Sneaky Diamonds

Every now and then I am asked about synthetic diamonds; and every time it brings to mind a story told me by Tom Chatham (a successful maker of synthetic emeralds, sapphires and rubies) almost 20 years ago. Following the collapse of the old Soviet Union many former Soviet scientists were searching for a new identity and a new job; and soon stories about Russian synthetic diamonds began making their way west. When they came to Tom, he decided he had to learn more.

First there was the ‘why’ of Soviet research; and he quickly learned that it was connected to Soviet military research. Unlike the diamonds in 1971’s James Bond film (Diamonds are Forever), synthetic diamonds were not to be used directly in weapons systems. Diamonds are nearly perfect transmitters of heat; and printed circuits, printed on ‘slices’ of diamond instead of glass, that is, lay at the heart of the Soviet research initiative. The electromagnetic pulse emitted by a nuclear blast would ‘fry’ circuits printed on glass at a fairly great distance - thus compromising the utility of modern communications and computer hardware on the ‘nuclear battlefield’. By contrast, a circuit printed on a diamond slice could quickly and uniformly dissipate the heat a blast generated electromagnetic pulse imposed on a circuit printed on it, thus rendering it ‘battlefield hardened’. The government’s collapse had brought research to a sudden halt that left scientists and technicians employed in it high and dry - and looking for a new source of income. Their research and need brought Tom, eventually, to researchers in component states of the old Soviet Union - Russia (Novosibirsk) , Ukraine (Kiev) and Belorussia (Minsk).

In Novosibirsk Tom quickly found scientists interested in making diamonds for the consumer market. Unfortunately, the Russian ‘Mafia’ learned of his interest almost at once and tried to ‘muscle in’. This left Tom waiting in Novosibirsk (and waiting, and waiting) for the problem to work itself out until one day a stranger approached him on the street. The news of his interest has made its way through the gossip underground to Kiev; and the stranger was there to make him an offer. “Come to Kiev,” he said, “And we will make diamonds for you.” Frustrated in Novosibirsk, Tom readily agreed to give Kiev a try.

Sure enough, when he got to the diamond laboratory in Kiev he was shown some small, but nice, recognizably synthetic diamonds; so he and the scientists made a tentative agreement. All did not go well, however. It takes quite a bit of electrical power to synthesize diamonds (using heat and pressure); and shortly after Tom and his new collaborators had made their agreement, Ukraine’s coal miners went out on strike. Coal was not shipped to generation plants; electrical power became irregular; and the new partnership died. Once again at loose ends, Tom cooled his heels in Kiev awaiting the return of power; but the gossip underground was still at work. A new stranger turned up. “Come to Minsk,” he said, “We’re making pretty good synthetic diamonds.” True to his quest, Tom went to Minsk.

He was warmly welcomed in the Minsk lab; and the diamond scientists there readily showed him some of their wares. “Wow!” Tom exclaimed. “These are the best I’ve seen yet, let me seemore.” Somewhat uncomfortable now, the former Soviet scientists admitted that while they had made quite a few more, they had shown him all they had. “What happened to the rest?” queried Tom. A moment of silence, then one of the scientists replied, “We sold them to a Belgian diamond cutter.” Chagrined at a Belgian having beaten him to the synthetic diamond market, Tom could only say, “I didn’t know the Belgians were cutting synthetic diamonds.” Looking down at his shoes, the scientist who had revealed the disposition of their diamonds shook his head saying, “Neither do they.” In short the synthetic diamonds had been passed off as natural and sold into the gem trade; but in the second decade of the 21st century this is far less likely to happen.

Two techniques of synthetic diamond manufacture are currently in use, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and Russian developed heat and pressure (HPHT); and each leaves its ‘finger prints’ in a diamond grown using it. De Beers, once alerted to the threat of synthetic diamonds being fraudulently introduced into the market as natural gems, put its science team to work and in the late ‘90s introduced two machines into the market, the ‘DiamondSure’ and the ‘DiamondView’. These so accurately ferret out a diamond’s ‘finger prints’ that they’ve come into general use in the diamond trade. Of course, that doesn’t keep the honesty challenged from trying. In the spring of 2012, for example, a parcel of several hundred cut diamonds ranging from about 0.30 carats to 0.70 carats (few larger synthetics have ever been grown) arrived at the Gemological Institute of America’s lab in Hong Kong. All were suspiciously free of nitrogen (95% of all natural diamonds contain traces of nitrogen) and all showed the curved graining typical of CVD grown diamonds. Clearly all were synthetic and all of them were kept out of the market for natural diamonds.

Needless to say, it’s important to know who you are buying diamonds from. Ours are natural, sourced from DeBeers and the cream of the crop. We think the emotional value of a diamond gift is so great that only a beautiful diamond will do; so come see us for the very best in diamonds. You’ll never regret it because we’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers, an uncommon jeweler. You can learn more about us on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com, then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment.

P.S. If you have diamonds or broken or unworn pieces of jewelry that you would like to sell, come in and we’ll help you establish their market value; and perhaps, we’ll make the best offer to buy them.