Possibly a diamond?

TeamNugget

Jr. Member
Mar 31, 2013
44
16
Charleston, SC
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter, old school out of date.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Doing a little panning today and this beautiful thing caught me eye. Sorry about the garnets in the pic too, couldn't get the camera to focus right with just the... Stone in the frame.

DSCN0153.JPGDSCN0154.JPGDSCN0155.JPG

I tried to get different angles.

It was found with garnets, rubys, magnetite and gold. Tests: cuts glass and wine bottles, tested it on a metal ******* file, messed up my file. :BangHead:
Location: ummmm... South Carolina, you Really don't wanna know where.
 

Is it pitted at all, If you breathe on it does the condensation stay for a couple of seconds? I think it's glass unfortunately I am rooting for you, does light go straight through or refract is another home test.
 

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I can't tell if theres any condensation on it at all, tried several times, I held a magnifying glass up in the sun and pinpointed it, theres no rainbow colors from it. Theres a sharp point on one end, I've ground that over and over on my file and it still cuts a glass bottle. Also so, put it over some text, I can kind of make out a bluish color from the writing but can actually see any shapes or letters.

If you click the middle pic and click it again to get full view you can get a really nice look at it.
 

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If you can read through it it's not a diamond if you put a tiny light right up to it it will halo and not go thru if its diamond
 

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Doing a little panning today and this beautiful thing caught me eye. Sorry about the garnets in the pic too, couldn't get the camera to focus right with just the... Stone in the frame.

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=793953"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=793954"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=793955"/>

I tried to get different angles.

It was found with garnets, rubys, magnetite and gold. Tests: cuts glass and wine bottles, tested it on a metal ******* file, messed up my file. :BangHead:
Location: ummmm... South Carolina, you Really don't wanna know where.


take it to a local jewelry store. Have them test it. Most jewelry stores have instruments to test to see if a mineral is a diamond.
 

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I don't think it's diamond. It doesn't have the adamantine luster of diamonds...that sorta oily look. Also doesn't have any apparent trigons on the surface.
Jim
 

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Y'know that old story that since diamonds are the hardest material, just whack it with a hammer? Don't be tempted! They may be hard, but they're also brittle.

Like Jim says, natural diamond has a greasy lustre to it.

Like MeteorMiner says, it's almost impossible to get anything to image through natural diamond. That's because its refractive index is so high.

You've probably seen movies where some clever thief hides diamonds in a glass of water. It's malarkey. You can hide cheap soda lime glass that way because its index is about the same as that of water, but a diamond shows up loud and clear when immersed in water.

--Dave J.
 

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I ordered a full testing kit, diamond tester, gold, platinum everything. Also ordered a 365 Nm Uv LED light.

No you can't read thru it, can't even make out a single letter, you can very slightly see a hint color of the text under it. Shows up wonderfully in water, found it in my pan. Also put it in a glass of water, still see it perfectly.


Hope these help. My camera sucks.
DSCN0160.JPGDSCN0162.JPGDSCN0163.JPG
 

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I'm quite interested in the fact you bought a bigpk spears at Wally World! :laughing7: It's also interesting Walmart sells them. Seriously, though, I hope it's a diamond. That would be neat. Please share your results.


I ordered a full testing kit, diamond tester, gold, platinum everything. Also ordered a 365 Nm Uv LED light.

No you can't read thru it, can't even make out a single letter, you can very slightly see a hint color of the text under it. Shows up wonderfully in water, found it in my pan. Also put it in a glass of water, still see it perfectly.


Hope these help. My camera sucks.
View attachment 794996View attachment 794997View attachment 794998
 

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The weight (found by hydraulic classification), apparent optical index (see the photo in water), and apparent extreme hardness (remember that file?) argue against either glass or quartz. If not diamond, then possibly corundum?

It really does deserve to be looked at by a competent mineralogist.

--Dave J.
 

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It doesn't have the luster or general shape for diamond, but that's not definitive. A jeweler will know best, or see if it will scratch a cheap sapphire. NC and SC have a lot of them. Only a diamond will scratch a sapphire.
 

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Well, I guess I have the answer, Not glass. :) Doesn't glow under UV light. I think rough diamonds do, haven't found anything that says either and or. Diamond Selector II set on 2 hits a 7-8, just can't quite get that beep. SOOOOOOO.... its prolly just some purdy quartz.

Oh well, I did learn a lot this week tho. Maybe someday I'll find a real diamond.
 

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Oh well at least you know how to test them at home now, and have a test kit for next time, I have a feeling you'll find more potential emeralds and diamonds. Did you look into building a cheap polariscope it'll help with emerald ID and with a light and 30 dollar microscope you'll be able to see if its diamond or other gem easier. Sometimes if it doesn't have the right inclusions or refraction qualities it doesn't matter if its a emerald ruby etc. Keep em coming Nugget.
 

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The text test can not be applied to a rough gem I think.
However, due to the blue colour and hardness; aquamarine would be my first guess.
 

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Well I don't know but not all diamonds look or act the same. There are many types of diamonds with different properties. I am not saying it is one, but I do know that here in Georgia, early gold miners used to throw back diamonds because they didn't know what they were! Also, there is a piece of property in North Georgia that produces diamonds and has for a very long time. All I am saying is that I wouldn't discount the diamond theory all together just because they aren't plentiful in this part of the country or the world.
 

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Well, I guess I have the answer, Not glass. :) Doesn't glow under UV light. I think rough diamonds do, haven't found anything that says either and or. Diamond Selector II set on 2 hits a 7-8, just can't quite get that beep. SOOOOOOO.... its prolly just some purdy quartz.

Oh well, I did learn a lot this week tho. Maybe someday I'll find a real diamond.
I definitely would not give up without doing a specific gravity test. I would also try and scratch a piece of quartz with it. That scratch test won't rule out corundum, but will rule out quartz. The specific gravity test will rule out corundum, which is 20% heavier than diamond.
Jim
 

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This is one of the reasons why I had been interested into treasure hunting for you can find interesting stuffs.
 

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rocks.jpg
Hi, any idea what this 'stone' could be. I found it in Gabon, Africa . Any suggestions would help. thanks
It has indentations where it looks like it formed around some debris and also very 'knobbly' exterior on the one side yet quite smooth on the other. ooo also it is about the size of a beer lid ....
 

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