Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an honorable gemologist in my area. I am not saying that there is not any, but I have not found one. I have done a SG test (although with primitive tools) and I calculated 3.4-3.5, and again, I cannot find anyone to perform an accurate SG test on it yet.
BH_GEMS,
Those are nice specimens, but like you said “usually.” As you most likely know, nothing can be 100% all of the time (except laws of nature of course!). I have some tumbled rough as well, but this stone is massive. So, it would inherently have dissimilar, as well as, similar features and characteristics–one being an adamantine luster.
J
Teresa,
Although I disagree with you first comment, the latter is only true because I have been in sole possession of the mineral. It has not hit headlines yet because I have not gone public with it, until now.
Gemcuts1,
Are you implying that quartz crystals grow like my piece, then? Because unlike quartz, diamonds can form in many fashions and undergo extreme dis-figuration while surfacing in kimberlite pipes. So, although it may look like quartz in the picture, physical and structural characteristics prove it not to be.
I think your only real solution is to send them to the GIA, This will be accurate and final and prove beyond any doubt what you actually have
Good Luck, let me know the results
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You must forgive us for being skeptical. The photos of rough you provide are, for diamonds, large to humongous and well above the size found most places, let alone Idaho, which has produced few diamonds and probably none over 30cts. I can’t tell the exact weight of what you have, but even the small pieces are 10 cts or more, and the large pieces quite a bit more than that. There aren’t any recognizable signs of diamond crystal habit in any of the pieces. Yes, it is possible for water worn diamonds to show little crystal habit, but yours are not water worn. Beyond that, none of the pieces you show seem to have areas of transparency, so, even if they are diamond, they are not gem diamonds. It just doesn’t look like what you have is cut-able for jewelry at all.
You can do hardness tests with a piece of synthetic corundum or a piece of silicon carbide sandpaper. Either of these would scratch anything but a diamond. You’d’ have to discuss how you did your SG test to arrive at ~3.4. You should be able to find someone to help you AND witness an SG test. You could also buy very cheaply a thermal conductivity probe which differentiates diamond from all but moissanite. The form of your samples pretty much rules out moissanite. so if the thermal conductivity probe indicates diamond, that is persuasive. These days, $10 gets you a diamond tester off ebay good enough for your purposes.
The fact that none of the fairly knowledgeable individuals from this forum have wanted to go further with these stones should indicate to you that the chances that they are diamond are slim to none. Sooner or later you are going to have to find someone to trust who has professional qualifications to verify your stones. The fact that you haven’t adds to my skepticism.
Good luck with your stones. Let us know what you find out.
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Royjohn,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I agree, I am baffled as to why I cannot find anyone in my local area to verify my stones for me. Furthermore, currently I am a student at the local community college, and own membership to various clubs, groups, and organizations in hopes to find an answer. Like I stated in a previous post, I am caught in a catch-22. Whereas, although gemologists tell me it is definately quartz, geologists confirm that it is not. The former has, for the most part, given me the cold shoulder, and the TWO that have performed a “RI” test on them, wont let me watch them conduct the actual testing. Moreover, the “test” lasts less than a minute and the stone comes back dry (no oil on it). At one of these shops, I had them test a colored stone as well, and they stated it quartz as well, topaz. When I brought the stone to a private dealer, who would only test colored stones for me (but would let me watch), found it to be fire opal. The latter has no comments other than confirming my arguments that it is not quartz.
So, I am lost. I am getting ready to jump on a bus and head towards Las Vegas or LA or Phoenix or Tuscon or where ever I can find someone to actually LOOK at my stone and tell me why they think it is what it is. Not just tell me NO. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears (well eyes…).
Best regards,
Joshua
Hello,
Do not give up on trying to identify your gemstone. Most will just assume it is not a diamond, however, diamonds are more common than they know. They are finding new finds all the time, and diamonds are found in areas where there is also quartz , and many other gemstones. Quartz does not flouresce, where many diamonds do, also water beads up on a diamond, you cannot read a newspaper print through a diamond, and other ways to tell the difference. I have found many gems while looking for gold where they are not supposed to be. Only it has taken me years to figure out how to clean 1000yrs. of compacted pollution from them. I also have some roughs, and was finally told to have cut first after finally speaking with a reputable source. I found an assayer who had million dolllar machine that tells the minerals in a “rock” If you have it cut, know the cutter. I hope you have a real treasure…
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Thanks, know1uknow. I am open for any suggestions on where (or who) to get a real interpretation of the mineral. I have exhausted my local resources, and money is preventing me from expanding my search elsewhere. Please let me know if you can help.
Not a llb diamond as llb’s are blue diamonds containing Boron. No cubic crystal habit present and no trigons present. Get yourself some emery cloth from Harbor Freight Tools and rub your stones on it. If the paper eats your stone … it is not a diamond. If the stone eats your paper down to the cloth backing without a scratch on the stone, then you might have a diamond. Looks like white quartz to me though. You can always come to Las Vegas to my lab to have it positively identified.
Dear Joshua,
A thirty second (yes, 1/2 minute) RAMAN-532nm test would tell you 100% conclusively wether it is diamond or not. Put your money where your mouth is and send a sample to GIA, AGL or Stone Group Laboratories for a conclusive report. Or, I would be happy to do it for free in my lab in Bangkok and publish the results with screenshots of the RAMAN spectrum.
Finest regards,
Jeffery Bergman, SSEF SGC
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Beautiful. He can put his money where his mouth is in Las Vegas too, as I posted a $100 USD bet that his specimen was NOT a diamond! I have a Perkin Elmer PL-50B UV-VIS spectrometer that will excite the stone from 200nm (UV A, B, & C) to about 800nm … it will tell me if it is a diamond without fail in about 1 minute though! 
Great Post and I would love to see your results as well.
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Why do they look silver color
Because it is not diamond
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I am new to gems and have to say I don’t think I would even start to cut just because it is my stone. But may I ask with no money the $10 tester on eBay would be a good start. Visit any reputable jewler, most have a tester and will test for free, just ask. But mail is cheap and sending it insured to IGS would be your sure fire way.
I hope some day to be in your shoes as I would have gone to the jewlery already.
Hope that helps, I can’t wait to get one of my gemstones evaluated and valued.
Sheepdog,
They appear “silver” because of the way they are reflecting and refracting light. Believe it or not, they are actually transparent. I will try and produce some pictures to show you what I mean.
Thanks for the inquiry!
Joshua Williams
swkelley,
Thanks for the inquiry. However, the testers you find on ebay or in most jewelry stores use either heat or electricity to test the stone. Furthermore, they are usually calibrated to test set stones. Since my stone is rough (as well as, type II), common testers will not work. Unfortunately, every jeweler I have encountered (and it has been a lot!) have either wanted nothing to do with it, or they gave me their opinion without concrete evidence to back up their claims. That is why I joined this community, but I will keep pursuing until I find someone who will definitively prove, one way or other, what my stone is.