Modern Era

Fancy colored diamonds have become so popular that a way has been found to treat natural diamonds in a lab to change its color. Heat pressure high temperature diamond treatment (HPHT) is the most common type of treatment to create fancy colored diamonds. This process heats the diamond to 3600 degrees Fahrenheit while the diamond is under high pressure 60,000 atmospheres just as it would in nature. The heat combined...

Clarity enhancements are treatments to a natural diamond that improves clarity. I will be writing about laser drilling to remove inclusions and sealants to fill cracks. Laser Drilling Laser drilling which has occurred since the 1980’s is used to laser into a diamond to create access to a diamond’s inclusion. The laser drills a small hole through the diamond to an inclusion. It is then placed in sulfuric acid to...

Antwerp diamond center is contained in two square miles. It contains 1500 diamond companies. Specialized banks, transport companies and brokers are always under high security alert. Photography is limited in the district but there is constant video surveillance. Antwerp provides a major diamond trade though out the world. In fact, more than 50% of the world’s “consumption of rough, polished and industrial diamonds at some point passes through Antwerp”. It...

The Idol’s Eye diamond weighs 70.21 carats and is described as a “blue white Golconda diamond”. Golconda is a mine in India known for its colorless and inclusion free diamonds. These diamonds are so rare that they would today probably only be seen at a Christie’s or another well-known auction house. The Idol’s Eye diamond is shaped like a combination old mine cut and triangular brilliant possessing a “slight bluish...