diamond or crystal? HELP!

[diamond?crystal?]

Hi all, hope someone can be of help!
I have recently returned from a trip to Kimberley SA, where we stayed on a friends game farm. During this trip I literally stumbled across a rather large stone laying ontop of the red sand. The farm is situated in an old volcano just outside of Kimberley. My friend, the farm owner feels that its just a crystal, but i''m not so sure, purely for the fact of where we were!
Can anyone give me any advice on how I would know if my find was worth finding!?
Many thanks.

 

[Tom Gelb]

Date: 3/10/2010 3:26:44 PM
Author:diamond?crystal?
Hi all, hope someone can be of help!

I have recently returned from a trip to Kimberley SA, where we stayed on a friends game farm. During this trip I literally stumbled across a rather large stone laying ontop of the red sand. The farm is situated in an old volcano just outside of Kimberley. My friend, the farm owner feels that its just a crystal, but i''m not so sure, purely for the fact of where we were!

Can anyone give me any advice on how I would know if my find was worth finding!?

Many thanks.

Send it to the GIA for an identification report. It is relatively inexpensive and you will get your answer. Otherwise you can go to any gemologist and they should be able to ID the stone. Lots of jewelry stores have GG''s on staff.

Good luck.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Any regular B&M store can do a quick test to see if the stone is a diamond or crystal. They have diamond testers to see if stones are real or fake and that''s what they''d use with the stone you found. It''s a free service and takes just a couple minutes.

Best of luck. Be sure to report back and let us know what you found.

 

[Michael_E]

Diamonds and other types of crystals are all created in fairly specific forms and fracture in different ways. Looking at the outward appearance and fracture surfaces, if there are any, will give you a pretty good indication about the nature of your stone. Do you have any good pictures of the stone ?

 

[denverappraiser]

I would expect a farm owner in Kimberly to have a pretty good idea what diamonds look like but nearly every jeweler, appraiser or even pawn shop should be able to tell you if it’s a diamond or not and most will probably will probably do it for free just to get you into the store. It''s not usually difficult. If the answer is no then you’re done; if the answer is yes than consider getting it appraised and learn what you really have.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[stone-cold11]

Meil, how would the kimberly process go in this case if it turns out to be a diamond? Just curious.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

SC,

As far as I know, South-Africa works with licences for the ownership and the dealing in rough diamonds. Someone picking up a diamond off the ground without having such a license is basically illegally holding that stone. Taking that rough diamond across a border is clearly in breach of the Kimberley Process.

It also means that South-African export-taxes on rough diamonds have been avoided, plus it is in breach of an equal-opportunity-law in that country (in order to compensate historically disadvantaged groups in the country) in which all rough diamonds must first be offered for sale on the local market, before being allowed to export.

It is for these reasons that there is undercover South-African police patrolling here in the Antwerp diamond-district, and probably also in other diamond-centers.

Live long,