Muséum national d'histoire naturelle _ The species

FROM : Mines du Cap, République d'Afrique du Sud
SIZE : 10.5 x 6.5 x 7 cm

This is an uncut diamond in a matrix of kimberlite. This diamond is pale yellow and is octohedral. The edges of the octahedron are rounded.

It measures a bit over than 1cm and was discovered in the diamond deposit in Cape Town area in the Republic of South Africa.The French Company of Cape Town offered it to the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in 1882.

It is kept in the reserves of the collections of the Muséum (i.e., not yet displayed to the public).

Photography: A. Dahmane / Photo Saint-Hilaire, © MNHN

SPECIE : Diamond

HISTORY : Name inspired from the Greek word "αδαμασ"[adamas] meaning "not flexible", "untameable", in reference to the fact that diamond cannot be scratched

Species described in 77 by Caius Plinius Secundus (23-79 AC), Roman writer and historian

Type-locality: undefined because species already known from the Ancients
ANCIENT NAME : Diament

CHEMICAL FORMULA : C
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Cubic
COLOR : Colorless pale yellow, brown, pink, green, black
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to translucent
LUSTER : Adamantine to greasy
STREAK : Colorless
MORPHOLOGY : Octahedric, cubic crystals, twinning common
HARDNESS : 10
DENSITY : 3,515

CHEMICAL CLASS : I - Elements
GROUP : Diamond
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 1/B.02-40
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 1.CB.10

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MNHN N°82.141

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