| When shopping for a gemstone, diamond | | | | yellow, making it appear whiter. For this reason, |
| fluorescence is a common factor that is often | | | | these lower-colored gemstones that glow blue are |
| overlooked. It could be that many consumers | | | | higher in price than those that don't glow. On the |
| aren't properly informed of this occurrence. | | | | other hand, the other theory proposed is that |
| However, it should not be an element that's to be | | | | fluorescence can have a negative impact on |
| ignored. Let's take a look at this phenomenon and | | | | colorless diamonds, such as those graded D, E and |
| how it can affect your stone. | | | | F. When viewed under ultraviolet light, a colorless |
| What Is Fluorescence? | | | | stone that has a medium to strong glow will look |
| Fluorescence, also known as photo luminescence, | | | | oily or cloudy. This detracts from the beauty of |
| is a characteristic of some diamonds which causes | | | | the diamond, and as a result, brings down it's price |
| them to glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. | | | | by 10 to 30 percent. |
| This occurs when the boron atoms contained | | | | You Be The Judge |
| within a stone are stimulated by any source of | | | | In 1997, the Gemological Institute Of America |
| UV lighting, such as natural daylight and black lights. | | | | (GIA) conducted a study on the effect of |
| The amount of glow that a stone emits will | | | | ultraviolet fluorescence on a diamond's |
| depend on the amount of boron atoms it has, and | | | | appearance. A group of similar graded stones with |
| while the majority of stones fluoresce blue, other | | | | various amounts of fluorescence were observed |
| colors are possible. This can range from yellow, | | | | and commented on by participants. These |
| green, white, pink and red, like the Hope Diamond. | | | | participants included trained diamond graders, |
| The abbreviations for describing strength of | | | | trade professionals (jewelers) and average |
| fluorescence are as follows: | | | | observers (general public). The study concluded |
| - N, NO, NON - No fluorescence | | | | that for the average observer, fluorescence |
| - F, FB, FT, FA - Faint or faint blue fluorescence | | | | made no discernible difference. As for the |
| - SL, SLB, SLT - Slight fluorescence | | | | experienced observers (graders and trade |
| - M, MO, ME, MD - Medium or moderate | | | | professionals), they did not agree on the affects |
| fluorescence | | | | of fluorescence. And contrary to the previous |
| - S, ST, STB, STG - Strong fluorescence | | | | theories, the trained/experienced observers most |
| - E, EX, EXB, EF - Extreme fluorescence | | | | consistently determined that stones which emit a |
| Is This Good Or Bad? | | | | strong glow were the ones with the best color. |
| This phenomenon has caused many debates | | | | The bottom line is, you should not let diamond |
| within the diamond industry, and in many cases, | | | | fluorescence unduly influence your choice when |
| influenced the pricing of gemstones. The theory | | | | selecting a gemstone. If the industry experts can't |
| has been that diamond fluorescence has a | | | | seem to agree and constantly split hairs over the |
| positive impact on faint yellow stones, such as | | | | effect, then it should just be a matter of personal |
| those graded K, L and M. For example, if a yellow | | | | preference. |
| stone fluoresces blue, it counteracts with the | | | | |