Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jewelers Helping the World See
    Little’s Jewelers: Three’s the Charm
    Gittelson Jewelers: Diamonds on the Skyway in Minneapolis
    New IDD LUXE debuts “intelligently-designed” upscale diamond bridal & fashion collection
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    ASHI launches 2023 Bridal Sweepstakes
    Sunstone announces Permanent Jewelry Expo
    Platinum Guild International launches new information portal on Responsible Platinum
    Sissy’s Log Cabin unveils exclusive Memphis Grizzlies jewelry collection
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Ten things you can do to raise the level of your customer service
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Sizing up your ring mandrel
    Jewelry marketing lessons for growth in 2023
    Jeweler’s Insurance: The wrong time to ask the right questions!
    From Bland to Bold: How humor can transform your jewelry advertising
    Oooh… It’s a Tiara! The Top 6 All Time Best
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    And here they come
    International School of Gemology Education Series: The Story of Opal
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Jewelers Helping the World See
    Little’s Jewelers: Three’s the Charm
    Gittelson Jewelers: Diamonds on the Skyway in Minneapolis
    New IDD LUXE debuts “intelligently-designed” upscale diamond bridal & fashion collection
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    ASHI launches 2023 Bridal Sweepstakes
    Sunstone announces Permanent Jewelry Expo
    Platinum Guild International launches new information portal on Responsible Platinum
    Sissy’s Log Cabin unveils exclusive Memphis Grizzlies jewelry collection
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Ten things you can do to raise the level of your customer service
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Sizing up your ring mandrel
    Jewelry marketing lessons for growth in 2023
    Jeweler’s Insurance: The wrong time to ask the right questions!
    From Bland to Bold: How humor can transform your jewelry advertising
    Oooh… It’s a Tiara! The Top 6 All Time Best
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    And here they come
    International School of Gemology Education Series: The Story of Opal
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest News Other News

Diamond research gives clues to the formation of the continents

May 8, 2019
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 4 minutes

GIA scientist Dr. Karen Smit lead author of Science magazine article

(CARLSBAD, Calif.) – Diamonds, long prized for their beauty and rarity, continue to reveal clues about the early history of our planet. To better understand how the most ancient continents came to be, researchers examined tiny mineral remnants trapped in diamonds during the formation of the earth. The results were published in Science magazine, in the article “Sulfur Isotopes in Diamonds Reveal Differences in Continent Construction” by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) research scientist Karen Smit; Steven B. Shirey and the late Erik H. Hauri of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution for Science; and Richard A. Stern, a research scientist at the University of Alberta.

GIA roughRough diamond from Zimmi in West Africa, near the Sierra Leone-Libera border. It contains a sulfide inclusion with compositions that give clues to how the West African continent formed. Photo by Karen Smit/GIA.

“Diamonds are one of the most valuable gems, not only as jewelry but also in geoscience,” said GIA research scientist Dr. Karen Smit, the lead author. “The mineral inclusions in diamonds let us study the inaccessible depths of Earth – somewhere that today’s science cannot otherwise reach.”

The researchers examined diamonds from the Zimmi mining area near the Liberia-Sierra Leone border, which is known for producing yellow diamonds. The Zimmi diamonds are classified as Type Ib diamonds because they have rare nitrogen impurities. Type Ib diamonds are exceptionally rare in nature, accounting for less than 0.1% of natural diamonds mined worldwide. By laser-cutting and polishing very thin plates from the Zimmi diamonds, the researchers were able to isolate and study sulphide inclusions, extracting chemical isotopes that offered clues to when the diamonds – and the deepest and oldest parts of the continents – formed.

“This kind of insight is possible only because of the unique characteristics of diamonds,” said Dr. Wuyi Wang, GIA vice president of research and development. “GIA’s significant investment in research, unique access to rare diamonds and the outstanding collaboration with the Carnegie Institution and the University of Alberta made this significant discovery possible.”

A summary of the Science article is available on GIA.edu: http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/diamond-research-gives-clues-formation-continents.

GIA has more than 60 years of continuous research on diamonds, colored gems and pearls as part of its mission to protect consumers and ensure their trust in gems and jewelry. The sustained research effort – with more than 60 full-time researchers, 22 with Ph.D.s – yields findings that reach a global audience though Gems & Gemology (G&G), GIA’s quarterly professional journal; the Institute’s website, GIA.edu, where all G&G articles are available at no cost; and the many scientific journals and conferences where GIA researchers share their findings. This research supports the Institute’s industry-leading gemology education offerings, and the identification and grading services of its gemological laboratories.

 

 

Related Posts

ASHI launches 2023 Bridal Sweepstakes

January 25, 2023

Sissy’s Log Cabin unveils exclusive Memphis Grizzlies jewelry collection

January 25, 2023

Quality Gold, Inc. announces acquisition of HERCO Jewelry Company

January 23, 2023

ASHI announces winner of 2022 Holiday Sweepstakes

January 23, 2023

Latest News

Other News

ASHI launches 2023 Bridal Sweepstakes

January 25, 2023
Industry Events

Sunstone announces Permanent Jewelry Expo

January 25, 2023
Columnists

Ten things you can do to raise the level of your customer service

January 25, 2023

Other News

Platinum Guild International launches new information portal on Responsible Platinum

Sissy’s Log Cabin unveils exclusive Memphis Grizzlies jewelry collection

GN Diamond helps jewelers sell more diamonds with free in-store selling tool

Quality Gold, Inc. announces acquisition of HERCO Jewelry Company

Successful Custom: Sizing up your ring mandrel

ASHI announces winner of 2022 Holiday Sweepstakes

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Trade Shows
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.