Where is the most sensitive spot for a DIAMOND?

Where is the most sensitive spot for a DIAMOND?

• A. Up front in the middle.
• B. About 1/4th of the way in (sides).
• C. At the tip.
• D. Just inside one of the points.

Answer: (D)

Diamonds are extremely hard, but they fracture along specific crystal planes. Stress tends to concentrate where two facets meet at a sharp corner—the points—so the area just inside one of those points is the most likely place for a crack to start and propagate. That small internal corner creates the strongest stress concentration, making it the most sensitive spot. The flat middle of a facet or the outer tip don’t concentrate stress in the same way, so they’re less prone to initiating a fracture.

Diamonds are extremely hard, but they fracture along specific crystal planes. Stress tends to concentrate where two facets meet at a sharp corner—the points—so the area just inside one of those points is the most likely place for a crack to start and propagate. That small internal corner creates the strongest stress concentration, making it the most sensitive spot. The flat middle of a facet or the outer tip don’t concentrate stress in the same way, so they’re less prone to initiating a fracture.