Hope diamond

Boron is electron deficient relative to carbon. Therefore, small amounts of boron, replacing carbon in a diamond lattice, causes electron holes. As electrons move to fill these lattice vacancies, infrared light is absorbed causing the blue color of the Hope diamond and other blue diamonds. 

Diamonds are the only gemstone whose colorlessness enhances their value. However, the rare, rich, natural coloring of fancy color diamonds commands the highest prices. The Hope Diamond possesses exceptional blue coloring and is undoubtedly the most celebrated diamond in the world. What is the origin of its intensely prized blue hue ... 

Throughout history civilization has treasured the rarity and beauty of fancy colored diamonds. The stunning diamond from India known as the Hope Diamond, once a part of many royal inventories, is now the premier attraction of the Smithsonian Institution (see color Fig. 4.3.1). While the size of the diamond at 45.52 carats has certainly contributed to the public s interest in the gem, the intense blue-violet color of the stone is generally considered to be its most captivating feature. First described in the mid 1600s by the French merchant traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier as un beau violet (a beautiful violet), the gem also acquired the title Blue Diamond of the Crown or the Royal French Blue when in possession of King Louis XIV of France. The blue color is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the carbon matrix of the stone. Substitution of carbon atoms by nitrogen leads to yellow diamonds, such as the famous canary yellow 128.51-carat Tiffany diamond. 

Smithsonian FAQ s Hope Diamond. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, http //www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/hope.htm... 

Figure 4.3.1 The Hope Diamond is the world s largest blue diamond and is on display in the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. Photo reprinted with permission. 

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PROBLEM 1.17 Gemstones are weighed in carats, with 1 carat = 200 mg (exactly). What is the mass in grams of the Hope Diamond, the world s largest blue diamond at 44.4 carats What is this mass in ounces ... 

Fig. 2.1. The Hope diamond (central gem), weighing 45.52 carats (9.10g). The original stone was discovered before 1668 in India and cut several times before deriving the above stone. This lib diamond belongs to the Smithsonian Institute and its absorption spectrum confirms the presence of substitutional boron. The smaller diamonds of the mounting are of Ha type and they are assumed to have a very small impurity concentration. Copyright Calvin J Hamilton (2004)...

Figure 1.2 The blue Hope diamond kept in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington counts among the world s most famous diamonds ( Kowloonese 2004).

Hope diamond in National Museum of Natural History. Picture taken in April... 

Most diamonds are colourless but diamonds that are yellow, brown, blue, red, pink, purple and orange are found. One of the most famous coloured diamonds is the blue Hope diamond (Figure 8.19). 

A necklace containing the Hope Diamond. The Hope diamond has been linked with ill fortune including the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The dark blue diamond was, however, already in America at the time of that voyage. It appeared mysteriously in London in the early nineteenth century and is believed to have been recut from a large diamond (13.8 g) stolen from a museum housing the French crown jewels in 1792. Its last owner, Henry Winston, donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. with the wish that it formed part of a collection to rival that in the Tower of London. 

In 1926 a small red diamond was found in alluvial diggings near Kimberley and was expected to weigh 6 carats when cut and to be worth close upon 1000. A clear apple green stone of 41 carats is known as the Dresden Diamond, an Indian stone purchased in 1743 for the Crown of Saxony. Blue stones are almost as rare as the red, the most famous example being the Hope Diamond (p. 62) it is thought that the Brunswick Blue Diamond may have been cut from the same stone. Yellow is the most common colour, the most famous being the Austrian Yellow Diamond (p. 61), the... 

The Hope Diamond, which is shown in Figure 2.6, contains approximately 460,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms of carbon. Each of these carbon atoms has a mass of 0.00000000000000000000002 g. If you were to use these numbers to calculate the mass of the Hope Diamond, you would find that the zeros would get in your way. Using a calculator offers no help, as it won t let you enter numbers this large or this small. Numbers such as these are best expressed in scientific notation. Scientists use this method to conveniently restate a number without changing its value. 

Figure 2.6 At more than 45 carats, the Hope Diamond is the world s largest deep-blue diamond. Originally mined in India, the diamond s brilliant blue color is due to trace amounts of boron within the diamond. Diamonds are formed from a unique structure of carbon atoms, creating one of nature s hardest known substances. 

The Hope Diamond, NO DATA/Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA,/The Bridgeman Art Library... 

To calculate the mass of the Hope Diamond, multiply the number of carbon atoms by the mass of a single carbon atom. 

The Hope diamond exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. is a striking blue. Would you expect this stone to be electrically conducting Explain how you arrived at your answer. Make sure to mention any assumptions you make. 

Winston, Harry (1896-1978) was a key figure in the diamond trade. He opened his business in New York City in 1932 and in 1958 donated the Hope diamond to the Smithsonian. 

Gemstones are very valuable materials, especially rare colored gemstones of certain types, such as deep blue diamonds like the Hope Diamond. Artificial stones and treated, dyed, and coated... 

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