is it possible to color treat a J color diamond to lets say F-G color?

[lasugar]

Hi, like can you take a crappy colored diamond and have it color treated to a nice white color.
I know u can color treat diamonds to fancy shades, but what about turning them out?
What process would that need?

And Im not talking about lab grown diamonds.. icky.

I love comments!
thanks

 

[yssie]

I think the value of a natural J is much higher than that of a treated diamond of any colour, so noone will want to do that?

 

[kenny]

I think if it was possible to improve the color of white diamonds, by a process that was detectable or undetectable by a lab, we would have read about it here. - a lot!

Seems like every day we gets posts about people struggling with whether an I or J or a K is too low in color.
"Is a J to yellow or should I stay with an H. I can get a larger stone if I get a J. Help me decide . . ."

If they could just use process X to change em to Fs all these threads would stop.
No Js would be for sale.

 

[onvacation]

Date: 2/25/2010 12:21:58 AM
Author:lasugar
Hi, like can you take a crappy colored diamond and have it color treated to a nice white color.

I know u can color treat diamonds to fancy shades, but what about turning them out?

What process would that need?


And Im not talking about lab grown diamonds.. icky.


I love comments!

thanks

I don''t know about you, but I would take a lab-grown diamond over a color-treated diamond any day. One''s a real diamond, just grown in a lab instead of in the ground, and the other has been subjected to possibly all sorts of treatments.

To answer your question, yes, a diamond can be made to look less yellow and more white through a variety of methods, ranging from quite crude to super expensive. Ones I''ve heard of are blue-ish tint under the prongs / around the girdle, color coatings, and high pressure high temperature (HPHT) treatment. For the HPHT, the diamond needs to be of a higher clarity, since inclusions don''t take the process well and can turn into an undesirable color or cause damage to the diamond. HPHT treatment can turn a stone into a colorless (D, E, F) stone, or into a colored (blue, pink, yellow, etc.) diamond due to trace minerals in the stone.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Just to add, the HPHT-process can only be used on a very limited number of stones.

Also, it will involve a lot of extra weight loss, because the burnt surface of the stone will have to be polished out.

Finally, there is a high risk of damage to the stone, if the process is performed on a finished stone.

Live long,

 

[yssie]

Date: 2/25/2010 1:37:03 AM
Author: kenny
I think if it was possible to improve the color of white diamonds, by a process that was detectable or undetectable by a lab, we would have read about it here. - a lot!

Seems like every day we gets posts about people struggling with whether an I or J or a K is too low in color.
''Is a J to yellow or should I stay with an H. I can get a larger stone if I get a J. Help me decide . . .''

If they could just use process X to change em to Fs all these threads would stop.
No Js would be for sale.

Unless it''s a chunky cushion!!


I don''t want an F chunky cushion, I want a lovely L

 

[lasugar]

cool, so we have established that you can HPHT the J-K colors to like a nice F lets say, but what about Irradiate them to a white shade?
Because HPHT and Irradiating are 2 different methods, and I was told that u cant Irradiate a J-K diamond white, but only fancy colors.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

NO. We have established that the HPHT-process exists, but that it does not work on about 98% of stones, and that it is impractical.

By the way, a J is not a crappy colour in any way.

Live long,

 

[lasugar]

wow! who knew u could only treat 98% of diamonds with HPHT, I guess thats why some people just Irradiate them?

Like what other methods could u turn a stone D-F if u cant Irradiate or HPHT it?
there''s 2 other methods I believe, an ebay page told me that I was reading

 

[MichelleCarmen]

A well-cut J will look fabulous. If you have a terribly cut colorless diamond, no matter how white it is, it won't look as good as a J.

You got your info from an eBay page?

 

[swingirl]

I own a couple K''s, an M and an H. They are beautiful, sparkly, and the warmth is desirable in my eyes. Not crappy at all. Now a poorly cut stone will look crappy in any color including a D.

 

[lasugar]

so there''s no way u can turn a crappy colored diamond into like D-F colored one?
I dont get it, u can turn them pink and blue but not white?
There MUST be a way!

 

[stone-cold11]

Why?

 

[Tom Gelb]

Date: 2/25/2010 8:57:05 PM
Author: lasugar
so there''s no way u can turn a crappy colored diamond into like D-F colored one?
I dont get it, u can turn them pink and blue but not white?
There MUST be a way!

Hello lasugar,

Yes there is a way to turn a crappy colored diamond to a D-F color, but as mentioned before it must be the right type (and I use that term for its scientific meaning) and even in that case it may still be impossible to get it all the way up to the colorless range. Most of the color in diamonds is due to trace impurities in the crystal structure, most often this is nitrogen. In less than 2% of diamonds the nitrogen levels are so low as to be undetectable by infrared spectroscopy. These diamonds are called type 2. Often type 2 diamonds are colored by defects on the crystal lattice which cause the diamond to trap, or absorb, some of the lght passing through them. Most often these diamonds are brown, but in rare cases they can be pink. It is these brown diamonds that can be lightened by HPHT processing. I have seen a number of these diamonds and while they are much less brown there is still a strange cast to the color. They do indeed sometimes make it into the colorless range, however.

A much more common for of treatment to lighten color is to coat the diamond. This process is unstable, but can lighten up a stone considerably, say from a very light yellow to near colorless. This practice is not commonly used today, but you may still run across it occasionally.

I would say that taking brown out of a diamond has for decades been the dream of many diamond dealers. When HPHT came around in 1999 some felt that the holy grail had been reached, but sanity prevailed and these diamonds are treated the same as any other treated color diamond.

Irradiation, by creating structural damage to the diamond can change it''s color, but that damage would never lead to a colorless diamond due to the atoms now moving freely through the diamond lattice which would cause light to become trapped, or absorbed, and thus give more color to the diamond. It is only those diamonds which do not allow electrons to move, o change states, that show no color.

There are some very, very smart people in the diamond treating business right now, and if there is a way they might find it. But current gemological wisdom would suggest that it is unlikely there will ever be a way to lighten all diamonds permanently.

I hope this helps.

 

[lasugar]

wow thats so cool

sop when you have diamonds Irradiated, its toally safe? Like those reports were just dribble? I was assured they were. But ya never know.

Like Irradiating and HPHT are 2 seperate processes.

I just wanna make the most of my diamonds, for those who asked, who wouldn''t?!

I DO LOVE THE COMMENTS! Keep em'' comin''

 

[Tom Gelb]

Date: 2/25/2010 10:52:38 PM
Author: lasugar
wow thats so cool


sop when you have diamonds Irradiated, its toally safe? Like those reports were just dribble? I was assured they were. But ya never know.


Like Irradiating and HPHT are 2 seperate processes.


I just wanna make the most of my diamonds, for those who asked, who wouldn''t?!


I DO LOVE THE COMMENTS! Keep em'' comin''

The vast majority of irradiated diamonds are safe to wear, but it isnot impossible for there to be some residual radioactivity insome of the older treated diamonds. It is greatly dependent on the method of irradiation and the strength of the treatment. Most diamonds treated today are safe, but a person should be wary of irradiated black diamonds (most treated black diamonds are heat treated nowadays, but here are some irradiated black diamonds are actually such a dark green as to seem black). But to put one''s mind at rest I have seen many thousands of irradiated diamonds and only a handful have any residual radioactivity.

Good luck!