What is an Amorphous Diamond?

An amorphous diamond is a simulated diamond that is created by a completely unique process. This stone is composed of millions of tiny diamond crystals that are bonded or aligned together. These carbon bonds are infused into a crystal that make the upper layers of the stone both a simulant and a man-made diamond. Some people refer to the amorphous diamond as a “hybrid.”

Hardness of an Amorphous Diamond:

A diamond, in terms of hardness and durability, ranks a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. A cubic zirconia rates an 8.5.

The amorphous diamond ranks at 9.8, and synthetic Moissanite ranks at 9.2. So in terms of hardness and durability, the amorphous diamond is the hardest diamond substitute, being just under that of a mined diamond.

Amorphous Diamond Clarity & Cost:

A mined diamond always has inclusions, carbon spotting, tiny internal feathers and other flaws. The main consideration in purchasing a mined diamond is whether or not you can actually see the flaws without the aid of a jeweler’s loop. If you can just barely see them, this particular clarity of diamond would be considered “Very Slight” in flawing. A Very Slight or VS diamond would run you multiple thousands of dollars, with a one-carat VS diamond in a whitish color at about $10,000 to $15,000. Most people go into debt when purchasing a diamond of this caliber.

An amorphous VS diamond of the same color as the mined diamond above would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $135 to $189, which vastly less expensive for the buyer.

Amorphous Diamond Color:

On a graduated color scale, with D being the whitest diamond and Z being faint-to-medium yellow, most mined diamonds are nowhere near the D side of the diamond scale — well, not unless you are royalty. Pure white diamonds are expensive and rare indeed.

Most buyers of mine diamonds prefer a stone in the F through I color. This is more of what you will find online and in your local jewelry store. Also, an F-colored diamond is virtually indistinguishable from a flawless D-colored diamond when viewing it with the naked eye.

Fire in the Amorphous Diamond:

A diamond — whether real or synthetic, acts as a prism, dividing light into a spectrum or rainbow of colors that reflect this light as flashes of color. This is called a diamond’s “fire.” The more colorful the fire, the higher the color grade of the diamond.

Here is where the amorphous diamond has a huge advantage over all the others — both real or synthetic. The amorphous diamond has a beautiful brilliance (or white light return) and fire. It is balanced to look like the brilliance and fire of a flawless white diamond.

Much of the amorphous diamond’s light return and fire are the result of skillful faceting. A mined diamond has beautiful faceting, too; however, diamond cutters are actively involved in trying to maximize finished weight as opposed to beauty in the end result.

The amorphous diamond cutters do not have to worry about conserving the rough stone and can concentrate on faceting the stone into a spectacularly beautiful cut.

Cubic zirconias are far down the scale on brilliance and fire. The surface of the CZ is more porous and will cloud over time. Light is impeded when passing through the CZ because it is composed of thicker molecules. CZ’s also have a bluish tinge because the light is pushed from the invisible spectrum to the visible, and the first color the eye can see is blue. Diamonds and amorphous diamonds do not have this impediment.

Friction and Damage:

The amorphous diamond is non-porous and resembles the mined diamond in this characteristic. This makes the surface of the mined diamond and the amorphous diamond more slippery than cubic zirconia. Their surfaces are more like the surface of Teflon, meaning that hand lotion, skin oils, etc. will slide off more easily. Diamonds and amorphous diamonds have, essentially, non-stick surfaces. Dirt will stick less to a mined diamond and an amorphous diamond than it will to a cubic zirconia.

Who Makes the Amorphous Diamond?

Initially, the Asha Diamond Company, was the only manufacturer of the amorphous diamond. Actually, it still may be.

Other manufacturers are claiming to make infused, amorphous diamonds. There is a line of these diamond-infused stones (Diamore) at JC Penny that are comparable in price to Asha’s stones. However, in looking at the Diamore stones, there is a darkness in their make-up. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly how the Diamore looks dificient to the Asha, but I own an Asha diamond, and it is infinitely more beautiful than the Diamore stones I have seen in the store.

In faireness to Diamore and JC Penny, it could just be the store lighting that makes the stones seem darker. They are very nicely faceted and set in real yellow and white gold.

If You Buy an Amorphous Diamond:

If you decide to purchase an Asha amorphous diamond and are going to have it set in a ring by a local jeweler, the people at Asha will send you a guide for setting the stone that is addressed to the jeweler. Ashas can go through the rhodium-dip process and can be set, but they cannot be subjected to an open flame, boiling water and the like. My jeweler had no problem whatsoever setting my Asha stone in my ring.

The Amorphous Diamond — an Exquisite Alternative:

The amorphous diamond is virtually indistinguishable from a mined diamond. You can afford much more diamond for your dollar if you purchase an amorphous diamond. It is also much less expensive than Moissanite.

Cubic zirconias come in various grades, ranging from cloudy and mottled to stunningly beautiful. You will not find a CZ that comes close to being as durable than an amorphous diamond.

I have decided to purchase only amorphous diamonds in the future (and I LOVE diamonds) because I can get a bigger, prettier stone and because the diamond trade misuses so many of its workers who do the actual mining.

When De Beers came up with the “A diamond is forever” slogan, they hit upon a gold mine. De Beers also buys up many of the mining areas and purposely does not mine them in order to keep the price of diamonds almost unreachably high. But the public pays it anyway.

So with my amorphous diamond, I can honestly say with absolute knowledge, that I have a no-conflict diamond.