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Chemical Composition
Diamonds are a naturally-occurring native element. Composed entirely of carbon, diamonds are unique in their formation. The intense heat and pressure needed to form diamonds from raw carbon only exist in the Earth's mantle. If less pressure is exerted on carbon, another variety of carbon is formed -- graphite -- rather than diamond. Graphite is much softer and typically gray in color, and it is known for its use as pencil lead.
Streak and Hardness
Because of its distinctive formation under high heat and pressure, diamonds become "extreme" gemstones. It is the hardest naturally occurring substance on the planet. With a Moh's hardness rating of 10, nothing in nature even comes close to its strength. This hardness means that diamonds do not exemplify the trait of streak.
Streak is the color of a mineral when it is powdered. When a mineral is rubbed on a ceramic tile called a streak plate, the powdered mineral is left behind. Many minerals can be identified by this characteristic alone. Diamonds, however, are much harder than the streak plate itself and will actually cut the ceramic. There is no possible way to streak a diamond and thus, the diamond does not show streak.
Other Characteristics
Diamonds also demonstrate other characteristics that set it apart from other minerals, and even other forms of carbon, such as graphite or coal.
Diamonds display perfect cleavage, the ability to break along the molecular plane, making them simple to facet into different cuts for gemstones. They are not always translucent either. Rather, they can be numerous colors including yellow, red, brown and even black.
Typically, diamonds are confused with quartz, which resembles diamonds in its look. However, quartz lacks any cleavage and only shows a conchoidal fracture. Diamonds can also be distinguished from quartz by its hardness and its greasy luster.
Diamonds and Thier Uses
There are many uses for diamonds, as previously mentioned, but its most obvious use is in high-end jewelry. There are many well-known, famous diamonds that have made their appearance in the form of jewelry, such as the Hope Diamond, which is housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
There are a variety of industrial applications for diamonds as well. Most notably, diamonds are used as cutting blades for specialized saws. These blades are used to cut other mineral specimens and hard rocks such as granite or hard minerals like corundum or topaz.