Cultivated Diamonds from Hair

You might like to give a thought to the value of what is left lying on the floor, when next you go to your hairdressers.

In the 'Roaring Twenties', when the world was first introduced to the cultured pearl, it threw the pearl industry into total confusion. Now the same thing is happening in the sparkling world of diamonds, with the revolution of cultured diamonds.

As cultured diamonds are of the exact quality as natural diamonds, it is impossible for professional gemologists to pick the difference, either optically, chemically, or physically, between a cultured and a natural diamond.

Both stones have the same specific gravity, hardness, refraction index and dispersion factor and polished using the same equipment and techniques. The only difference is the source.

A Russian company offers to create a cultured diamond from your hair, using the identical procedure as when diamonds are formed through extreme volcanic forces beneath the earth's surface.

Add around 1 gram's weight of carbon to 1 gram's weight of your hair and put it through a HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) machine. Heat the 'seed' up to 5,400 degrees, which reduces it to carbon. It is then crystallized into a diamond over a 6 – 9 month period, as the diamond grows layer by layer. The end result is a real diamond, created from your DNA.

The company only offers diamonds that are green, yellow and red in colour. They just cost one third the price of a natural diamond. Fancy colour diamonds are the fasted growing trend in the diamond industry, worldwide.

Hair can be collected from two or three different sources, as the company creates diamonds from your new-born baby's hair, pet dog, cat, horse or rabbit, or even from cremated ashes. A diamond was also created by Phoenix Diamonds, using an umbilical cord.

A U.S. company, VadenBiesen declares it made three diamonds from locks of Beethoven's hair in 2007 and sold one of them for around $200,000. It says it's going to make around 10 diamonds from Michael Jackson's hair.

The first diamond was created from hair several years ago, from 40 grams of beard trimmings. It took some time to collect the amount required. A .85 carat, 58 faceted diamond was created. The biggest diamond ever formed from hair had a weight of 2.00 carat. That demanded almost 100 grams of clean hair.

Perhaps the armed forces, or prisons, which specialize in a particular cut of hair, could use all the 'leftovers' to better value, rather than just dropping the hair clippings into the rubbish. Hairdressers to the stars may find themselves with a valuable new by-product to their business, as not only newspaper people start to chase the rich and famous. Scavenging for famous hair may become a new pastime.

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Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO's of YouMe Support Foundation (http://youmesupport.org) providing high school education grants for children who are without hope. A chance to fulfill their dreams at whatever level they chose to. Take a few minutes to check out the Tropical Island Treasure Chest at Win A Resort (http://winaresort.com). It could completely change your life.
Feel free to contact Wendy on admin@youmesupport.org