Sign in or 
Location: To Halve and To Hold Screencaps
Discussion: Hardness of Cubic Zirconias
Category:
Discussion Forum /
General Discussion
Share this
Showing 1 post
CatKoehler |
Hardness of Cubic Zirconias
Nov 3 2009, 1:03 PM EST
This has been bothering me for a long, long time, so I'm finally going to get it off my chest. There is this one scene in the hotel room where Sara finds a tiny gem she thinks is the "world's smallest diamond;" Warrick says, "oh, you think so, huh?" and proceeds to prove that it is NOT a diamond by attempting to scratch the glass table top with the little stone, which we later learn is, indeed, a Cubic Zirconia (CZ), a kind of imitation gemstone that is made in a laboratory--CZs are not found in nature. If it was diamond, the hardest substance known, it would naturally be able to scratch the glass table top easily, but this gem does not scratch the table; therefore, it is not a diamond. In fact, any gem the hardness of quartz (7 on the Mohs scale) or harder can scratch glass. CZs have a hardness of around 8.5 on the Mohs scale and can easily scratch glass, so this particular test would not distinguish a CZ from a diamond. CZs are, in fact, according to jewelry and diamond expert Antoinette Matlins, the best visual imitator of diamonds, but are easy for experts to distinguish from diamonds by their specific gravity--they are about 75% heavier (denser) than diamonds, so testing its specific gravity by weighing in water, or weighing on a carat scale and estimating the weight it should be from its measured size if it were a diamond would quickly reveal it as am imposter. In a later episode, Nick uses a real test to distinguish Moissanite, an imitation laboratory gem made of silicon carbide, from diamond; but according to Antoinette Matlins, Moissanite does not really look that much like diamond to experts; CZ is a much better looking "diamond," so if it can fool the experts (only visually), how Warrick knew the difference by looking is anybody's guess.
Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
Screencaps
|
Sign in to be the first to reply.
