarasota, FL 34240
(941) 907-9889
bschlager@gemesis.com

Materials Research Society
506 Keystone Drive
Warrendale, PA 15086-7573
(724) 779-3003

FACTOID...

The blue-tinted Hope Diamond, housed in the Smithsonian since 1958, was once believed to be cursed, because its owners throughout the years suffered poverty and untimely deaths of close family members. It originally belonged to King Louis XIV of France, but was stolen during the French Revolution.

ON THE WEB...

Gemesis Cultured Diamonds