Re: OT: Marcury has a layer of diamond 10 miles thick, NASA spacecraft finds

On 2/08/2024 6:14 am, Ralph Mowery wrote:

In article <v8gd3o$28fgc$1@dont-email.me>, bill.sloman@ieee.org says...

>

Diamond, like gold, is valuable because it's rare. Accessing cubic
miles of diamonds would trash its value.

>
Diamonds are only valuable because of the De Beers convincing the women
they need them.  Almost all diamonds used to go through them and they
would only let a few out and if you tried your own mine and a store
bought some from you the De Beers would cut them off.
>
They are like paint.  Anyone can get paint and put it on a canvas but if
you have the big name you get thousands or millions for the painting.
Diamonds can be cut and put into jewelry as an art form.

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Somebody hasn't heard of industrial diamonds.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond
>
"Eighty percent of mined diamonds (equal to about 135,000,000 carats
(27,000 kg) annually) are unsuitable for use as gemstones and are used
industrially. In addition to mined diamonds, synthetic diamonds found
industrial applications almost immediately after their invention in the
1950s; in 2014, 4,500,000,000 carats (900,000 kg) of synthetic diamonds
were produced, 90% of which were produced in China. Approximately 90% of
diamond grinding grit is currently of synthetic origin."

 Yes there are plenty of industrial diamonds and they are almost
worthless compared to the jewelry quality.
 In not too long ago time there has been a way to make them instead of
mined diamonds.
 Diamonds are rated by how well they can be converted to jewel quality.
The 4 C's.  Color cut clairty carat. If they do not measure up they go
to the industrial bin and are almost worthless.

To jewellers. We mine 27 metric tons of diamonds, and make 900 metric tons of synthetic diamonds,essentially all for industrial applications.
We wouldn't be doing that if industrial diamonds were "almost worthless". The fact the gem-quality diamonds can be sold for a lot more money than industrial diamonds doesn't make industrial diamonds worthless - if gem-quality diamonds fell out of fashion we'd still be digging up and making a lot of industrial diamonds.
--
Bill Sloman, Sydney
--
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