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Question About Pricing on VERY LARGE synthetic Diamonds

Madworldz

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
Messages
1
First off let me say i know next to nothing about diamonds.. My knowledge of cutting pricing etc etc is about next to 0 so I'm looking to get some education from you all in the form of responces.

The other night me and some friends got to talking about synthetic diamonds and their pricing and amoung other things we came to the grand idea of having a specific item carved from a synthetic diamond. The item in question is a typical smoking pipe.

We figure due to pricing its going to be very expensive but we decided to make it a life long goal (we are keeping in mind this wont happen for years but with better technology the pricing will go down but still.) We are looking for an estimated price on a diamond with the demensions of 2 inches by 2 inches by 4 inches, I'm aware this might cost hundreds of thousands or more but that would be within reach in a few years so I'm honistly asking about this. Obviously our finished product will be smaller as we would have it cut etc etc (we plan to sell off the fragments that are left over. Also would it even be possable to hollow out a diamond into the shape of a smoking pipe with current technology? I understand diamonds are tough to cut, but we figured using some form of lazor cutting would be the way to go if this ever actually got done. I understand how silly of a goal/question this all is but I'm being honist and would like to know. Any help would be appreciated.

-Madworldz
 

ChristineRose

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
926
So far as I know, this is the largest gem-quality synthetic diamond ever sold. It is less than a centimeter square. It was grown by Tairus, a Russian company. I forget how much they were asking for it, but it was tens of thousands. De Beers apparently grew a 34 carat one but it was not cut and not sold and probably not gem quality either. The largest faceted diamond in the world, The Golden Jubilee, is less than 2.5 inches square at 755.5 carats and it's a little out of your budget.

There are cutters who specialize in fantasy cuts. They usually use materials that are cheap and readily available in large sizes with minimal inclusions, e.g. quartz. The final piece doesn't need to be durable because it will live its life in a display case. You would have to ask a cutter how much your pipe would be but it would be almost all labor cost and hence would vary tremendously depending on the skill and availability of the cutter.
 

EEFranklin

Shiny_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
125
That size of single-crystal diamond is a long ways off from being possible, and may not be possible in our lifetimes, depending on the progress of technology. Currently, there are two ways to grow large single-crystal diamonds:

HPHT - The diamond ChristineRose linked to was grown using an HPHT press. The maximum size is limited to the size of the cell the diamond grows inside, which is currently about a cubic centimeter or so at a theoretical maximum. In the next decade or two, it may be possible for that to double or triple in size, but that is still a long way off from 'smoking pipe size'.

CVD - This grows diamonds in thin layers on a surface inside a larger chamber. The surface area is around a 3" circumference, but currently diamonds are usually grown as a grid of smaller diamonds, rather than one solid 3" disc. There is R&D to increase that disc size up to 6" or larger, and to grow one large plate rather than many smaller crystals. The issue with CVD is this thickness, which is measured in nanometers per hour. Currently, they can only be made to around 3-4mm thick and the thickness is improving at a very slow rate.

In the not-too-distant future, it may be possible for a 2~4 inch by 2 inch by 3~5 millimeter plate, then stack a bunch together to form a pipe. Stacking down the length, the stem would need a much smaller cross section, or could even be made from one 3"x10mmx5mm piece

Even if one rough diamond of appropriate size was readily available, I imagine it would be very difficult to turn that into a functioning pipe, because of the chamber, bore and overall size, due to the hardness of diamond.

Today, you should be able to find rough material of appropriate size in synthetic sapphire (it comes in colorless too), ruby, emerald, cubic zirconia, lead glass (e.g. Swarovski crystal), quartz and many other materials. You could start with a sapphire pipe and upgrade on the pipe's diamond anniversary.
 

jeffkoch

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 11, 2012
Messages
1
EEFranklin|1344278314|3246903 said:
Even if one rough diamond of appropriate size was readily available, I imagine it would be very difficult to turn that into a functioning pipe, because of the chamber, bore and overall size, due to the hardness of diamond.

Also, it would not be usable because diamond is an excellent thermal conductor; better than copper. You would have to wear an oven mitt while smoking.
 
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