shape
carat
color
clarity

Bob''s Flashes - Natural Color in Natural Diamonds

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

dimonbob

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 12, 2000
Messages
670
Bob’s Flashes – Natural Color in Natural Diamonds

Mother nature produces several colors on her palette of diamonds. Each of those colors can be light, dark, pale or vivid. We think of the Hope diamond in the Smithsonian and we think of dark blue. Other colors are yellow, brown, pink, red, green, orange, violet and others.

Working through the spectrum the first group is red, pink, purplish pink and orangy pink. The origin of color in these diamonds is still the subject of scientific investigations. Unlike other diamond colors, man has not found any trace elements in the crystal lattice to cause these colors. The color is not distributed evenly but is concentrated along parallel grain lines.

Pure orange with no brown overtones is probably the most rare of natural diamond colors. It is thought that nitrogen impurities are the cause of this color but, again, man has not been able to find the mechanism.

Yellow is the best-known color in diamonds. The presence of nitrogen impurities is the cause of the color. If the yellow has an overtone of brown, it may also have hydrogen impurities.

Most green diamonds have only a skin-deep color of green due to natural radiation. Once cut the color is removed. Other green diamonds such as the Dresden Green have the color through the body of the stone. These rare diamonds are the subject of continuous research to find the origin of color.

Blue is another very rare color for diamonds. Trace amounts of boron have been found to cause this color. The Hope Diamond is a deep blue and has red fluorescence.

Another extremely rare color is violet. Hydrogen is found in these diamonds but again the mechanism is not known.

Brown the most common of all colors and is also found as an overtone in many of the other colors. Like the pinks, the color is usually confined to parallel brown grain lines. Additional names for these diamonds are Champagne (very light to medium brown), brown and Fancy Cognac (dark brown).

Diamonds can also be gray, white and black.

As you can see, the study of these minerals will keep scientist busy for many years while we enjoy their beauty.
 

Hest88

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 22, 2003
Messages
4,357
Thanks for another concise overview!
 

mike04456

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 20, 2002
Messages
1,441

----------------
On 6/16/2003 8
6.gif
5:49 AM dimonbob wrote:
The Hope Diamond is a deep blue and has red fluorescence.

----------------

The Hope actually has red phosphorescence, that is, red emission after the short-wave lamp is turned off. When GIA graded it in 1989, they suspected red fluorescence to SW but did not detect it. Otherwise, nice piece.

9.gif

 

dimonbob

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 12, 2000
Messages
670
And I have actually seen it phosphoresce. Thats what I get for using my memory rather than my books. You are correct. Thank you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top