Can Diamonds Crack?

Diamonds will crack if they are treated roughly.

Diamonds are the hardest natural substance known and cannot be scratched by anything other than another diamond. However, they are not impervious and will crack or chip under the right circumstances.

Features

Diamond is the crystalline form of the element carbon. Its hardness is due to densely packed chains of carbon atoms. Diamonds rate 10 out of 10 on the hardness scale used by mineralogists.

Warning

Although diamonds are the hardest known substance, they will break along their edges. Diamond jewelry should not be worn in any situation where it might receive sharp blows.

Considerations

If diamonds couldn't be broken, diamond jewelry would not exist. Jewelry makers, called lapidaries, begin shaping a diamond by first scratching it with tools treated with diamond dust. After making a suitable scratch, they split it along its natural planes with a hammer and chisel.

References

• Encyclopedia.com: "How Products are Made"; Diamond; Carrol Brennan; 1996
• Encyclopedia.com: "The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English"; Diamond; 2006
• DeBeers: The Diamond Authority
• Diamond Helpers: Proper Care of a Diamond