Bringing "bling" to a whole new level:

Researchers have developed a new technique for making very large diamonds of high quality that could soon boost optics technology and gaudily adorn fingers of the wealthy with sparkling rocks up to an inch wide.

Using a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD), several groups have figured out how to make diamonds. But growing them over 3 carats has proved challenging. A carat is a unit of weight for gems.

"Our fabrication of 10-carat, half-inch, CVD diamonds is a major breakthrough," said Russell Hemley of the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory. The size is about five times what commercial diamond manufacturers can make using standard processes, Hemley and his colleagues said today. In theory, the technique should be able to make diamonds an inch big, or roughly 300 carats.

The famed Hope Diamond is 45.52 carats.

--Thanks for the tip, Brian.

Posted by: Lawrenkm at 07:46 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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