Monocrystalline diamond drawing die

Natural diamond is created in the depths of Earth from carbon combined with a catalyst under conditions of high pressures and high temperature. The "diamond", name derived from the Greek "adamas" meaning "Invincible", is the hardest natural mineral, 10 on the Mohs scale. Its tetrahedral crystal structure shows carbon atoms firmly linked by strong and rigid covalent bonds giving it its high density and extreme hardness. In addition to its excellent wear resistance, diamond displays a very high thermal conductivity and an extremely low coefficient of friction, which makes it very efficient in extreme industrial applications such as wire drawing and material calibration, metals and fluids. Its reference unit is the carat (0.20grs). Coveted for industry (70% of the world’s needs) and jewelry (30%), natural diamond used for wire drawing dies must have a perfect purity (IF level "internally flawless"). The shapes used are mostly octahedral and dodecahedral. For over 100 years Balloffet has been buying rough diamonds after a strict unit selection under microscope by respecting extremely precise criteria (shape, weight, purity and internal quality) for each stonee.