How Diamonds Work

On your next trip to the local shopping mall, stop by one of the jewelry stores. Notice the diamond
jewelry that takes up the majority of the showcase and the number of people hovering over the
counters trying to pick out diamonds for their loved ones. There will surely be a salesperson explaining
the "4 Cs" -- cut,clarity, carat and color -- to a young shopper, and explaining why one diamond is better
than the one right next to it. Why all the fuss over diamonds?

A diamond is just carbon in its most concentrated form. That's it -- carbon, the element that makes up
18 percent of the weight of your body. In many countries, including the United States and Japan, there is
no other gemstone as cherished as the diamond, but in truth, diamonds are no rarer than many other
precious gems. They continue to demand higher market prices because the majority of the diamond
market is controlled by a single entity.

In this article, we will track a diamond from the time it is formed to when it reaches the Earth's surface.
We will also examine the artificial rarity created by the diamond cartel, De Beers, and briefly discuss the
properties of these gems.
Carbon and Kimberlite

Carbon is one of the most common elements in the world and is one of the four essentials for the
existence of life. Humans are more than 18 percent carbon. The air we breathe contains traces of
carbon. When occurring in nature, carbon exists in three basic forms:

• Diamond - an extremely hard, clear crystal

• Graphite - A soft, black mineral made of pure carbon. The molecular structure is not as compact
as diamond's, which makes it weaker than diamond.

• Fullerite - A mineral made of perfectly spherical molecules consisting of exactly 60 carbon

atoms. This allotrope was discovered in 1990.

Diamonds form about 100 miles (161 km) below the Earth's surface, in the molten rock of the Earth's
mantle, which provides the right amounts of pressure and heat to transform carbon into diamond. In
order for a diamond to be created, carbon must be placed under at least 435,113 pounds per square
inch (psi or 30 kilo bars) of pressure at a temperature of at least 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 Celsius). If
conditions drop below either of these two points, graphite will be created. At depths of 93 miles (150
km) or more, pressure builds to about 725,189 psi (50 kilo bars) and heat can exceed 2,192 F (1,200 C).
Most diamonds that we see today were formed millions (if not billions) of years ago. Powerful magma
eruptions brought the diamonds to the surface, creating kimberlite pipes.
Kimberlite is named after Kimberley, South Africa, where these pipes were first found. Most of these
eruptions occurred between 1,100 million and 20 million years ago.

Kimberlite pipes are created as magma flows through deep fractures in the Earth. The magma inside the
kimberlite pipes acts like an elevator, pushing the diamonds and other rocks and minerals through the
mantle and crust in just a few hours. These eruptions were short, but many times more powerful
thanvolcanic eruptions that happen today. The magma in these eruptions originated at depths three
times deeper than the magma source for volcanoes like Mount St. Helens, according to the American
Museum of Natural History.

The magma eventually cooled inside these kimberlite pipes, leaving behind conical veins of kimberlite
rock that contain diamonds. Kimberlite is a bluish rock that diamond miners look for when seeking out
new diamond deposits. The surface area of diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes ranges from 2 to 146
hectares (5 to 361 acres).

Diamonds may also be found in river beds, which are called alluvial diamond sites. These are diamonds
that originate in kimberlite pipes, but get moved by geological activity. Glaciers and water can also move
diamonds thousands of miles from their original location. Today, most diamonds are found in Australia,
Borneo, Brazil, Russia and several African countries, including South Africa and Zaire.

These rough stones will become dazzling diamonds after they are cut and polished.

The Properties of Diamonds

Diamonds are found as rough stones and must be processed to create a sparkling gem that is ready for
purchase.

As mentioned before, diamonds are the crystallized form of carbon created under extreme heat and
pressure. It's this same process that makes diamonds the hardest mineral we know of. A diamond ranks
a 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. The Mohs Scale is used to determine the hardness of solids, especially
minerals. It is named after the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Here's the scale, from softest to
hardest:

1. Talc - easily scratched by the fingernail

2. Gypsum - just scratched by the fingernail

 3. Calcite - scratches and is scratched by a copper coin

4. Fluorite - not scratched by a copper coin and does not scratch glass

5. Apatite - just scratches glass and is easily scratched by a knife

6. Orthoclase - easily scratches glass and is just scratched by a file

7. Quartz - (amethyst, citrine, tiger's-eye, aventurine) not scratched by a file

8. Topaz - scratched only by corundum and diamond

9. Corundum - (sapphires and rubies) scratched only by a diamond

10. Diamond - scratched only by another diamond

Researchers had determined diamonds from a crater in Arizona were formed by a meteorite. In addition
to its size and heat, the meteorite had one other significant component: metal. GE scientists reasoned
that they could make diamonds using a smaller-scale meteorite crash in a laboratory. They combined
carbon atoms with the liquid metal troilite and added heat and pressure. The result? A crystallization of
diamonds. To learn more about the experiment, read NOVA's transcript of "The Diamond Deception
[source: NOVA].

Even though diamond is only one level higher on the scale than corundum, diamond can be anywhere
from 10 to hundreds of times harder than this class of gems.

It is the molecular structure of diamonds that makes them so hard. Diamonds are made of carbon
atoms linked together in a lattice structure. Each carbon atom shares electrons with four other carbon
atoms, forming a tetrahedral unit. This tetrahedral bonding of five carbon atoms forms an incredibly
strong molecule. Graphite, another form of carbon, isn't as strong as diamond because the carbon
atoms in graphite link together in rings, where each atom is only linked to one other atom.

PROJECT SUPERPRESSURE

Diamond's natural hardness makes it an ideal cutting tool for military materials like airplane
components and armor. The United States found itself totally reliant on South Africa to supply the
diamonds for its industrial tools, so after World War II ended, U.S. industry began a massive effort to
engineer its own diamonds.

In 1951, General Electric (GE) launched Project Super pressure. In this experiment, GE attempted to
create diamonds from graphite by applying massive amounts of pressure and heat in machines called
diamond presses. When the diamond presses failed to produce diamonds, GE went back to the drawing
board using a meteorite for inspiration.
Cutting Diamonds

There are special techniques that are used to cut and shape a diamond before it gets to the jewelry
store. Diamond cutters use these four basic techniques:

1. Cleaving - To cut a rough diamond down to a manageable size, the cutter must cleave it along
the diamond's tetrahedral plane, where it is the weakest. A wax or cement mold holds the
diamond in place while the cutter carves a sharp groove along the plane. The cutter places a
steel blade in the groove and forcefully strikes it, cutting the rough diamond in two.

1. Sawing - Sometimes, diamonds have to be cut where there is no plane of weakness, which
cannot be done with cleaving. Instead, the cutter saws the diamond using a phosphor-bronze
blade rotating at about 15,000 rpm. Lasers can also be used to saw diamonds, but the process
takes hours. During the sawing step, the cutter decides which parts of the diamond will become
the table (the flat top of the stone with the greatest surface area) and the girdle (the outside
rim of the diamond at the point of largest diameter). Then, he proceeds to cutting.

2. Bruiting/Cutting - This technique gives diamonds their shape. When diamonds are cut by hand,
the technique is called bruiting -- cutting refers to bruiting by machine. When the cutter shapes
diamonds by hand, he relies on the diamond's hardness as his tool -- he uses diamonds to cut
diamonds. He uses a small, stick-like instrument with a cement-filled bowl at the tip to hold the
diamond. The diamond is inserted in cement with just one corner exposed. Using one of these
sticks in each hand, the cutter rubs the exposed diamond parts together to bruit them. In the
mechanical process, the diamond is placed in a lathe, and another diamond in the lathe rubs
against it to create the rough finish of the girdle.
 1. Polishing - To create the diamond's finished look, the cutter places it onto the arm above a
rotating polishing wheel. The wheel is coated with an abrasive diamond powder that smoothes
the diamond as it is pressed against the wheel.

The Four Cs

Diamonds are judged on several factors that determine their beauty. Most diamonds never reach the
consumer market because they are too flawed. Often, these diamonds are used for industrial purposes -
- as an abrasive, for drill bits or for cutting diamonds and other gems. If you've ever purchased a
diamond, you've heard of the "4 Cs:"

1. Cut - This refers to a diamond's geometric proportions and how it has been cut. When a
diamond is cut, facets are created and the diamond's finished shape is determined.

2. Clarity - This is the measurement of a diamond's flaws, or inclusions that are seen in the
diamond. Clarity levels begin with Flawless and move down to Very Very Slight (VVS), Very Slight
(VS) and Slightly Included (SI).

3. Carat - This is the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to about 200 milligrams.

4. Color - In referring to transparent diamonds, the color scale runs from D to Z, beginning with Icy
White -- the color of the most expensive transparent diamonds -- and ending with a light yellow.
Other unique qualities of the diamond include its transparency, luster and dispersion of light. A
diamond that is created from 100-percent carbon will be completely transparent. Diamonds often
contain other elements that can affect their color. Although we often think of diamonds as being clear,
there are also blue, red, black, pale green, pink and violet diamonds. These natural colored diamonds
are the truly rare ones, and thereby can sometimes be the most costly.

Diamonds are made in the molten magma deep inside the Earth. Only nature can create diamonds, but
it is people who have created the artificial rarity that has spurred demand for these gems. Carbon is one
of the most common elements in the world, and diamonds are a form of carbon. Naturally occurring
diamonds are no rarer than many other precious gems. The truly rare transparent diamonds are those
rated as flawless, meaning that they don't have the slightest imperfection.

Diamonds were not always so popular with the American public, and they were not always so pricey. A
diamond placed in a mounting on a ring has a markup of about 100 percent to 200 percent. The only
reason why we pay so much more for diamonds today than for other precious gems is because the
diamond market is controlled almost entirely by a single diamond cartel, called De Beers Consolidated
Mines, Ltd., which is based in South Africa.

De Beers stockpiles diamonds mined from countries around the world and releases a limited number of
diamonds for sale each year. De Beers produces half of the world's diamond supply and controls about
two-thirds of the entire world market, according to a Washington Post report. At times, just to keep
prices up, De Beers has bought tremendous numbers of diamonds from countries attempting to inject
large quantities into the market. If De Beers were a U.S.-based company, it would be in violation
of antitrust laws for fixing the prices of diamonds.

Marketing Diamonds

The secret to De Beers' success is a marketing campaign that has permeated our culture --convincing
every woman that she should receive a diamond ring from her fiancé and convincing each groom-to-be
to pay "two-months salary" for that ring to show how much his love is worth.

Prior to the 1930s, diamond rings were rarely given as engagement rings. Opals, rubies, sapphires and
turquoise were deemed much more exotic gems to give as tokens of one's love, according to the book
"Twenty Ads that Shook the World" by James B. Twitch ell. Twitch ell goes on to describe how De Beers
changed the world diamond market.

This idea of connecting diamonds to romance was captured in a brilliant ad campaign begun in the
1940s, causing demand for diamonds to increase. Surely you've heard the De Beers advertisement
that "A Diamond is Forever." This ad campaign, which was created by the N.W. Ayer advertising agency
in 1947, transformed the diamond market. In 2000, Advertising Age magazine named the ad campaign
the slogan of the 20th century. De Beers infiltrated Japan with the same ad campaign in the 1960s, and
the Japanese public bought into the idea as much as the Americans did.
Later ads by De Beers told consumers to hold onto their family's diamond jewelry and to cherish it as
heirlooms -- and it worked. This eliminated the aftermarket for diamonds, which further enabled De
Beers to control the market. Without people selling their diamonds back to jewelers or to other people,
the demand for new diamonds increased.

There are fewer than 200 people or companies authorized to buy rough diamonds from De Beers. These
people are called sight holders, and they purchase the diamonds through the Central Selling
Organization (CSO), a subsidiary of De Beers that markets about 70 percent to 80 percent of the world's
diamonds. De Beers sells a parcel of rough diamonds to a sight holder, who in turn sends the diamonds
to cutting facilities and then to distributors.

Some rough diamonds are sold outside the CSO. These diamonds come from small producers in
Australia, Russia and some African countries. The cost of these diamonds is still largely influenced by the
prices set by the CSO.

Diamonds are the most coveted of all precious gems, as is witnessed by the extremely high demand for
them. While this has not always been the case, diamonds are nonetheless exquisite gems that go
through a long, tedious refining process from the time they are pulled from the ground to when you see
them in the jewelry store. And, while some of the mystique of diamonds may be gone -- they're just
carbon, after all, the diamond will likely continue to be a highly coveted jewel, because, well, "A
Diamond is forever."

But, as the saying goes, beauty often comes at a price. And, sometimes, that price goes beyond the
financial realm. In the next section, we'll examine some of the biggest controversies in the diamond
industry.

Diamond Controversy

If you've ever shopped for a diamond, you know that weighing the 4 Cs is hard enough without having to
think about the diamond trade. But ethically speaking, a diamond's origins can be your most important
consideration. Perhaps the biggest controversy facing the diamond trade today is conflict diamonds.
These stones are also known as blood diamonds because of the bloodshed to obtain them.

A conflict diamond has been stolen or illegally mined and then sold to raise money for rebel militia or
terrorist groups. These groups earn money for weapons by forcing men, women and children to dig for
diamonds. Anyone who protests is killed or threatened by having a limb cut off. Most conflict diamonds
come from Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone. If
you don't shop carefully, you could be buying one of these stones.

Conflict diamonds are smuggled into the diamond trade along with legitimate diamonds. The United
Nations (UN), the Conflict Free Diamond Council and other groups are working toward better
regulation so that conflict diamonds don't make it to the market. These groups have instituted
the Kimberley Process, which monitors and certifies a diamond at every point of its production process.
Because of the Kimberley Process, the UN estimates that 99.8 percent of diamonds on the market now
are conflict-free [source: National Geographic]. Before you purchase a diamond, you can request to see
its conflict-free certificate -- in the future, the UN will also require diamonds to have laser engraving and
optical signatures, and to be entirely produced within a single country.

Conflict diamonds are not the only controversy darkening the diamond trade: human- and animal-rights
issues run rampant in India as well as certain countries in Africa. In some African countries, miners use
children to dig in tight, underground spaces where men and woman can't fit, even though child labor is
illegal. The mining towns in these African countries also have steadily increasing murder and HIV
infection rates as a result of trespassing and sex trade. In India, where 92 percent of the world's smaller
diamonds are cut, children are given the smallest stones to work with because their eyes and fingers are
better suited for seeing and shaping tiny facets [source: MSN]. Severe eyestrain, repetitive motion
injuries and lung infections from inhaling diamond dust are just a few conditions that affect these
workers.

Animal-rights activists have just as much at stake in diamond industry regulation as human-rights
organizations. According to the Animal Welfare Institute, African primate populations are dwindling -- in
15 to 20 years, apes will become extinct. The chimpanzee population has declined to only 150,000, and
with 600 gorillas being poached yearly, they're facing extinction as well. The dwindling primate
population may be partly attributed to poaching, but not all poaching is for sport. Some hungry diamond
miners with no other food source depend on these animals for survival.

Next, we'll delve into diamond history to learn about the discovery of some truly extraordinary
diamonds.

GUILTY GOURMET

Hungry miners aren't the only ones poaching. In non-African countries, bush meat is considered a
delicacy and is a profitable product. Bush meat includes bonobo apes, chimpanzees, duikers, elephants,
giant pangolins and gorillas. Up to 10 tons of this exotic meat is smuggled through London's Heathrow
Airport daily [source: Animal Welfare Institute].

Famous Diamonds

The world's most famous diamonds are its largest diamonds. At staggering weights up to thousands of
carats, these diamonds have been cut, re-shaped and sold many times, contributing to their rich,
interesting histories. Despite diamond's natural, clear brilliance, some of these stones have a dark side.

• The Cullinan - This 3,106-carat diamond is the largest diamond ever found. It was discovered in
1905 in Transvaal, South Africa. In 1907, the diamond was presented to King Edward VII of
England. Later, it was cut into nine major stones, including the 530.20-caratStar of
Africa diamond that is set in the Royal Scepter displayed in the Tower of London.

• The Hope Diamond - Possibly the most famous diamond in America, this 45.52-carat diamond is
on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. Its history dates back
to the 1600s, when it was originally a 112.1875-carat diamond. In 1668, it was purchased
 by King Louis XIV, of France. It is believed to have been originally found in the Kollur mine in
Golconda, India. The diamond was recut in 1673, creating a smaller 67.125-carat stone. You can
learn more about the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian.

• The Excelsior - Perhaps the second-largest diamond ever found, the Excelsior was found in 1893
in South Africa. The original stone weighed about 995 carats. In 1904, I.J. Asscher and Company
of Amsterdam cut the Excelsior into 21 polished stones weighing between 1 and 70 carats.

• The Great Mogul - Believed to be the third-largest uncut diamond ever found, it was discovered
around 1650. Its original size is said to have been 787.50 carats, but it was cut to just 280 carats.
The diamond is named for Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal. After the diamond was cut, he
fired the cutter for doing such a poor job. Mysteriously, the whereabouts of the Great Mogul
diamond are unknown today.

Most people can only dream of owning a diamond as large as these famous stones -- but synthetic
diamonds could change that. In the next section, we'll learn about different synthetic diamonds.

Synthetic Diamonds

For people who can't afford real diamonds or want a 100-percent guarantee that their diamond is
conflict-free, synthetic diamonds are a good substitute. For many years, the only synthetic option
available was cubic zirconia, but now consumers can also choose from Moissanite and man-made
diamonds.

Cubic zirconia, commonly called CZ, is a laboratory gem that has been on the market since 1976. It's a
hard gem (8.5 on the Mohs Scale), but it's not as hard as diamond. On the one hand, CZ is
compositionally superior to diamond. CZ has greater brilliance and sparkle, it's entirely colorless and it
has no inclusions. However, most consumers agree that CZ is simply too perfect -- it looks artificial even
to the naked eye. Because of this, some CZ manufacturers have started producing the gem with colored
tints and inclusions so that it more closely resembles diamond.

Moissanite has become CZ's biggest synthetic rival. Moissanite became available in 1998, and it's even
more similar to diamond in composition and appearance. Moissanite is harder than CZ, but at 9.5 on the
Mohs Scale, it is still softer than diamond. Moissanite's color is faintly yellow or green, and the tint
becomes more apparent in larger stones. It also has small, stretch-mark-like inclusions that form during
its growing process. Like CZ, Moissanite is more radiant than diamond, but this quality is considered a
disadvantage rather than an advantage.
The closest synthetic approximation to diamond is a man-made diamond. Unlike CZ and Moissanite,
man-made diamonds are pure carbon. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recognizes these as
real diamonds from a compositional perspective. But, the man-made diamonds don't have the rich
geological history that natural diamonds do. Laboratories simulate the heat and pressure from the
Earth's mantle that create natural diamonds. For the synthetic manufacturers and the consumers,
diamonds come down to a matter of time and money: days versus millions of years, thousands of dollars
versus tens of thousands of dollars or more (man-made diamonds sell for about 30 percent less than
natural ones) [source: MSN]. If you want a uniquely colored, relatively inexpensive diamond (it will cost
less than a natural colored diamond), you can find man-made ones in shades of orange, yellow, pink and
blue. Finding a large diamond will prove a greater challenge -- most man-made diamonds weigh less
than one carat. If you want the best synthetic has to offer, man-made diamonds are a no-brainer. Even
jewelers can have a hard time telling them apart from natural ones. To prevent retailers from passing off
man-made diamonds as natural ones, the GIA is selling machines that will help jewelers easily
distinguish between the two.

It may come as no surprise that the developer behind these machines is none other than the king of the
natural diamond industry: De Beers.

How Moissanite Jewels Work

Diamonds are one of the most beautiful, and most expensive, jewels available today. They are also
extremely popular. Diamonds are an important symbol of engagement in many parts of the world, and
they also appear in everything from simple earrings to the tiaras and crowns worn by royalty!

Because they are so popular and expensive, diamonds have been a favorite area for imitation over the
years. Cut glass, rhinestones, and cubic zirconium are all attempts to replicate the beauty of diamonds
at a lower cost. None of these are particularly good imitations -- they lack the luster and brilliance of the
real thing.

Technology's latest attempt to replicate the diamond is a product called Moissanite. In this edition
of How Stuff Works, you will learn about this interesting jewel. We will discuss its history, qualities,
creation, and availability!

Up Next

• Diamond Quiz
 • How Diamonds Work

• PlanetGreen.com: Green Engagement

In 1893, Nobel Prize-winning French scientist Dr. Henri Moissan discovered minute quantities of a new
mineral, natural silicon carbide. The mineral was located in an ancient meteorite found in the Diablo
Canyon in Arizona. Later named "moissanite" in honor of Dr. Moissan, this mineral's supply was too
limited for jewelry use.

More than a century later, Cree developed a process for producing large, single crystals of moissanite. In
1995, a master diamond cutter observed samples of the silicon carbide crystals and suggested to the
founders of Charles & Colvard that, if properly cut, the crystals could make a beautiful jewel. Charles &
Colvard recognized the mineral's potential. They also realized that in order for the moissanite jewels to
be used, they would have to be manufactured -- there is essentially no natural supply for this stone. In
1995, Charles & Colvard partnered with Cree (a NC-based R&D lab) to develop larger gemstones for
Charles & Colvard to use in the Cree colorless development program. In conjunction with Cree, Charles
& Colvard is the exclusive worldwide manufacturer and marketer of lab-created moissanite gemstones.

Moissanite Qualities

Moissanite gemstones rival diamond, ruby, emerald, and other fine gemstones in their brilliance, fire,
luster, and incredible hardness, as illustrated in the following Comparison Chart:

Refractive Index Dispersion

Luster Index Mohs Hardness Toughness Specific Gravity
(Brilliance) (Fire)

Moissanite 2.65-2.69 0.104 20.4% 9.25 Excellent 3.21

Diamond 2.42 0.044 17.2% 10 Good* 3.52

Ruby 1.77 0.018 7.4% 9 Excellent** 4.00

Sapphire 1.77 0.018 7.4% 9 Excellent** 4.00

Emerald 1.58 0.014 4.8% 7.5 Good-Poor** 2.72

* In cleavage direction, otherwise excellent

** Except twinned stones
Source: Charles & Colvard

The Mohs Scale is used to determine the hardness of solids, especially minerals. It is named after the
German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. As indicated in the chart above, moissanite has a Mohs Hardness
rating of 9.25. The scale reads as follows, with the hardness and mineral given from softest to hardest:

• 1 - Talc: easily scratched by the fingernail

• 2 - Gypsum: just scratched by the fingernail

• 3 - Calcite: scratches and is scratched by a copper coin

• 4 - Fluorite: not scratched by a copper coin and does not scratch glass

• 5 - Apatite: just scratches glass and is easily scratched by a knife

• 6 - Orthoclase: easily scratches glass and is just scratched by a file

• 7 - Quartz (Amethyst, Citrine, Tiger's Eye and Aventurine): not scratched by a file

• 8 - Topaz

• 9 - Corundum (Sapphires & Rubies)

• 10 - Diamond: cuts glass

• Moissanite Preform
•
• Perhaps you've wondered "Why is a diamond so hard?" Diamonds are a naturally occurring mineral, one of
two crystalline forms of the element Carbon. Chemically, diamonds are pure carbon crystals, and each
carbon atom is held tightly by four bonds to other carbon atoms nearby. Diamonds are the hardest naturally
occurring substance known because of the strength of these bonds. You may have heard about the strength
of carbon fibers -- carbon fibers have incredible strength for the same reason.
• Why is silicon carbine (SiC) nearly as hard? Silicon carbine relies on carbon bonds as well for its strength.
Silicon carbide is the third hardest compound known to mankind. In addition, the physical and electronic
properties of SiC make it the foremost semiconductor material for short wavelength optoelectronic, high
temperature, radiation resistant, and high-power/high-frequency electronic devices (hence Cree's initial
interest in it). Moissanite is created with silicon and carbon, through a combination of pressure and heat.
• To begin the moissanite production process, Charles & Colvard receives single silicon carbide crystals from
Cree. The crystals are precision cut into small pieces called preforms.

•
• The preforms are then sent overseas to high-volume faceting vendors who hand-cut and polish the preforms
to Charles & Colvard standards, which are designed to maximize the gemstone's brilliance and fire.The
vendor then attaches the preform to a guidance tool, or dop to aid in the grinding process. Moissanite jewels
are shaped with a tool called a faceting machine. To understand this tool, imagine a record player. The
faceting machine acts as the record table, spinning around. It is made of either steel or aluminum, and has
industrial-grade diamond chips embedded in it (that's what cuts and polishes). The dop acts as the record
 player needle, gently guiding the moissanite preform down to the spinning faceting machine. It's the friction
between the gemstone and faceting machine that shapes the stone. The faceting vendor uses the faceting
machine to cut and polish each moissanite preform. Using the dop, the gemstone is rotated for an even
shape and polish.
• The lower portion of the gemstone, or pavilion is formed by grinding the pavilion. Then the girdle (the edge
of the stone that is grasped by the setting) is cut and polished, and then the pavilion facets are cut and
polished.
• Next, the gemstone is removed from the dop and reattached with the top of the stone, or crown, exposed
for cutting. The crown facets are cut and polished. Finally, the table (the upper flat surface) is polished. The
resulting gemstone is returned to Charles & Colvard for inspection, sorting, grading, and shipping to select
jewelry stores

Diamond Comparison Shopping

If you know much about diamonds, you know that diamonds are graded according to what is commonly
known as the "Four Cs." The Four Cs consist of:

• Cut, which affects a diamond's brilliance, as brilliance relies on light optics and the ideal angles
to produce the maximum effect. A deeply cut stone will affect the way light reflects in the mass
of the diamond. A very shallow cut stone will seem dark because the light exits the back of the
stone and the angles do not reflect the light back up through the top of the stone to your eye.

• Clarity, which is determined by the amount and severity of inclusions and flaws visible under 10-
power magnification

• Color, the less color a diamond shows (i.e., the whiter it appears), the better diamond it is. The
exception includes extremely valuable "fancy colored diamonds" and less expensive enhanced
"irradiated" stones

• Carat, which is the traditional measuring unit of a diamond's weight (1 carat = 200 milligrams). A
carat is divided into 100 "points," so the same diamond can be represented as weighing a carat
and a half, 150 points or 1.50 carats.

Moissanite jewels are inspected by trained graders and are scored on a scale specific to moissanite. All
of the jewels sold are of "very good" quality, so unlike some other jewels, you will not find moissanite
that is off-color or visibly imperfect. All of the jewels sold are of good color and are "eye clean," meaning
you cannot see imperfections with the naked eye. Because its physical properties are different than a
diamond, moissanite is not graded in the same manner. Cut and carat weight are fairly similar, but
moissanite weighs differently than diamond, so it is not an "apples-to-apples" comparison. The retail
cost of moissanite is based upon the cost of the gold and the setting in addition to the cost of the jewel.
As a general rule, with all other things being equal, a moissanite retails for about 1/10th the cost of a
diamond.

Moissanite gemstones are such a close match to diamonds that even skilled jewelers cannot tell the two
apart. Like diamonds, moissanite gemstones have inclusions and color differences. Charles & Colvard's
patented Tester Model 590 (photo below) is the only recommended instrument that has been
developed to distinguish moissanite from diamonds. The tool reliably and easily distinguishes colorless
moissanite gemstones.

Where to Find Moissanite Jewelry

Only in the last few years has the word about moissanite spread. In 1999, Charles & Colvard launched its
first national advertising campaign, including television ads, and print/display ads in Harper's Bazaar,
airports, and shopping malls in select markets. Targeted image ads have run in publications
including People magazine andSouthern Living. The stone has also been shown at regional, national, and
international jewelry trade shows. Moissanite is available only at select jewelers and in fine jewelry
settings. Authorized jewelers can offer customers the opportunity to create unique, custom moissanite
jewelry accompanied by Charles & Colvard's Certificate of Authenticity and Limited Lifetime Warranty.
To find an authorized retailer near you, visit the Charles & Colvard Web site or call 1-800-210-4367.

A carat is a unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. One carat equals 200 milligrams (0.200
grams). There are 453 grams in a pound (1,000 grams to a kilogram). Therefore, if your fiancee weighs
170 pounds, you have a 385,050-carat fiancee!

A karat, when used with gold, is a unit of purity-- 24-karat gold is pure gold, but usually you mix gold
with a metal like copper or silver to make jewelry (because pure gold is too soft). Each karat indicates
1/24th of the whole. So if a piece of jewelry is made of metal that is 18 parts gold and 6 parts copper,
that is 18-karat gold.

Where did such a funny unit of purity come from? It turns out that a German gold coin called
a mark was common about a thousand years ago. It weighed 24 carats (4.8 grams). The purity of the
gold in the coin was expressed in the number of carats of gold present in this 24-carat coin.