Post subject: Reddish-Maroon Impact Melt - Carbonado Diamond Perhaps?
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:39 am
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:22 am Posts: 5
This rock has the texture of certain carbonados diamonds as described by well known Carbonado researcher Professor Stephen Haggerty of Florida International University. My specimen is not iron slag or furnace slag or hematite. It is extremely coherent and measures approximately 10x7 centimeters. This beautiful rock is unlike anything i have ever seen. Please offer some feedback with explanations. Thank You!
PS: 2 photos are of my rock, the other from Professor Haggerty's publication. Not sure of their order when this thread is posted. Please also post this as new standalone thread.
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I don't think anything about the texture of the rock is particularly indicative of a melted surface. That's not to say it couldn't be but I wouldn't bet on it either.
Post subject: Re: Reddish-Maroon Impact Melt - Carbonado Diamond Perhaps?
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:59 pm
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
Bill Hanneman wrote:
thomas.adamas wrote:
Bill Hanneman wrote:
How about hardness?
What device readily available to consumers would accurately measure that?
Emery Paper
You're speculating here, Bill. I have seen impact abrasion on the junctions and meets of diamonds after setters aggressively finished the prongs with alumina discs. Cleavage of diamond is a real phenomena that occurs far more often than scratching. I made a living from that vulnerability for the last 35 years.
Bill Hanneman wrote:
Barbra Voltaire wrote:
Good point Thomas. Don't try to scratch your unknown, Pristine, with your diamond solitaire.
Just use a bit of syn. sapphire or ruby. With natural minerals, knowing what one's sample IS NOT is a good way to start.
Except you cannot definitively rule out a mineral on the basis of abrasion by emery paper.
Post subject: Re: Reddish-Maroon Impact Melt - Carbonado Diamond Perhaps?
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:30 am
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:22 am Posts: 5
Hello All!
Thanks for your replies... My apologies for not responding earlier. I once attempted to have a rock ID'd at GIA in NYC 47th Street diamond district. After I paid the $150 fee (including $75 for 2 day expediting). After I had to wait for a whole week for the results, the rock was identified as a feldspar with other unknown minerals. I asked for an explanation as to how GIA conducts its testing procedures, and after ten minutes, a man from the lab wearing a white lab coat sat down with me and explained that they use a new million dollar laser machine to ID specimens. I asked for a printout of the results from this analysis, and he refused to comply with my request. It seemed to me that I was being given the runaround, like I was an outsider. It was a big waste of my time and money. I was very disappointed at this very unprofessional service by that "esteemed" institution. I do not have testing equipment, and I feel insecure in again seeking out professional gemology expertise.
I have researched extensively about minerals, gemstones, meteorites, geology. I have other specimens and have taken a lot of photos of them. I have downloaded countless images of Apollo missions return samples and Lunar and Martian surface rocks and known identified meteorites posted online. I have painstakingly cropped and edited many many poor quality (NASA photo-shopped) images to bring out the hidden details. Many of the rocks in those images correspond strikingly to a variety of my rocks. I mostly ignore the images of supposed meteorites (the NWAs such as "found" in hostile regions like Oman, Libya and other North West Africa areas. I have some large rocks which are of solid translucent crystalline material, images of which i would gladly share in later thread postings. The 2 images of the red specimen that I previously posted somehow became somewhat blurry, so now I upload 3 more. Thank You again for your advice and comments.
BTW: Can anyone share any images of diamond rough as found (before any polishing or cutting)? I have been frustrated in finding decent images online of what a raw diamond really looks like. Are raw diamonds found with a dull coating? Do they have pores? Can one see cleavage in a raw stone?
Post subject: Re: Reddish-Maroon Impact Melt - Carbonado Diamond Perhaps?
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:56 pm
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm Posts: 21600 Location: San Francisco
Again. Most jewelry stores have a thermal diamond tester. Make some calls and see if any of them will help you out. The test would take 5 minutes. 4 of which are making sure the tester heats up properly.
As far as someone identifying a specimen of yours and charging $150, that seems very fair.
The GIA is able to give you results because the technicians have the education and experience to correctly interpret the results of very sophisticated spectrographic equipment. The technicians working for the GIA in colored stone identification have doctorate degrees in chemistry, physics and mineralogy. What do you think there expertise should cost?
If you go to a physician and get a diagnosis, how much information are you going to be given on all the instruments used to determine the results?
Post subject: Re: Reddish-Maroon Impact Melt - Carbonado Diamond Perhaps?
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 3:48 pm
Moderator: Lapidary Diamonds
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:32 pm Posts: 1747 Location: Florida, United States
The methods and equipment GIA uses for gemstone identification have all been documented in articles published in the GIA magazine, Gems and Gemology. The GIA technician has the job to identify gem materials, not tutor customers, although I think he should have referred you to a couple magazine articles so you could find the answers you want.
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