# What happens to diamond discards?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 8, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241 "2003-10-08T06:12:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nifu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f05b48/32.png) [@nifu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nifu)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/1 "2003-10-08T06:12:17Z")

</div>

I was wondering what happens to the little pieces of diamonds that the lasers cut off to make the diamonds look good. I don’t even know if there is actually any pieces cut off, I’m basically clueless. Someone wanna help a brother out?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/2 "2003-10-08T06:19:23Z")

</div>

Most diamonds are still shaped via grinding. I’d assume they use that leftover residue for other lapidary purposes or somehow wash out the diamond dust for a pure abrasive.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Garnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@Garnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garnet)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/3 "2003-10-08T06:37:57Z")

</div>

If you search on eBay for “loose diamonds”, you can find people selling large quantities of small, sub-1-carat diamonds of varying quality. This is a total WAG on my part, but I would imagine that many/most of these originated as “little pieces” cut off a bigger stone and then given a brilliant cut - especially the tiny ones that are less than 0.01 carat. Hopefully someone with a little expertise can come in and shed some more light on this hypothesis.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/4 "2003-10-08T15:16:28Z")

</div>

A partial answer…I know that tool and die makers sometimes use a polishing paste made with diamond dust. I have a knife sharpener that’s a steel rod coated with diamond dust. When I worked in the making of sealed-beam headlights, the wheel that ground the aiming points was made of diamonds.

I don’t really know what the OP needs to know. Maybe he’s looking for a teensy engagement ring for his daughter’s Barbie.®

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/5 "2003-10-08T16:25:49Z")

</div>

I think most would go to industrial uses, diamond blades for cutting concrete and steel. Also I think the only thing that will cut a diamond is another diamond, so much would be used for lapidary purposes.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-diamond-discards/206241/6 "2003-10-08T16:57:59Z")

</div>

Most of those really teeny cut diamonds are from India.