April's Rirllisfone
Real Diamonds in N. C.
By ASHTON CHAPMAN
Multi-faceted pieces of clear quart/
have been sold under the name “North
Carolina diamonds." Buyers should be
aware that, regardless of the number
of facets, no gem can equal the bril¬
liance and "fire" of a real diamond.
Also the price is. or should be. a
fraction of the pcr-carat cost of a
genuine diamond.
The so-called "North Carolina dia¬
monds" can’t be scratched with a knife,
and they will cut glass. That’s because
quartz is rated at 7 on the Mohs scale
of hardness, which rates diamond at
10. the hardest substance known. The
hardness of glass is only 5.5, so there
arc numerous minerals that will cut it.
Diamond, birthstone for April is a
symbol of innocence, joy and life. It
is composed of pure carbon. "Dia¬
mond” comes from the Greek
“adamas.” meaning invincible.
Found in N. C.
A few genuine diamonds are among
the precious stones found in North
Carolina; others include emeralds,
rubies, sapphires. Tarhcclia has yielded
an extensive array of semi-precious
stones, ranging alphabetically from
amethyst to zircon.
No fewer than 14 genuine diamonds
have been reported found in the state.
Possibly others may have gone unre-
ported because the finders didn’t want
to share their good luck with owners of
the properties where they were found.
It’s also believed that some Tarheels
and visitors may actually have held
rough diamonds in their hands but
threw them away, thinking them worth¬
less pebbles. There’s rarely any bril¬
liance in uncut diamonds; usually
they’re frosty, greasy-looking rounded
crystals.
Invasion of North Carolina by
mounting numbers of rockhounds.
some of whom have a fairly good
knowledge of mineralogy, may just pos¬
sibly result in further diamond dis¬
coveries. Intensive combing, especially
of areas remote from past endeavors,
has uncovered interesting specimens
of many of the more than 300 dif¬
ferent kinds of minerals which occur
in Tarhcclia.
First Found in Burke
The first genuine diamond found in
this state was in Burke County at the
Brindlctown Creek ford, back in 1843.
At the time it was valued at $100.
Two others were later found in the
same general area.
The most unusual diamond found
in North Carolina to date was a black
one “as large as a chinquapin," dis¬
covered by gold-washers in Todd's
Branch in Mecklenburg County.
Having heard that diamond is the hard¬
est substance known, they sought to
test it by pounding it with a sledge¬
hammer. They confused hardness with
strength, for diamonds have definite
planes of cleavage. Fragments of the
black diamond scratched corundum,
thus proving it was the real thing.
Prior to that, in 1852. a one-carat
white diamond was reported found in
Todd’s Branch.
Largest diamond yet found in North
Carolina was a fine 4.33-carat stone
picked up in McDowell near Dysarts-
ville in 1886. Nine years before, a
diamond weighing 2.365 carats, but
somewhat flawed, was found in the
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same area. Previously, a smaller dia¬
mond crystal had been found in Mc¬
Dowell at the headwaters of Muddy
Creek.
Two diamonds have been found in
Rutherford. The first, 1.5 carats,
turned up in gold washings of the
J. D. Twitty mine, in 1845; the other,
"a small and poor specimen," at a
placer mine on property of C. Leven-
thorpe.
A half-carat diamond was found in
1852 in gold washings near "Cottage
Home," the Morrison estate in Lin¬
coln County. In 1893 a diamond
weighing .75 carat was found in Cleve¬
land County, near Kings Mountain.
In the 185()'s two diamonds, one a
beautiful octahedron, were found at
the Portis mine in Franklin County.
Although it’s been many years since
a diamond find has been reported in
North Carolina some geologists think
this may be due. in some measure, to
the discontinuance of placer mining
for gold and the mechanization of
other mines (feldspar, kaolin etc.),
road-building and other earthmoving
activities. In the old pick-and-shovcl
days a closer examination of earth and
rocks was possible by those working
with them.
In Piedmont Plateau
According to I)r. Jasper L. Stucky.
who was State Geologist for many
years, all seven counties in which dia¬
monds have been located "lie in the
Piedmont plateau and have essentially
the same geological setting — older
gneisses and schists intruded by vari¬
ous igneous rocks." This leads to the
belief that all 14 of the diamonds must
have originated at some common point
on higher ground and were washed
down, along with soil and decompos¬
ing rock, during spring freshets.
Just such random finds of diamond
specimens as those reported up to now
in North Carolina finally led to dis¬
covery of the diamond field near the
Arkansas town of Murfreesboro. The
diamond mine there was closed a num¬
ber of years ago and the area has
been an attraction for tourists, who for
a fee can dig and keep all they find.
The majority of diamonds found in
Arkansas have been more suitable for
industrial uses than for jewelry; but
in 1957 a touring housewife from
Texas dug up a 15-carat stone which
was appraised at $100.000 and chris¬
tened "The Star of Arkansas.”
THE STATE. APRIL 1, 1966
