Diamonds are crystalline THCA, grown in coarse crystals rather than powder. In typical production a fresh-frozen or cured solvent extract is left under controlled conditions so THCA crystallises out of solution, separating from a liquid fraction rich in terpenes (the "sauce"). The crystals can be cleaned and sold alone or recombined with sauce as "diamonds and sauce".
In practice
Pure diamonds can test well above 90% THCA because they're essentially one compound. Like all THCA, they convert to THC with heat; a lab's total THC calculation applies the 0.877 factor, so 98% THCA corresponds to about 86% total THC. The crystals themselves have little smell; aroma comes from the sauce. Diamonds made from rosin also exist and are solventless. GenetixBay defines the product only; no crystallisation methods.
Don't confuse with
- Isolate: also near-pure, but usually a fine powder and usually CBD or THCA refined to a standard grade.
- Sugar: small crystals in a wet matrix.
- Gemstones: obviously unrelated; "diamonds" is purely a product nickname.
THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) is the acid cannabinoid that drug-type cannabis makes in its trichomes; heat or time decarboxylates it into THC, losing about 12% of its mass.A hair-like outgrowth of the plant's skin; in cannabis the glandular types make and store the resin holding cannabinoids and terpenes.Fresh frozen is cannabis frozen immediately after harvest without drying or curing, used as starting material for live resin and live rosin to keep more volatile aroma.Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the neutral, decarboxylated cannabinoid mainly responsible for cannabis's reported intoxicating effects; the living plant makes it almost entirely as THCA.Total THC is a calculated figure, Δ9-THC plus 0.877 × THCA, estimating the maximum THC a sample could yield after full decarboxylation.CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-intoxicating neutral cannabinoid formed when CBDA decarboxylates; hemp-type and CBD-dominant cannabis make it mainly as CBDA in their trichomes.Sauce is a runny, terpene-rich cannabis concentrate, usually the liquid fraction that separates when THCA crystallises out of an extract, often sold with diamonds.An isolate is a concentrate refined to one cannabinoid at very high purity, often 99% or more, usually a white crystalline powder such as CBD or THCA isolate.Live resin is a solvent-based cannabis extract made from fresh frozen plant material instead of dried and cured flower, to retain more volatile aroma compounds.
