Identifying raw/rough diamonds?

[AroidRage]

Hello, my palmy people. I was hesitant to post about this here, but I'm not getting any help from anywhere else and my good pal DoomsDave said to go for it. I spent a day collecting some material from Crater of Diamonds Park in Arkansas, and I've been sorting it out this past week. Question is, what is the trick to telling raw diamonds apart from other minerals that look so similar? I figured a lot of people who like plants may also be into geology, so do we have any gemologists, jewelers, geologists, crystal fanatics, etc in these forums, who could help me out? I've read just about every article I could find, along with YouTube videos, and it just hasn't clicked yet. It's quite frustrating, being an artist who can't tell the difference between raw diamond and quartz crystals, or brown/yellow diamonds and plain ol shiny brown/yellow stones. I have a microscope but not other tools for identification, so hopefully that helps. The staff just kept telling me they have a "metallic luster and oily finish" but many of the quartz pieces I collected do as well (at least to me). I looked long and hard at the examples they have on display at the park, along with photos of the diamonds that visitors have found there, and I still feel clueless. If there's anyone out there who'd enjoy helping me out, please let me know and I can either send you some photos directly or post some of them here. Thanks in advance, everyone! 

[Silas_Sancona]

28 minutes ago, AroidRage said:

Hello, my palmy people. I was hesitant to post about this here, but I'm not getting any help from anywhere else and my good pal DoomsDave said to go for it. I spent a day collecting some material from Crater of Diamonds Park in Arkansas, and I've been sorting it out this past week. Question is, what is the trick to telling raw diamonds apart from other minerals that look so similar? I figured a lot of people who like plants may also be into geology, so do we have any gemologists, jewelers, geologists, crystal fanatics, etc in these forums, who could help me out? I've read just about every article I could find, along with YouTube videos, and it just hasn't clicked yet. It's quite frustrating, being an artist who can't tell the difference between raw diamond and quartz crystals, or brown/yellow diamonds and plain ol shiny brown/yellow stones. I have a microscope but not other tools for identification, so hopefully that helps. The staff just kept telling me they have a "metallic luster and oily finish" but many of the quartz pieces I collected do as well (at least to me). I looked long and hard at the examples they have on display at the park, along with photos of the diamonds that visitors have found there, and I still feel clueless. If there's anyone out there who'd enjoy helping me out, please let me know and I can either send you some photos directly or post some of them here. Thanks in advance, everyone! 

AroidRage

First off, Welcome to the forum,

Definitely no Geology / Gem expert but do my fair share of rock / gemstone collecting / hounding so might be able to offer some ideas..

If i remember right, Diamond crystals will have a certain " look " in the matrix they're embedded in, or if removed from it ( found as singular crystals eroded from their matrix ) compared to Quartz or other Crystals.. often exhibiting an circular octagonal or triangle shape, somewhat like Fluorite crystals..  Obviously, this isn't always a perfect way to ID specimens..  Have heard the same thing regarding a distinct metallic look to raw stones.

If you have a loupe or microscope, there are characteristics, at that level, you can examine each stone for, then compare to Quartz crystal samples you might have /  web sourced info regarding distinct differences to look for.  Pretty sure there are more advanced " at home " testing kits you could look into which use ultraviolet light ( supposedly 30% of Diamonds fluoresce to Shortwave U.V. ), hardness, chemical indicators, and weight to determine real deal diamonds from everything else.  I see that some articles discuss miners pouring a slurry of raw material containing Diamonds across a grease table since diamonds will apparently stick to it while other rock / minerals in the mix are carried across the same table.

Hopefully your collecting trip yields some rewards.. Feel free to add some pictures.

[AroidRage]

Thanks, here are a few pieces, to give you an example of what I'm seeing. 

[Silas_Sancona]

47 minutes ago, AroidRage said:

Thanks, here are a few pieces, to give you an example of what I'm seeing. 

I can see some good hints of authenticity in the pictures, esp the first one ( thin "plate" - like layers stacked on top of each other  in the part of the crystal above the needle point ) and the " Vaseline- coated look of each one but neither is a 100% guarantee, esp by a non expert, haha.. 

Aside from maybe talking with a local Jeweler, or university Geology department professor, i did see that there are portable, easy to use " Diamond Testers " that can be purchased online..  Here's one article regarding accuracy of them that might be helpful..  Looks like pricing is pretty reasonable ..or expensive,  depending on the bells and whistles included.   Think newer testers combine both thermal and electrical conductivity indicators, rather than each test being on separate testers.

https://www.dmia.net/what-is-a-diamond-tester/

[DoomsDave]

Thanks @Silas_Sancona!