Fluorescence in laymans terms please.....

ksreynolds74 · Oct 27, 2003

Can someone please give a layman''s explanation of what fluorescence is and why it is good or bad to have....

Is a stone with Med. Flourescence appealing to the naked eye? Is it noticable to the untrained eye if next to a stone with none?

Brian_DC · Oct 27, 2003

I had a hard time with this one personally. I could barely see anything in normal circumstances between no fluorescence and Md. fluorescence. In direct sunlight, you can sometime see a little bit of a glow or haze. I personally couldn't tell too much. Also a blacklight will get them to glow a bit.

It's a personal preference thing. Although diamonds with fluorescence are priced lower than normal diamonds. As I understand it sometime a fluorescence can make a diamond look milky or cloudy. But a slight blue fluorescence can also make a g-k stone look more "white". My best advice is to go to a local diamond dealer as have them show you actual diamonds and compare the different gradings!
Good luck!

Brian_DC

robbe · Oct 27, 2003

- none, faint, very slight, medium or slight are not disturbing to the eyes and not affecting value.

- strong can at times be slightly disturbing to the eyes but not always, usually affecting value slightly (but in some sunny countries some pay premiums for strong!)

- very strong is usually easily visible, most people dislike very strong, value is slighlty affected.

good luck,robbe

JC · Oct 27, 2003

Fluorescence can be a very nice attribute to a diamond. Most often fluorescence can manipulate the appearance of a diamond to make it look whiter to the naked eye. You can also find a diamond at a much more competitive price when it has fluorescence. Very rarely does fluorescence cause a negative impact upon a diamond. However, there are rare circumstances when it can cause a milky or hazy appearance in the diamond. This is generally only the case when there has been a Very Strong rating. Typically, you cannot see any visual difference between a diamond that has fluorescence and a diamond that has a rating of "NONE". However, you can see a "glowing" sensation under a black light or UV/Ultra Violet ray when looking at a diamond with fluorescence. This is what I have found through my experience.

spicolicpa · Oct 27, 2003

After being lucky enough to get to see two different 1 ct. stones in G color ;
1 with no floresence and 1 with mild floresence I noted that the G with Mild flo seems a bit icier, not more colorless but....icier....hard to explain. I like the flo!

Gene · Oct 27, 2003

i was just at the intergem jewelry show this wkend,
and got to looking at some guy's ring designs,
when i noticed it -- of the three identical rings,
all of which he says were "oh, about G-H and SI"
(30 pointers, no certs, clueless seller) when, just
like you say, one stood out as icy because it's
almost blue-white. I gotta say, while the color
was awesome, clean as snow, trying to look into
the diamond was harder.. instead of an eventual
resolution and finality i usually see when looking
deep into a diamond, it started becoming cloudy &
milky, exactly as was said here.

came back the next day, dragged them all before my
blacklight, and the one i suspected just lit up
like a piece of radioactive kryptonite, this very
light aqua blue. kinda cool when you go clubbing,
but i can see how it would get old

diamondsbylauren · Oct 27, 2003

Here's an interesting shot. The center diamond is rated Med Blue on the GIA- it's a 4.05 E/SI1 radiant. I had a UVlight on the ring when I took the photo

The two side stones are inert- no fl.

I'll post a photo of the stones together in room light and you really can't see any problem.

There are cases where the diamond is milky- but that's usually with strong blue stones.

In many cases the fluorecence is an attribute- making the diamond look better. This is especially true in stones of H-I-J-K-L-M colors. Many times a J with stong blue looksquite liike an H

Sorry wrong photo- I'm still getting the hang of things over here- see the next post