Using Irradiation To Enhance The Color of a Diamond
Thursday, December 30, 2010 by admin
A diamonds color or lack thereof, is a major component of the value of a diamond. Vivid, fancy color diamonds are very valuable and rare to find, making them all the more out of reach of the wallets of the everyday person. This is why the jewelry industry took technology and used it to create amazing, colorful diamonds that the public demands.
Irradiation is just one of the ways to turn a brown or yellow stone into fancy colored diamonds, such as brilliant greens, vibrant reds, glowing yellows, as well as purples, blues, and a list of other colors. The process of irradiation is simple due to new technology. They take a natural stone and infuse it with high electron particles in a laboratory. This process tries to mimic a diamonds creation in nature, but also use heat to give them the same brilliance they would find in a natural state. The electron or neutron would produce a narrow space, and when they are heated the nitrogen traps the narrow spaces to form a more complex color. The colored centers absorb certain colors reflecting back to us the unabsorbed colors creating the stunning effect. Red is by far the rarest, as the color is very difficult to achieve, such as in authentic colored diamonds. The colors are then treated to keep the 100% safe for us to wear.
Natural colored diamonds are only available at about a rate of 1 to 2 carats per every 1000 carats so chances are if you find one at your local jeweler it is a color enhanced diamond. The rare authentic colored diamonds are often museum showpieces, or held only by the rich and famous.
Irradiation is just one of the ways to turn a brown or yellow stone into fancy colored diamonds, such as brilliant greens, vibrant reds, glowing yellows, as well as purples, blues, and a list of other colors. The process of irradiation is simple due to new technology. They take a natural stone and infuse it with high electron particles in a laboratory. This process tries to mimic a diamonds creation in nature, but also use heat to give them the same brilliance they would find in a natural state. The electron or neutron would produce a narrow space, and when they are heated the nitrogen traps the narrow spaces to form a more complex color. The colored centers absorb certain colors reflecting back to us the unabsorbed colors creating the stunning effect. Red is by far the rarest, as the color is very difficult to achieve, such as in authentic colored diamonds. The colors are then treated to keep the 100% safe for us to wear.
Natural colored diamonds are only available at about a rate of 1 to 2 carats per every 1000 carats so chances are if you find one at your local jeweler it is a color enhanced diamond. The rare authentic colored diamonds are often museum showpieces, or held only by the rich and famous.
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