Paste diamond

MFA Acc. #: 64.661

Description

An inexpensive, imitation diamond gemstone. Paste diamonds are composed of a hard, highly refractive, lead glass. They lack the double refraction and regular molecular arrangement of true gem crystals (Brady 1971).

See imitation diamond for other types of simulated diamonds.

Synonyms and Related Terms

strass; rhinestone; lead glass; imitatie-diamant (Ned.)

Leaded glass stone

Other Properties

Dispersion >0.02; low thermal conductivity

Mohs Hardness	5.0 - 6.0
Density	2.4-4.2
Refractive Index	1.67

Additional Information

G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, 10th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1971.

Comparisons

Natural and Simulated Diamonds

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 364

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_simulant (Accessed Feb. 2, 2006)