Artificial diamond: name, manufacture

Diamonds have attracted humanity since ancient times. The extraordinary beauty of these stones was the reason for their use to create different ornaments. However, later people discovered other useful properties of diamonds - their unique strength and hardness. To meet the needs of production, nature did not create much of this material, so people had an idea - to produce diamonds by artificial means.

The value of diamonds

Diamond is considered a unique stone with a rare combination of important characteristics: strong dispersion, high thermal conductivity, hardness, optical transparency, wear resistance. Due to their physical and mechanical properties, diamonds are highly valued not only by jewelry experts, but also widely used in various industries. So, this precious stone is used in medicine, optics and microelectronics.

But to fully meet the production needs of pure natural diamonds is very difficult and quite expensive. For this reason, humanity began to think about how to make an artificial diamond. Synthetic stone should not only have important properties of a real diamond, but also have a more perfect crystal structure, which is very important for high-tech areas.

How did synthetic diamonds arise?

The need to create a synthetic stone arose a long time ago. But in practice it was implemented only in the XX century. Until that time, scientists could not come up with the technology for making diamonds, although they managed to establish that they are relatives with ordinary carbon. And after several decades, the first synthetic diamond was created, which was obtained from graphite under the influence of high temperature and pressure by a phase transition. It was from this moment began the production of artificial diamonds, which are now used in many elements of different equipment and tools.

Diamond production technologies

Nowadays, several technologies are used to produce a synthetic stone, each of which has its own characteristics. The most reliable, but the most expensive technology is the production of diamond from crystalline carbon, which is placed for processing in a special press. First, water is supplied to the material being processed by powerful pumps. This creates a high pressure. Then the water freezes under the action of the coolant, as a result of which the pressure increases up to 10 times. At the last stage, the camera, in which the carbon is located, is connected to the electric buses and supplied with a powerful current for several fractions of a second. Under simultaneous exposure to temperature and pressure, graphite is converted into a solid stone. After this phase, the press is thawed, the liquid is poured off and the finished artificial diamond is removed.

Growing a diamond with methane

Still use a simpler technology for the production of synthetic stone - an explosion method that allows to build an artificial crystal under the influence of methane. Very often, the production of artificial diamonds occurs according to two technologies. The fact is that in the first case it is possible to get the highest percentage yield of diamonds, but they will be very small. The second technology allows to significantly increase the obtained synthetic stone by blowing methane at a temperature of about 1100 ° C. The explosion method makes it possible to obtain an artificial diamond of any size.

Types of artificial diamonds

Nowadays many varieties of synthetic diamonds are produced: fianit, moissanite, rhinestone, ferroelectric, rutile, falulite, cerussite. The most perfect fake diamond is fianit, or a cube of zirconium. It is a zirconia dioxide. Therefore, many people have repeatedly heard what an artificial diamond called zircon is called. Although it has nothing to do with the natural expensive stone.

Fianit is characterized by high hardness, high degree of dispersion and refraction. Due to its properties, this stone perfectly imitates a real diamond and is widely used in the jewelry industry. Even experts with the naked eye can not practically distinguish a fake from the original, because they play the same.

The most qualitative analogue of diamond is moissanite. It has the same physical properties as natural stone, and it is even better by optical parameters. Its only drawback is that it is inferior in hardness.

Particularly popular are the rhinestones made from lead glass, which consists of lead oxide. Due to their composition, these stones are amazingly played in the light and have a shine identical to the brilliance of diamonds.

Where synthetic diamonds are used

Artificial diamond is widely used by jewelry factories to manufacture luxury jewelry that not only looks beautiful, but is also very affordable. Products with fake stones look no worse and excellently worn.

Also, the cultivation of artificial diamonds is an integral part of modern industry. On their basis, heavy-duty tools are produced: grinding wheels, diamond saws, polishing disks, chisels, drills, scalpels, knives, various incisors and tweezers. Techniques and equipment made of diamond material allow processing of the most durable alloys and raw materials. In addition, the diamond provides maximum accuracy in machines and devices.

How to create an artificial diamond at home

Some experts say that it is possible to grow a synthetic diamond at home. But the independent manufacture of artificial diamonds will require a lot of effort and time. We will tell you how to grow a mineral from salt, outwardly resembling a diamond.

So, to create such a stone you will need boiled water, salt, chemical utensils, a clean sheet of paper and a laboratory filter. First you need to prepare a small crystal. To do this, fill the beaker 1/5 part with salt, pour half warm water and mix. If it is dissolved, then you need to pour a little more. Salt should be added until it ceases to dissolve. Then the solution is filtered into another vessel, in which the stone will grow, and cover with paper. All the time you need to monitor the level of the solution. The stone should not be in the air. If the solution has evaporated, it is necessary to prepare a new one and top up.

People who have done such experiments say that during the week a home-made artificial diamond should grow considerably.

Cost of artificial diamond

In the modern world, synthetic stones have taken a separate segment of the jewelry market. The production of artificial diamonds is constantly being improved. Scientists invent new stones that instantly gain mass popularity, while older ones lose demand and gradually disappear from the market. For example, in the middle of the 20th century, an artificial rutile was inserted to imitate diamonds in ornaments. Then it was replaced with fianit. And in the 90's. All previous imitations of the diamond superseded moissanite.

Prices for artificial diamonds depend on the size, cut and production technology. Many people mistakenly believe that synthetic stones are ordinary glass, and do not see any value in them. But in fact, such diamonds often cost a lot of money, and some of them are quite rare. Thus, other varieties of artificial diamonds may cost more than natural analogs.

Among synthetic diamonds, the most popular are cubic zirconia of different colors. Their average cost per carat in a faceted form varies from 1 to 5 US dollars. A well-known diamond analogue of moissanite is much more expensive - 70-150 US dollars per carat.

Significant factors in the formation of the price of stones is the color. So, the cost of a diamond of yellow color is 40-50 dollars for 0.2 carats, but for a stone of orange-pink color depending on the size it is necessary to pay about 3000 dollars.

World leaders

In recent years, the world leaders in the production of synthetic stones are China, Japan, the US and Russia. China is actively developing this direction, constantly inventing new synthesis technologies.