mining for a diamond..WHAT !!!

[space otter]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colonoscope-helps-thai-police-recover-stolen-6-carat-diamond_55f59d07e4b063ecbfa4a7ac


Steven Hoffer
Senior Editor, The Huffington Post
Posted: 09/13/2015 12:09 PM EDT

Colonoscope Helps Thai Police Recover Stolen 6-Carat Diamond

Authorities got to the bottom of the theft.

Mina De La O via Getty Images
File photo of a diamond, something you should not eat.
 


BANGKOK (AP) — The good news for the Chinese visitor to Bangkok was that a doctor had successfully removed a foreign object from her large intestine that could have damaged her digestive system.

The bad news: It was a 10 million baht ($278,000) diamond the woman was accused of stealing from a jewelry fair, adding a piece of rock-hard evidence to the case against her.

Police Col. Mana Tienmaungpak said Sunday that authorities got to the bottom of the theft when a doctor wielding a colonoscope and the medical equivalent of pliers pulled the 6-carat gemstone from the large intestine of the woman alleged to have filched it, after nature and laxatives failed to get it out.

The woman, identified as 39-year-old Jiang Xulian, and a Chinese man were arrested Thursday night at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on their way out of Thailand on the basis of surveillance video from the fair just outside Bangkok, where earlier that day the duo allegedly switched a fake stone for the real one after asking to inspect it. The dealer at the booth selling the diamond also identified the two.

The suspects initially denied involvement, but X-rays showed a diamond-like object in the woman's intestine, and police said she then confessed.

If convicted, the two face up to three years in prison, according to police.

Mana, the chief investigator for the case, said the woman agreed to Sunday's delicate operation after being told that the gemstone risked injuring her. The diamond's owner identified the stone after it was removed.

Hiding gems in the digestive system is a rare but not unknown ploy. The method is more commonly used by drug smugglers, who swallow condoms filled with cocaine or other illicit substances to get them past customs checks.

In 2012, police in South Africa arrested a 25-year-old man who they said swallowed 220 polished diamonds in an attempt to smuggle them out of the country. The diamonds were estimated to be worth about $2.3 million, and were discovered by a body scan as the man was waiting to go through security at the international airport near Johannesburg prior to taking a flight to Dubai.

[space otter]

try this instead.. ...I saved it to read later..now I know why..bwhahahahah

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/want-to-make-a-diamond-in-just-10-weeks-use-a-microwave/ar-BBm8PL8
Bloomberg
Hannah Murphy and Thomas Biesheuvel and Sonja Elmquist
8/27/2015

Want to Make a Diamond in Just 10 Weeks? Use a Microwave

The 2.62-carat diamond Calvin Mills bought his fiancée in November is a stunner. Pear-shaped and canary-yellow, the gem cost $22,000. A bargain. Mills, the chief executive officer of CMC Technology Consulting in Baton Rouge, La., says he could have spent tens of thousands more on a comparably sized diamond mined out of the earth, but his came from a lab. "I got more diamond for less money," says the former Southern University football player, who proposed last year at halftime during one of his alma mater's games at the Superdome in New Orleans.

While man-made gems make up just a fraction of the $80 billion global diamond market, demand is increasing as buyers look for stones that are cheaper—and free of ethical taint. Human-rights groups, with help from Hollywood, have popularized the term "blood diamonds" to call attention to the role diamond mining has played in fueling conflicts in Africa.

Unlike imitation diamonds such as cubic zirconia, stones that are "grown" (the nascent industry's preferred term) in labs have the same physical characteristics and chemical makeup as the real thing. They're made from a carbon seed placed in a microwave chamber with methane or another carbon-containing gas and superheated into a glowing plasma ball. That creates particles that crystallize into diamonds, a process that can take 10 weeks. The technology has progressed to the point that experts need a machine to tell synthesized gems apart from those extracted from mines or rivers.

Retailers including Wal-Mart Stores and Warren Buffett's Helzberg Diamonds are beginning to stock the artificial gems. "To a modern young consumer, if they get a diamond from above the ground or in the ground, do they really care?" asks Chaim Even-Zohar, a principal at Tacy, an industry consulting firm in Ramat Gan, Israel. In a survey by Gemdax, an Antwerp-based consultant, only 45 percent of North American consumers from 18 to 35 said they prefer natural diamonds. "Some substitution for natural diamonds is inevitable," says Anish Aggarwal, a partner at the firm, which wouldn't disclose who paid for the study. Gemdax says more research is needed to better gauge consumer attitudes.

The companies that dominate the market for natural gems, including Russia's Alrosa and De Beers, a unit of London-based Anglo American, don't see the upstarts as much of a threat, because "it's such a small fraction" of the market, says Neil Koppel, the CEO of Renaissance Diamonds. His lab, in Boca Raton, Fla., is supplying Helzberg stores in 10 U.S. cities. Last year only about 360,000 carats of man-made diamonds were produced, compared with 146 million carats of natural gems mined in 2013, estimates researcher Frost & Sullivan. The supply of lab-grown stones will probably jump to 2 million carats in 2018 and 20 million by 2026.

De Beers says its research shows consumers don't equate synthetic gems with ones from a mine, adding that the artificial stones are more likely to compete with costume jewelry. "The value of a diamond is inextricably linked to the inspirational and unique narrative that lies behind each one, from its formation to its history to its emotional significance, which lab-grown diamonds simply don't have," the company said in a statement. In July mining companies won a major marketing victory when the International Organization for Standardization ruled that man-made gems must be called synthetic, lab-grown, or lab-created—not real, cultivated, or cultured.

The manufactured variety accounts for about 5 percent of stones sold at the Gem Lab, a New York jewelry store. A 1-carat synthetic diamond fetches about $6,000 there, compared with $10,000 for a similarly sized natural stone, according to Vice President Paul Cassarino. Singapore's IIA Technologies, the biggest producer of lab-grown diamonds, is asking $23,000 for a 3.04-carat diamond it synthesized; a mined gem of similar size and quality would cost about $40,000. "We are creating a new industry," says Vishal Mehta, the CEO of IIA, which doesn't disclose how much it costs to make a diamond in the lab. "Consumers today really resonate with the idea of an eco- friendly and a conflict-free choice for diamonds. That's been a sticking point."

Danny Decker, who works in marketing at Harlo Interactive, a digital agency in Portland, Ore., plans to propose to his girlfriend of four years with a 1-carat lab-grown diamond in a white-gold setting. He purchased it for about $7,000 from MiaDonna, a local retailer that specializes in what it calls "conflict-free engagement rings." Decker says his choice was influenced by the movie Blood Diamond, a 2006 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio set in Sierra Leone. "The whole idea of diamonds—where they come from, how they are mined, what that does to the earth, and the whole idea of conflict diamonds—it was something I just didn't want to be a part of," he says. "At the end of the day, I wanted to do something that was good for the environment, that was cause-based."

The bottom line: The output of man-made diamonds is less than one-quarter of 1 percent that of natural stones, but demand is growing.

[zorgon]

As a gem cutter I have used man made diamonds since I learned the trade at 14 years old  

Man made diamonds were relatively easy to make and in specific sizes so diamond grit could be grades precisely... an important factor for polishing stones

Problem was to make a diamond of any decent size was EXPENSIVE and not cost effective. Since diamond is simply the crystal form of carbon, that means diamonds are ABUNDANT in the universe... but they are below 35,000 feet and we only get them when volcanoes spit them up.

Even then they are heavy so you only fine them in the dead pipes of long dead volcanoes

Superman could squeeze coal into a diamond but in reality coal is to dirty... graphite works better

There are however other gems that are easier to make...

CORUNDUM   (Red is Ruby.. Blue is Sapphire)    Corundum is aluminum oxide.  It is hard to believe that the ash of such a soft metal can become the second hardest stone. but this is why aluminum oxide is used as a final polish in the gem trade

Synthetic Corundum is made by using a torch and melting the aluminum oxide and letting it grow in boules. The color is from impurities (the same as natural corundum) 



The thing about corundum is that you can have any color and it is a stronger stone than most others  A lot of jewelry today uses them.   It is the SAME material as the natural only the crystals are PURE (save the added color mineral)



And this is one time where PURE man made is BETTER than nature  because to make a LASER you need pure crystals and they are impossible to find in nature in large sizes. Any impurity in the stone and the LASER beam is scattered)

Same with Quartz  Synthetic PURE quartz is grown in labs and is found in all computers as the time keeper

You CAN make corundum at home but it is a bitch to cut and polish

[zorgon]

BERYL

Beryl is another stone that has been successfully grown in a lab

Beryl also comes in MANY colors

Yellow= Golden Beryl   Pink= Morganite  Red=Very rare found in Utah  Blue+ Aquamarine and Green= Emerald



Gilson Emerald

These are very expensive and no longer being produced  I saw my first ones back at that cutting shop I learned at in Toronto. 

The Gilson process takes a small natural emerald and grows a new crystal on it at the rate of 1mm per month of growth  The result is perfect naturally grown crystals in a controlled environment.  Developed by Pierre Gilson Sr., whose products have been on the market since 1964.

These are virtually impossible to tell from natural because they are grown the same way nature does  and can have flaws and impurities as well




LOL While looking up info I found a nice 1 ct piece I just had to buy Columbian...



If your starting your own Crown Jewels  I can get you some nice Emeralds Rubies and Sapphires    They are huge but not very clear They do have nice color though.  Price is in the $200.00 range

[zorgon]

OPALS

One of my favorite stones

Easy to cut as it is relatively soft.  Good rough material from Australia is not cheap but I have several pounds left

Opal is formed by round spheres of silica that fill in spaces in the rock left by decaying organic matter  so you can find opal sea shells and even petrified opal wood (Nevada)

I really need to get up there... It costs $100.00 for a dumpster load to dig in  All you find you keep



But to make it in the lab is easy. You basically fill a jar with natural silica spheres and let it settle in controlled temperature conditions. The ONLY difference is that they have no water in the lab created ones which makes them stronger

The result is very clean opal that you cannot tell from the real thing

Gilson Created Opal:
The laboratory opal producing process, was first invented by Pierre Gilson, Sr. of France in 1974. This process produces a kaleidoscope of colors. From the rare and precious black opal,
to crystal and white opaque opal.

The Gilson formula is considered the truest gemological process in the world today. Considered by many gemologists to by the world's finest laboratory grown Opal. This process takes from 14 to 18 months,and the colors are natural with no treatment or enhancements.

Unlike its natural counterpart, this created opal is much tougher and not prone to breaking.
It gets it's hardness because it contains no water. Unlike natural opal which does contain water. The lack of water in Gilson opal has currently brought about debates and differences of opinion. Concerning the final classification of Gilson Opal.

In any event. Natural Black Opal is exceedingly rare and expensive. With Created Black Opal cabochons, you can have all the sizes you need at an affordable price! The Gilson White opals are very nice too.

These stones whether they are finally classed as Imitation or Synthetic. Are the best mimic to real opal we have seen. They are grown in similar conditions as to what might be found in nature and do have all of the elements but water. We think their beauty, toughness and heat resistance is a plus.


Also Ethiopia has found opals. These are what we call Jelly Opals   as they are translucent.  These can be facetted and look awesome I have found a few really good ones cheap and some rough material