NB Explains | Surat-based diamond manufacturers incidentally find rarest 'Matryoshka diamond'

Gandhinagar, Apr 16: A company from Gujarat's Surat, VD Global has found a "diamond within a diamond", which is rarest of all finds till date. Reportedly, the company has named the 0.329-carat diamond as the "Beating Heart".

The company shared that the name they have given to the rare find, is based on the first feelings upon witnessing the stone. According to the reports, the stone is now included among rare diamonds, along with Matryoshka diamond, states the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

"While examining roughs at our Surat facility, we found this rare piece of diamond that had another smaller piece trapped inside, but moving freely, which we had never come across earlier," said media reports quoting Vallabh Vaghasiya, chairman of V D Global. “We named it 'Beating Heart' based on our initial feelings upon seeing the unique stone,” Vaghasiya added.

Russian diamond miners had found a diamond that had another diamond locked up inside of it, much like a Matryoshka doll. It was first of such rare diamonds that had been discovered in Siberia, Russia. Matryoshka diamond remained the first such diamond in the history of world diamond mining until 2019. The latest finding from Gujarat is yet distinctive since this diamond has a smaller diamond caught inside of it, a rare of its type. V D Global discovered the 0.329 carat D-colored diamond sometime in October 2022.

How old is the city's bond with diamond manufacturing?

Surat has one of the world's largest diamond processing centers. There are various stories of how diamond came into the market of Gujarat and eventually ruled the global diamond market. According to the western narrative, The diamond industry in Surat can be traced back to the late 16th century when the Portuguese arrived in India and established trade with the region. The Portuguese were the first to introduce diamond cutting and polishing techniques to Surat.

However, it was not until the 19th century that the diamond industry in Surat began to flourish. In the 1820s, the British established a trading post in Surat and introduced modern diamond cutting and polishing techniques. This led to an increase in demand for Surat diamonds, which were known for their high quality and brilliance.

The diamond industry in Surat continued to grow in the early 20th century, and by the 1960s, Surat had become the world's largest diamond cutting and polishing center, accounting for over 90% of India's diamond exports. The industry was dominated by small, family-owned businesses that employed thousands of workers.

However, the local traders and manufacturers of diamond in Surat, the families that have been engaged in the business since generations, have a different story of the business's roots in the western state of India. According to their narrative, the diamond industry started when a local business man in Surat had brought a boat full of diamond cutters from East Africa to commence the city's diamond polishing industry in 1901.

The diamond cutting and polishing industry started way back in the 1960s when some entrepreneurs belonging to the Patel community of Saurashtra started importing rough diamonds and exporting polished diamonds. This industry grew gradually until 1980s after which there was rapid growth. Also the Patels from Saurashtra and the Jains from north Gujarat venturing together helped the diamond industry of Surat prosper. The economic reforms in 1991 added to the enlargement of this industry.

What's the story of Matryoshka diamond?

The Matryoshka diamond is a unique diamond that was created in Russia by scientists from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is named after the Russian Matryoshka dolls, which are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. Similarly, the Matryoshka diamond consists of a smaller diamond crystal that is completely enclosed within a larger diamond crystal.

This type of diamond is also known as a "diamond within a diamond" or a "diamond nanocapsule". It was created using a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which involves growing diamond crystals atom by atom using a gas mixture.

The Matryoshka diamond has potential applications in fields such as quantum computing, high-pressure experiments, and as a high-precision miniature sensor for various industries.

The Matryoshka diamond has potential applications in various fields due to its unique structure and properties. Some of the possible uses of this diamond are:

1. High-pressure experiments: The diamond's structure and stability makes it suitable for use in high-pressure experiments, which are important for studying the properties of materials under extreme conditions.

2. Quantum computing: The diamond's nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers could be used as qubits in quantum computing. These NV centers are defects in the diamond's crystal lattice that can be manipulated to store and process quantum information.

3. Miniature sensors: The diamond's small size and high precision make it suitable for use as a miniature sensor in various industries, such as medicine and environmental monitoring.

4. Diamond jewelry: While the Matryoshka diamond was not created for use in jewelry, its unique structure and rarity make it a valuable and collectible piece for diamond enthusiasts.