Bort is a type of diamond that isn’t high-quality enough to be a gemstone. Instead, it’s used industrially or in the gemstone industry for working with gem-quality diamonds.
So, is bort a type of diamond? Yes, though bort is often shards or powdered forms of low-quality diamonds. Most bort crystals are dark and opaque.
Today, we’ll go over everything you need to know about this stone, from bort’s hardness to history and properties to prices.
The bort mineral may be called bort, boart, or boort. One old name for a type of bort is ballas, though this may also be considered a bort or diamond variety. Other industrial nicknames for bort include “crushed diamond” and “industrial grade diamond.”
A diamond is a precious gemstone, so one could argue that bort is also a precious gem. However, you’ll hardly ever see bort diamond jewelry or faceted bort stones on the market for gem purposes the way you will with diamonds.
That said, bort and diamond are still the same material, making bort an April birthstone and Aries zodiac stone. Astrologically, bort helps the similarly hard-headed Aries by tamping this sign’s impulsivity and giving them some mental clarity.
Additionally, this diamond variety is technically a commemorative 60th and 75th wedding anniversary gemstone. Though diamond was traditionally only for the 75th anniversary, Queen Victoria I added it for the 60th anniversary in 1897 (her 60th year on the throne) to commemorate her own “Diamond Jubilee.”
You can also use bort or diamonds to celebrate non-wedding anniversaries too! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) did it in 1984 and Disneyland did it in 2015, so why not?
Bort is actually the most common type of diamond currently mined in the world, making up roughly 70 to 80 percent of all diamonds mined.
The main uses for bort are gemstone cutting and power tools. Since diamond is the hardest material, bort can scratch (and therefore polish) other gemstones. Therefore, it’s used in grinding wheels and crushed to create abrasives for polishing gemstone facets.
In more general industries, small bort crystals are used for drill bits and other cutting machinery like saws. This protects the tool’s edges, making it last longer, and allowing them to efficiently get through difficult materials, like:
Rebar
Cement
Stones
Concrete
Metals
Additionally, tiny bort particles mixed into lubricants (e.g. paraffin oil) aren’t suspended in the liquid, lowering the liquid’s friction by up to 50 percent compared to the friction of the liquid without the bort particles.
“Crushing bort” is the term for bort that gets crushed (big shocker there) and used in grits for abrasion.
Given its industrial strength, is bort stronger than diamond? The tenacity/toughness (a material’s resistance to breaking or fracturing) of both diamond and bort is brittle. Unlike diamonds, however, bort lacks perfect cleavage, so it won’t split as easily from a hard blow.
Speaking of qualities like tenacity, let’s discuss bort’s mineral properties.
Pictured above: Diamond dust on mirror | Image credit: Granger Meador, Flickr
First, what is bort made of? As a diamond, bort is purely made of carbon with the simple formula of C (for, you know, carbon).
What color is bort? It depends on the form. When it’s crushed into powder, it’s often white to yellow. Shards can be yellow, brown, or black. Typically, bort is grayish to blackish in color.
Considering diamonds are the hardest minerals, what is the hardness of bort? Bort usually has the same hardness (sometimes slightly lower) as diamond, ranking at 10 on the Mohs mineral hardness scale.
Bort’s crystallization is part of why it’s not used in gemstones. It often has radiating crystal growth, so jewelers can’t polish it. That means it maintains a greasy luster, as most diamonds must be polished to display their signature adamantine luster.
Plus, bort usually has lots of inclusions, making it too unattractive to be a gemstone.
Here’s the rest of bort’s mineral data, which slightly differs in some aspects from that of diamond:
Mohs hardness: 10
Color: Variable; Powder - white to yellowish, Shards - yellow, gray, brown, or black
Crystal structure: Cubic, though usually imperfectly crystallized
Luster: Greasy
Transparency: Translucent to opaque
Refractive index:
Density: 3.5
Cleavage: None or poor
Fracture: Conchoidal
Streak: Colorless
Luminescence: Fluorescence & phosphorescence present - Blue in SW-UV & LW-UV
Pleochroism: None
The only variety of bort is framesite. Framesite is a black, South African type of bort with tiny points of brilliance. What causes these sparkling points? It’s not 100 percent clear, but the sparkles likely come from tiny inclusions of diamonds.
Another diamond variety you may see pop up in discussions about bort is carbonado.
Pictured above: Carbonado | Image credit: James St. John | Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Some gemologists consider bort and carbonado synonyms, but carbonado is slightly different. Carbonado is a brown, gray, or black diamond with resinous luster. Some call carbonado “black diamond.”
Carbonado is massive and polycrystalline, meaning it has lots of crystalline portions pointing in random directions. This stone is also porous.
However, carbonado and bort are both opaque and dark-colored. In terms of utility, bort and carbonado share similar industrial applications, as they’re both used for drills and abrasives.
Shifting to the metaphysical side, let’s see what bort’s spiritual meaning has in store.
Bort has the same symbolism of diamond, representing unbreakable bonds, faithfulness, and everlasting love. The spiritual meaning of bort also ties to strength, success, and inner beauty.
The first diamonds came from Ancient India, which was the sole diamond source for about 1,000 years (starting around 300 BC). They used the Sanskrit term for diamond: Vajra, or “thunderbolt.” Locals believed diamonds formed by being struck by lightning sent by the god of storms, Lord Indra.
Besides using them for religious and spiritually protective purposes, ancient Indians also created the first value grading guide for diamond quality: the Hindu scripture Garuda Purana.
The name “bort” dates back to the early 1600s and derives from the Dutch boort. It specifically appeared in 1620, though the exact origin or writer is unknown. It’s translation may tie to the French term bort for “bastard” or the Dutch translation of boort, which is “drill.”
Another possible explanation is from the Danish definition of bort: a type of edge or band. Many types of bort are chips that break off of diamonds while the gems are being faceted.
Historical writings from the ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder reveal that uses for bort (before its name came around) may have been present in 1st-century AD times.
While describing diamonds in Book 3 of his work Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder wrote:
“When, by good fortune, [diamond] does happen to be broken, it divides into fragments so minute as to be almost imperceptible. These particles are held in great request by engravers, who enclose them in iron, and are enabled thereby, with the greatest facility, to cut the very hardest substances known.”
Pictured above: Jewish factories in Palestine on Plain of Sharon & along the coast to Haifa. Tel Aviv. Diamond works. Applying diamond dust on discs | G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress | Public domain
Diamond cutting didn’t begin until the 1300s, though this era only saw surface-level polishing for shine. Soon, Indian jewelers developed the first true diamond cutting technique using chisels.
In the 1400s, gem cutters realized they could use diamond dust to cut diamonds. Mary of Burgundy received the first diamond engagement ring from the Austrian Archduke Maximilian in 1477.
One 1568 quote from Benvenuto Cellini, taken from his work The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture, outlines the process of cutting with bort:
“Diamonds you can never cut alone, you must always do two at a time on account of their exceeding hardness, no other stone can cut them; it is a case of diamond cutting diamond. This you do by means of rubbing one against the other until a form is obtained such as your skillful cutter may wish to produce, and with the diamond powder that falls from them in the process, the final polish is subsequently given.”
Eventually, the Industrial Revolution and new technology allowed for increasingly elaborate faceted diamonds. Expanding markets and industries also allowed new uses for bort to emerge, like cutting tools used outside of the gemstone realm.
Nowadays, bort is also seen in pop culture!
The most prevalent reference to bort in popular culture is in the Japanese manga Land of the Lustrous, or Houseki no Kuni. Bort is one of the show’s characters. Like the other central figures, she is a gemstone humanoid.
In the show, bort is a fierce fighter with diamond-class strength. Even Bort’s hair is evocative of the real-life stone, composed of many tails that reflect the numerous diamond particles inside bort.
Personality-wise, Bort is a dark, serious, rough-and-tumble type. Meanwhile, the character Diamond is a bright, airy, happy-go-lucky type. Unlike Diamond, who is sparkling and decked out in large diamond crystals, bort is composed of tiny diamond crystals. That means bort can take harder hits with lesser damage.
Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0
Like diamonds and other gems, bort can function as a healing stone, and its powers are influenced by its coloring. Bort is primarily black, so it joins other black gemstones in offering protection, grounding, and commitment to spirituality.
Unlike the popularly white gemstone diamond, bort is a chakra stone for the root chakra (rather than the crown chakra, like diamond). This means bort can open this chakra to bring you stability, protection, and security.
Beyond chakra healing, bort’s healing properties are similar to that of diamond. Let’s look at those benefits below!
Diamond varieties like bort are believed to treat the central nervous system (CNS) and improve cognitive abilities. Bort can also be used to amplify other crystals’ physical healing powers.
The emotional healing benefits of bort include dispelling negativity and anxieties. The stone can also help facilitate personal growth, encouraging confidence and resilience.
Speaking of growth, how does bort form?
Bort forms through the same process as diamonds, around 100 miles under Earth’s surface (in the mantle layer). Carbon deposits underground undergo extremely high pressure and temperature conditions, eventually crystallizing. This process may take days, months, or even millions of years.
Miners find bort beside gem-quality diamonds, primarily in kimberlite rocks or nearby alluvial deposits. Other minerals in kimberlites include garnet, calcite, olivine, and pyroxene.
Currently, the primary producers of industrial-grade diamonds like bort are South Africa and Brazil. Other significant sources are Congo, Indonesia, and Russia.
Pictured above: Diamond polishing machine | Image credit: wim hoppenbrouwers, Flickr
As you might expect, the price of bort is significantly lower than the price of gem-quality diamonds. Large parcels of industrial-grade bort rough are typically around $3.50 per carat. Most individual bort stones are around $0.50 per carat.
Synthetic bort powder is usually around $0.50 per carat or lower. Natural bort powder is only slightly higher, at $1-$2 per carat. Synthetic borts for diamond cutting are usually $0.25-$2.50 per carat.
Bort dust-coated saws start at around just $2, while more heavy-duty equipment starts at $25 and can reach upwards of $500.
Despite its possibly off-putting name, bort is a valuable material that has allowed gorgeous, beloved diamonds to grace the fingers of many a new bride for decades. Though it makes up most of the diamonds mined, bort is just fine being a key player in the background, reminding us that you don’t need awed recognition to feel satisfaction in your work!
If you’re interested in learning more about gemstone cutting, check out our guide on the basic tools and the fundamentals of lapidary work.
Browse our collection of diamonds and other gemstones today!
Bort 是一種質量不足以成為寶石的鑽石。相反,它在工業或寶石行業中用於加工寶石級鑽石。
那麼,bort 是一種鑽石嗎?是的,儘管 bort 通常是劣質鑽石的碎片或粉末狀。大多數硼酸晶體是深色且不透明的。
今天,我們將詳細介紹您需要了解的關於這種寶石的所有信息,從波特的硬度到歷史,從特性到價格。
bort 礦物質可能被稱為 bort、boart 或 boort。一種 bort 的一個舊名稱是 ballas,儘管這也可以被認為是 bort 或diamond品種。 bort 的其他工業暱稱包括“碎鑽石”和“工業級鑽石”。
鑽石是一種珍貴的寶石,因此可以說 bort 也是一種珍貴的寶石。但是,您幾乎不會在市場上看到像對待鑽石那樣用於寶石用途的硼鑽首飾或多面硼酸寶石。
也就是說,硼和鑽石仍然是同一種材料,使硼成為四月生辰石和白羊座生肖石。從占星術上來說,bort 可以幫助同樣頭腦冷靜的白羊座抑制這個星座的衝動,讓他們頭腦清醒一些。
此外,從技術上講,這種鑽石品種是紀念 60 週年和 75 週年結婚紀念日的寶石。雖然鑽石傳統上只在 75 週年紀念時使用,但維多利亞女王一世在 1897 年(她在位 60 週年)的 60 週年紀念日添加了鑽石,以紀念她自己的“鑽禧”。
您也可以使用 bort 或 diamonds 來慶祝非結婚紀念日! Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) 在 1984 年做到了,迪士尼樂園在 2015 年做到了,為什麼不呢?
Bort 實際上是世界上目前開采的最常見的鑽石類型,約佔所有開採鑽石的 70% 至 80%。
bort 的主要用途是寶石切割和電動工具。由於鑽石是最堅硬的材料,因此硼砂可以刮擦(並因此拋光)其他寶石。因此,它被用於砂輪中並被粉碎以製造用於拋光寶石刻面的磨料。
在更一般的行業中,小硼酸晶體用於鑽頭和其他切割機械,如鋸。這可以保護工具的邊緣,使其使用壽命更長,並允許它們有效地穿過困難的材料,例如:
鋼筋
水泥
石頭
具體的
金屬
此外,混入潤滑劑(例如石蠟油)中的微小螺栓顆粒不會懸浮在液體中,與不含螺栓顆粒的液體的摩擦力相比,液體的摩擦力最多可降低 50%。
“壓碎螺栓”是指被壓碎的螺栓(那裡有大衝擊力)並用於磨砂中以進行磨損的術語。
鑑於其工業實力,硼比鑽石強嗎?金剛石和螺栓的韌性/韌性(材料抗斷裂或斷裂的能力)都很脆。然而,與鑽石不同的是,博爾特缺乏完美的乳溝,所以它不會輕易地從重擊中分裂出來。
說到堅韌等品質,讓我們來討論一下硼的礦物特性。
上圖:鏡子上的鑽石灰塵 |圖片來源:Granger Meador, Flickr
首先,bort是由什麼製成的?作為一顆鑽石,bort 完全由碳製成,分子式簡單,為 C(碳)。
波特是什麼顏色?這取決於表格。當它被粉碎成粉末時,它通常是白色到黃色。碎片可以是黃色、棕色或黑色。通常,bort 呈灰色至黑色。
考慮到鑽石是最硬的礦物,那麼硼的硬度是多少? Bort 通常具有與鑽石相同的硬度(有時略低),在莫氏礦物硬度表中排名為 10。
Bort 的結晶是它不用於寶石的部分原因。它通常有輻射狀晶體生長,因此珠寶商無法對其進行拋光。這意味著它會保持油膩的光澤,因為大多數鑽石必須經過拋光才能展現其標誌性的金剛光澤。
此外,硼通常含有很多內含物,因此作為寶石來說太沒有吸引力了。
這是 bort 的其餘礦物數據,在某些方面與鑽石略有不同:
莫氏硬度:10
顏色:可變;粉末 - 白色至淡黃色,碎片 - 黃色、灰色、棕色或黑色
晶體結構: 立方體,雖然通常不完全結晶
光澤: 油膩
透明度: 半透明到不透明
折射率:
密度:3.5
乳溝: 沒有或很差
斷口: 貝殼狀
條紋:無色
發光:熒光和磷光存在 - SW-UV 和 LW-UV 中的藍色
多色性:無
bort 的唯一變體是 framesite。 Framesite 是一種黑色的南非風格的 bort,帶有微小的光點。是什麼導致了這些閃光點?它不是 100% 清晰,但閃光很可能來自微小的鑽石內含物。
您可能會在關於 bort 的討論中看到另一種鑽石品種是 carbonado。
上圖:Carbonado |圖片來源:James St. John |知識共享署名 2.0 通用許可
一些寶石學家認為 bort 和 carbonado 是同義詞,但 carbonado 略有不同。 Carbonado 是一種棕色、灰色或黑色的鑽石,具有樹脂光澤。有些人稱卡博納多為“黑鑽石”。
Carbonado 是塊狀且多晶的,這意味著它有許多指向隨機方向的結晶部分。這塊石頭也是多孔的。
然而,carbonado 和 bort 都是不透明的和深色的。在實用性方面,bort 和 carbonado 具有相似的工業應用,因為它們都用於鑽頭和磨料。
轉向形而上學的一面,讓我們看看波特的精神意義是什麼。
Bort 與鑽石具有相同的象徵意義,代表牢不可破的紐帶、忠誠和永恆的愛。 bort 的精神意義也與力量、成功和內在美有關。
第一批鑽石來自古印度,它是大約 1,000 年(大約從公元前 300 年開始)的唯一鑽石產地。他們使用梵文術語來形容鑽石: Vajra或“霹靂”。當地人相信鑽石是由風暴之神因陀羅發出的閃電擊中形成的。
除了將它們用於宗教和精神保護目的外,古印度人還創造了第一個鑽石品質價值分級指南:印度教經典Garuda Purana 。
“bort”這個名字可以追溯到 1600 年代初期,源自荷蘭語boort 。它具體出現於 1620 年,但確切的來源或作者不詳。它的翻譯可能與法語術語bort的“混蛋”或boort的荷蘭語翻譯有關,即“鑽頭”。
另一種可能的解釋來自丹麥語對 bort 的定義:一種邊緣或帶。許多類型的 bort 是在寶石被刻面時從鑽石上脫落的碎片。
古羅馬學者老普林尼 (Pliny the Elder) 的歷史著作表明,bort(在其名稱出現之前)的用法可能在公元 1 世紀就已存在。
老普林尼 (Pliny the Elder) 在其著作《自然史》 (Naturalis Historia)的第 3 冊中描述鑽石時寫道:
“當運氣好時,[鑽石] 確實碰巧破碎,它會分裂成碎片,碎片非常微小,幾乎難以察覺。這些顆粒受到雕刻師的強烈要求,他們將它們包裹在鐵中,從而能夠以最大的便利來切割已知的最堅硬的物質。”
上圖:巴勒斯坦沙龍平原和海法沿岸的猶太工廠。特拉維夫。鑽石作品。在圓盤上塗金剛石粉 | G. Eric 和 Edith Matson 照片集,國會圖書館 |公共區域
鑽石切割直到 1300 年代才開始,儘管這個時代只看到了表面拋光以獲得光澤。很快,印度珠寶商就使用鑿子開發出第一種真正的鑽石切割技術。
在 1400 年代,寶石切割師意識到他們可以使用鑽石粉來切割鑽石。 1477 年,勃艮第的瑪麗從奧地利大公馬克西米利安那裡收到了第一枚鑽石訂婚戒指。
本韋努托·切利尼 (Benvenuto Cellini) 在 1568 年引用的一句話,摘自他的著作《本韋努托·切利尼 (Benvenuto Cellini) 關於金匠和雕塑的論文》 ,概述了用 bort 切割的過程:
“您永遠無法單獨切割的鑽石,由於其硬度極高,您必須始終一次切割兩顆,沒有其他寶石可以切割它們;這是鑽石切割鑽石的案例。為此,您需要將一個與另一個摩擦,直到獲得您熟練的切割師可能希望生產的形狀,然後使用在此過程中從它們掉落的金剛石粉末,隨後進行最後的拋光。”
最終,工業革命和新技術使刻面鑽石越來越精緻。不斷擴大的市場和行業也讓 bort 出現了新的用途,例如在寶石領域之外使用的切割工具。
如今,bort 也出現在流行文化中!
流行文化中對 bort 的最普遍提及是在日本漫畫Land of the Lustrous或Houseki no Kuni中。 Bort是該劇的角色之一。和其他中心人物一樣,她是一個寶石人形生物。
在節目中,博特是一名擁有鑽石級實力的凶悍鬥士。甚至 Bort 的頭髮也讓人想起現實生活中的石頭,由許多尾巴組成,反映了 bort 體內無數的鑽石顆粒。
就性格而言,Bort 是一個陰暗、嚴肅、粗暴的類型。同時,角色戴蒙德是一個明亮、輕快、無憂無慮的類型。與閃閃發光並裝飾著大顆鑽石晶體的鑽石不同,bort 由微小的鑽石晶體組成。這意味著 bort 可以承受更重的打擊而造成更小的傷害。
圖片來源:Rob Lavinsky,iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0
與鑽石和其他寶石一樣,硼酸可以作為治療石使用,其功效受顏色影響。波爾特主要是黑色的,因此它與其他黑色寶石一起提供保護、根基和對靈性的承諾。
與流行的白色寶石鑽石不同,bort 是根脈輪(而不是皇冠脈輪,如鑽石)的脈輪石。這意味著 bort 可以打開這個脈輪,為您帶來穩定、保護和安全。
除了脈輪療愈之外,博爾特的療愈特性與鑽石相似。下面我們就來看看這些好處吧!
像 bort 這樣的鑽石品種被認為可以治療中樞神經系統 (CNS) 並提高認知能力。 Bort 也可用於增強其他水晶的物理治療能力。
bort 的情緒治療益處包括消除消極情緒和焦慮。石頭還可以幫助促進個人成長,增強信心和韌性。
說到增長,bort 是如何形成的?
Bort 通過與鑽石相同的過程形成,形成於地球表面以下約 100 英里(地幔層)。地下碳沉積物經歷極高的壓力和溫度條件,最終結晶。這個過程可能需要數天、數月甚至數百萬年。
礦工在寶石級鑽石旁邊發現硼,主要是在金伯利岩或附近的沖積礦床中。金伯利岩中的其他礦物包括石榴石、方解石、橄欖石和輝石。
目前,bort 等工業級鑽石的主要生產國是南非和巴西。其他重要來源是剛果、印度尼西亞和俄羅斯。
上圖:金剛石拋光機 |圖片來源:wim hoppenbrouwers, Flickr
如您所料,bort 的價格明顯低於寶石級鑽石的價格。大包裹的工業級硼原石通常每克拉 3.50 美元左右。大多數單顆硼酸寶石的價格約為每克拉 0.50 美元。
合成硼酸粉末通常每克拉 0.50 美元左右或更低。天然硼砂僅略高,每克拉 1-2 美元。用於鑽石切割的合成硼通常每克拉 0.25-2.50 美元。
Bort 塗層鋸的起價僅為 2 美元左右,而更重型的設備起價為 25 美元,最高可達 500 美元。
儘管它的名字可能令人反感,但 bort 是一種寶貴的材料,幾十年來,它讓華麗、受人喜愛的鑽石在許多新新娘的手指上變得優雅。儘管開采的鑽石大部分來自它,但作為幕後的關鍵人物,博特還是不錯的,這提醒我們,您不需要敬畏的認可就能對您的工作感到滿意!
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