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Earth Science

Rare Blue Diamonds Lurk Deep In Earth's Core (washingtonpost.com) 77

Posted by BeauHD from the journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth dept.
Scientist believe they now know how extremely rare blue diamonds are formed. After studying 46 of the gems, they found that blue diamonds are formed as deep as the transition zone between the planet's upper and lower mantle (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source) -- far greater depths than other diamonds, some deeper than 410 miles. The Washington Post reports: Just 1 out of 200,000 diamonds are blue. Like all diamonds, they are made when carbon comes under intense pressure and extreme heat deep inside the Earth. As they form, they can trap tiny bits of rock inside -- like fossils in amber. "Diamond is an extraordinary container, a time capsule," said Steven Shirey, a geochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington. Shirey and his colleagues used lasers to examine the diamonds' imperfections -- slivers of embedded rock -- at the Gemological Institute of America. The researchers suggest that boron in the ocean floor was pushed down when plates that make up the Earth's crust collided. The element allows the stone to absorb some red light, so the diamond looks blue. The findings were published in the journal Nature.
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Rare Blue Diamonds Lurk Deep In Earth's Core More

Rare Blue Diamonds Lurk Deep In Earth's Core

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  • They also lurk in engagement rings (Score:3)

    by danbert8 ( 1024253 ) on Friday August 03, 2018 @06:49AM (#57062196)

    Specifically they lurk in my wife's engagement ring. Go ahead Slashdot trolls... Bring on the hate for being married on Slashdot.

    But in all seriousness, that's the beauty of lab created gemstones. You want a blue diamond? Not really any different than creating a clear one. You can even pick from different shades of blue.

    • Bring on the hate for being married on Slashdot.

      No actually, we won't...

      But in all seriousness, that's the beauty of lab created gemstones.

      Much more interesting : which lab did you go to ?

      For the extra geekiness factor : do you know any lab that they would allow big geeks to do a couple of the step ?
      (As in "Honey, I personally *made* your diamong ! (Well I least until the labcoats threw me out before I break the expensive machines)" )

      • I wish I could have visited the lab where they made the gemstones. That would have been awesome.

        As for the actual procurement process, the ring was made by Krikawa https://www.krikawa.com/ [krikawa.com] and they did a fantastic job using one of their existing designs in Palladium for my wife. The actual diamond I was able to select myself from their synthetic diamond supplier D.NEA http://d.neadiamonds.com/ [neadiamonds.com] . Surprisingly, the detail page link is still active http://d.neadiamonds.com/lab-c... [neadiamonds.com] 5 years later. The side ston

  • Now all they have to solve... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Viol8 ( 599362 ) on Friday August 03, 2018 @06:54AM (#57062220) Homepage

    ... is exactly why humans values these stones so highly. Sure, they're hard, but thats a pretty niche use. Apparently they look pretty. To me they just look like bits of glass which also doesn't tarnish. I honestly don't get why our species craves this stone so much.

    • Why humans crave (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It's got electrolytes.

    • Re:Now all they have to solve... (Score:4, Informative)

      by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday August 03, 2018 @08:04AM (#57062430)

      Our primal urge to mate means we need a way to differentiate yourself from the pack. One way to do this is with luxury to show that we are so successful in surviving that we can use our excess resources on things that are not necessary for survival. So there are resources available to help take care of children and expand the gene pool.

      Pretty rocks, decorative flowers, larger houses... Are things we want to have, So high demand.
      Then if these pretty rocks are hard to find, then we will need to compete with others to get them. so low supply.

      Low Supply and High Demand = a valuable object.

      Sure we use other methods, such a physique, and dominance as well. But having excess is an important factor in our species mating rituals.

      • Our primal urge to mate means we need a way to differentiate yourself from the pack.

        The best among us don't need falsely-inflated consumer goods to do this.

        But having excess is an important factor in our species mating rituals.

        That's not because of a "primal urge". It's because of marketing.

        • No this isn't a case a marketing. Marketing may direct us to use their product to satisfy the primal urge. But we see this behavior across many cultures with much different economic systems.

          We bought New York City for $20 in glass beads. Now granted these glass beads were worth much more then, as there wasn't a way to mass produce them. But we were able to trade useful land, for silly pretty rocks.

          World wide we can always trade Gold as a valuable substance.

          Yes you can do something else to differentiate you

    • ... is exactly why humans values these stones so highly.

      There is an animal model: The Bowerbird [wikipedia.org].

      For both the bowerbird and humans the goal is the same: reproduction, which I presume from your confusion is something you are unfamiliar with.

      The diamond, like the bower decorations, is a proxy for genetic fitness.

      Pro-tip: Pick out your diamond together with your fiance. Once she sees you are willing to fork out a few months salary, she is likely to settle for something less. Couples on average spend 40% less that solitary males. Also, buy a loose diamond, then ha

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Viol8 ( 599362 )

        "For both the bowerbird and humans the goal is the same: reproduction, which I presume from your confusion is something you are unfamiliar with."

        Is it? I'll have to tell my kid that. Might come as a surprise.

        "The diamond, like the bower decorations, is a proxy for genetic fitness."

        Except there's nothing to differentiate it from glass except by an expert.

        "Pro-tip"

        Thanks for that. Shall I note you as being tight as well as a rude?

      • The Bowerbird.

        Lemme smash?

    • ... is exactly why humans values these stones so highly. Sure, they're hard, but thats a pretty niche use. Apparently they look pretty. To me they just look like bits of glass which also doesn't tarnish. I honestly don't get why our species craves this stone so much.

      If diamonds were as common as rocks and rocks as rare as diamonds- we would be proposing to our girlfriends with engagement rings that had chips of gravel in them.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by pz ( 113803 )

        That's why my wife has possibly the very rarest of gems: one from a meteorite. She wears a shooting star.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Khyber ( 864651 )

          Meteor gems are not that rare. You find olivine/peridot in meteorites all the time.

          Martian rocks are rare. Prove you have something from Mars and you've got something worth serious cash.

    • That's OK, the rest of society doesn't get why you like anime porn so much.

    • I honestly don't get why our species craves this stone so much.

      Because DeBeers wants you to. Their high pressure ad campaigns that they started in the early twentieth century created the idea of the diamond as the most valuable precious gem (before that, rubies and emeralds were generally regarded as more valuable). They also created the idea of the diamond engagement ring and managed to make it pretty much mandatory.

    • I honestly don't get why our species craves this stone so much.

      "The Rise and Fall of Diamonds" is a book you might read on the subject. It really has to do with marketing. Rubies and emeralds used to be more highly prized, but DeBeers put diamonds on moviestars' hands, paid them to have diamond engagement rings and so on, and people are dumb and easily led.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Greyfox ( 87712 )
      Women value diamonds for their many industrial uses!

    • ... is exactly why humans values these stones so highly. Sure, they're hard, but thats a pretty niche use. Apparently they look pretty. To me they just look like bits of glass which also doesn't tarnish. I honestly don't get why our species craves this stone so much.

      This one is really easy.

      Marketing.

      At one time diamonds really were rare, or at least humans had not found the abundant sources of them (diamond pipes scattered over three continents). And nothing else on Earth was known that was hard as the diamond or, when free of inclusions, had such a high chromatic dispersion (that "fire" in cut stones). They were rare and very remarkable.

      But then the diamond pipes of South Africa were discovered in 1870 and they were not rare any more, they threatened to be demoted to

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Same reason male peacocks have large and colorful tails. It's a demonstration of fitness. If you can afford to waste resources on pure appearance, you must be an exceptional specimen.

  • If all you have to do is add a little of element X to get color Y in a diamond then it seems like it shouldn't be long until they start growing them in a lab like this. The bizarre thing is that people actually want these shiny chunks of carbon.

    • They do. Lab grown diamonds come in a variety of colors.

    • So long as crystalline carbon is the only aphrodisiac that works on women, they will be prized.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Zocalo ( 252965 )
        They're prized, but not as an aphrodisiac. From Ron White's take on "Truth in Advertising" sketch:

        I saw something that came close to truth in advertising, the De Beers people are almost saying what they really mean, folks. Because the old slogan was “Diamonds... are forever.”, and then they changed it to “Diamonds... take her breath away.”, the new slogan is “Diamonds... render her speechless.” Why don’t they just go ahead and say it: “Diamonds... that’

      • So long as crystalline carbon is the only aphrodisiac that works on women, they will be prized.

        Unlike flowers and chocolates, the diamond will hold its value and can be resold after the divorce.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Khyber ( 864651 )

          " the diamond will hold its value"

          BWAHAHAHAHAH HELL NO.

          You could buy a $50M diamond right now and you'd be LUCKY to get $500,000 in return with it as melee.

    • The bizarre thing is that people actually want these shiny chunks of carbon.

      They are kind of pretty.

    • The bizarre thing is that people actually want these shiny chunks of carbon.

      If Hollywood taught me anything, it's that diamonds are necessary to cut windows when you're doing burglary.

  • Deep in Earth's core (Score:3, Informative)

    by olsmeister ( 1488789 ) on Friday August 03, 2018 @07:46AM (#57062362)
    TFS summary says they're formed in the mantle, not the core.
  • 1. They are not that rare. Thanks DeBeers for creating and maintaining an artificial scarcity for close to 100 years now. 2. They became THE engagement ring thing not so long ago. Again, DeBeers is responsible for the underlying marketing ploy. 3. They are a lousy investment. Ordinary diamonds, like the ones that normal people can afford, instantly lose 50% of their value as the leave the jewelry shop.
  • Look for them to hike the price and hoard them like they do the entire world's supply of diamonds. A pressurized hunk of carbon...made "expensive" and they have a nice monopoly.

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