You’ve slowly and grudgingly researched the four Cs in order to better understand the value of your diamonds. You feel relatively confident that you could tell the difference between an emerald and a princess cut, a D or a J color, and that you could approximate the size of a 1, 2, or 3 carat stone. And yet, you have probably never heard of fluorescence, nor do you have any idea how it can affect the value of your gemstone. It is not something to cause the average consumer undue strain, but if you pride yourself on knowing the ins and outs of the rocks you use to decorate your décolletage, then perhaps you should learn what fluorescence is all about.
For starters, about one in every three stones have some fluorescence (like many other gems and minerals found in nature), although the levels can vary greatly. And while it can’t be seen under normal lighting conditions, when you hit the stone with a UV (or black) light, it will begin to glow, generally with a blue hue. While some people feel that this is a negative when it comes to the value of the diamond, it is much more commonly seen as a bonus. The explanation for the value of fluorescence can be found in the color wheel.
As you may remember from art or science class, certain colors are complementary, and as such, they have the ability to cancel each other out on the spectrum of light. In case you didn’t know, blue is complementary to yellow. This means that a stone with fluorescence will appear whiter under natural light, effectively canceling any yellowish hues to make the stone closer to colorless than it actually is. And as any diamond-buyer knows, this is a desirable trait amongst a certain grade of stones.
Now, if you’re looking to buy a yellow diamond, chances are you may want to avoid those stones that exhibit fluorescence since they will make the yellow tones appear paler. But if colorless is what you crave, ask your dealer to check for fluorescent stones. If the examination is performed correctly (under natural lighting conditions) you should be able to get a discount on a stone that is graded towards J but looks more like D.
