| We’re all familiar with the 4Cs of diamonds | | | | examine it under a variety of conditions, such as |
| – cut, color, clarity and carat weight. But | | | | sunlight and fluorescent light, as well as a |
| diamonds also possess a quality called | | | | jeweler’s black light. Some diamonds with a |
| fluorescence that’s part of the evaluation and | | | | fluorescent quality can become hazy in daylight or |
| assessment of a diamond. It’s actually called | | | | even glow out on the dance floor! |
| photo-luminescence and it’s caused by small | | | | Colorless diamonds have become increasingly rare |
| amounts of the chemical boron in the diamond. | | | | and expensive. The color grades of D (flawless) |
| It’s activated by UV light. | | | | to G are going to be hard to come by at a |
| It’s graded by how much blue there is in the | | | | reasonable price. If you’re buying a diamond |
| diamond – None, Faint, Medium, Medium blue, | | | | with a color grade of H or higher, some |
| Strong, Strong Blue and Intense Blue. At one | | | | fluorescence may actually be a good attribute for |
| time, this was a highly-prized quality in a diamond | | | | it and increase your stone’s value and |
| and the demand for a blue-white diamond was | | | | attractiveness, as the blue fluorescence can |
| high. The blue indicated the fluorescence of the | | | | offset any other gradations in the stone, such as |
| diamond, while white was a reference to the | | | | a yellowish tone. |
| overall color of the body of the stone. This has | | | | Although some diamonds have a yellow or orange |
| decreased over time as consumer preference | | | | fluorescence, most reputable jewelers will |
| shifted towards the more colorless stones. | | | | recommend against a diamond with this quality, |
| The tide of public preference may be shifting | | | | unless you’re buying a colored diamond in the |
| back to the blue-white diamond, but you want to | | | | same hue, as a similar fluorescence will enhance |
| be sure, when buying a diamond, that you | | | | and intensify that color. |