How Does Fluorescence Impact a Diamond?

Mark: Hi, it’s Mark from Top Local Lead Generation and we’re here with the diamond lady, Sheetal Gupta from Maharani Jewels in Vancouver. How’re you doing today Sheetal?

Sheetal: I’m doing really well, thank you so much Mark.

Mark: So we’re going to talk about fluorescence, now this isn’t like fluorescent lights, this is something different, this is fluorescence as it refers to diamonds. What the heck is fluorescence?

Sheetal: Yeah, it’s a great question. It’s a question I get asked by a lot of my clients who are in the market for an engagement ring or looking to buy a diamond. So fluorescence is a characteristic that some diamonds have. It’s a structural feature which when exposed to ultraviolet radiation causes diamonds to glow. So what I mean by ultraviolet radiation, it can be rays of the sun, it could also be the lights that you see in nightclubs and even bowling alleys where you often see your teeth glow or your white clothing will glow. In that same way, diamonds that have this inherent characteristic will actually glow blue primarily, because the most common colour of fluorescence is blue. However fluorescence does exist in white, green as well as other colours but 95% of fluorescence is actually blue. And now there is various degrees of fluorescence, so you have some diamonds which emit just a faint fluorescence, some medium, some strong, and some very strong and when it’s faint you don’t see much in effect on the diamonds appearance, but when it does become strong and very strong it actually makes an impact on the appearance of a diamond. So it’s really important to be educated about what fluorescence does to the appearance of your diamonds as it also affects value.

So I’m going to take you over to a little image right here which kind of better be able to explain to you what that fluorescence looks like. As you can see on this image, the diamonds on the far left, that exhibits no fluorescence is pure white and the one that is highly fluorescent on the very far right glows blue and in the images below, in a very subtle way you can see how the diamond on the far left, with no fluorescence is very crisp and the one that is on the far right looks a bit fuzzy. The terminology as gemologists that we use for diamonds that have strong fluorescence is a characteristic called “oily” or “blurry”. So the diamond on the far right, not exposed to UV light, just under normal lighting but that has strong blue fluorescence will look a little bit oily, so in that situation it does affect the beauty of a diamond. A lot of people also have reservations about fluorescence because in various cultures fluorescence is not seen as the most attractive thing. So particularly in certain cultures,  a diamond with fluorescence might not be the most attractive thing to have and its just more of a psychological thing that makes them sort of fearful of having fluorescence.

I’m going to show you a diamond certificate as well. This is a GI certificate, so though fluorescence doesn’t have a huge presence on the certificate, on the bottom left you will see that there is a category for fluorescence and in this case, this diamond says none. So if there was a diamond that have fluorescence, it would either say faint, medium, strong or very strong. The other thing about fluorescence is value. A diamond that is highly fluorescent will be approximately 30 to 40% cheaper to the same diamond that has no fluorescence. So when you are shopping for diamonds, just be aware that if there is fluorescence, be aware of the value that you are paying for that diamond and also be aware of the appearance and how it might be affected by having fluorescence.

Mark: So there you have it. If you are looking for a diamond and an expert who will look after you and tell you all the hidden little details that you need to know about, the value of your diamond and that you get the one that works best for you, give Sheetal a call. You can reach her to book an appointment at 604-727-0149 or go to her website maharanijewels.com. Tons of information on there. Thanks Sheetal

Sheetal: Thank you so much Mark.