When buying diamonds you’ve probably heard that the most important thing that a buyer should consider are the four C’s of diamonds. The four C’s are the diamond’s cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. But have you heard about diamond fluorescence and how it affects the diamond?
Diamond fluorescence is the diamond’s tendency to emit a glow under a UV light, such as the natural daylight. The glow that is usually emitted is blue, but sometimes it could be yellow or orange. Not all diamonds possess this trait. Overall, only about twenty-five to thirty percent of diamonds exhibit fluorescence under UV light. It is graded by its intensity (none, faint, medium, strong, and very strong). Most experts claim that diamond fluorescence can make diamonds appear one grade whiter. So does this make a diamond rare and expensive?
Diamond experts claim that strong to very strong blue fluorescence is usually hazy while medium fluorescence rarely appears hazy. Diamonds with slight or faint fluorescence are usually the ones that never appears to be hazy. But diamond fluorescence could affect the stone’s appearance in various ways. According to experts and trade professionals, blue fluorescence enhances the diamond’s appearance, but this is only true for diamonds with I-M color grades. It is seen that the blue fluorescence that has an intensity of strong to medium has the ability to make faint yellowish diamonds turn into a near-colorless appearance. So this makes the diamond’s per-carat slightly more expensive than similar diamonds that do not have fluorescence.
On the other hand, diamonds that have a higher color grade (D-H color grade) with diamond fluorescence are often viewed as less desirable by trade professionals. They claim that the bluish fluorescence in these diamonds causes the stone to have a hazy or oily appearance, especially if the diamond fluorescence intensity is very strong. In contrast to the diamonds with I-M color grades with fluorescence, these diamonds are priced cheaper than similar diamonds without fluorescence.
Keep in mind that the effect of diamond fluorescence is still subjective. Some may perceive as it a negative effect but some might see it as something positive. It is still up to your own preference whether the appearance of the diamond is good or bad because, at the end of the day, it’s your diamond.
