Remember that crazy Finn who one day decided to place strange objects in a hydraulic press and publish his results on YouTube? Well, now he concluded that his press needed a rival with a more sophisticated profile... or at least, that's what many think about diamonds. Although the title of the article anticipates the result, the nearly five million views on the video reveal a certain pleasure in destroying extremely expensive objects...
From whimsical clients in East Asia who pulverize luxury cars with hammers, to the classic 'disturbed' person who waits in line for hours to buy a new console and smash it to pieces in front of everyone, the idea of destroying objects of considerable value is not new. I understand that some people have been lucky enough in life to 'take money out of the equation,' however, I must also admit that it hurts a bit to see such things. That said, let's talk about diamonds. I don't have a very good opinion of diamonds for several reasons, but if I must choose one on this occasion, I'll say that their value is a complete lie. Now, I'll share with all our readers the satisfaction of watching a four-thousand-dollar diamond transform into dust under the hydraulic press of the already world-famous Hydraulic Press Channel:
The Diamond
Four thousand dollars, although apparently the diamond was provided by the company Brilliant Earth. How do they justify that price? In the identification card you can clearly see an I3 clarity rating, meaning the stone was full of defects, detectable even without optical assistance (a quick web search will show that several companies don't even offer I3 diamonds), but it also indicates that it's a 'cultivated' (synthetic) diamond, and most of its cost must be associated with the creation process itself. Another relevant detail on the card is the 1.2 carats, which is about 0.24 grams, if I'm not mistaken. The main risk was that the stone would fly out of the press and then lose hours searching for it, but that didn't happen.
Hardness vs. Toughness
And the answer is no, the diamond never had a chance against the brutality of the hydraulic press. The diamond may be the hardest natural material known so far, and withstand more than six million atmospheres of pressure, but its toughness (the amount of energy it can absorb upon impact before reaching rupture) leaves much to be desired. The word 'toughness' often appears in discussions about smartphone screens. Scratch resistance is something many manufacturers highlight, but when the smartphone falls to the floor more than once...
