OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF DIAMONDS

With high durability and hardness; and a series of optical properties, which make them one of the most durable and beautiful gemstones in the world. Diamonds are, without a doubt, the object of desire for many people, which is why they are used in the world of jewelry to create exquisite and very expensive jewelry.

Next, we invite you to discover in detail what are those optical properties that give it a high aesthetic and economic value:

Its beautiful shine: It is one of the optical properties of diamonds that provides it with enormous value; because it is a very vivid shine, with a lot of light, which is intermediate between the shine of a crystal and that of highly polished steel, especially in highly polished and pure stones.

Transparency: In gemstones that are pure, light manages to pass through their surface; even without losing that intensity that characterizes them, being one of the optical properties, which undoubtedly give diamonds greater value.

Refraction: Its high level of refraction, which is located at 2.417, means that diamonds are considered monorefringent, that is, their incident light spreads at the same speed in any direction; as in the case of mica, being one of the basic optical properties of these gemstones that make them unique.

Dispersion: Its dispersion level of 0.044 is considered very high, and it is one of the optical properties that give diamonds the enormous ability to reflect light. And also, produce the separation within the spectrum of the different colors, from those found in it, such as orange, green, blue, red and violet.

The colors of the diamonds: Undoubtedly, the colors of these gems are part of the most important optical properties; ranging from colorless with some yellowish tint, to intense yellow or brown. Within this range of colors, the saturated ones are the most valued, while the light tones are less valued, with the exception of the faint colors with tints of blue, violet and pink; which are very rare, and therefore have a greater aesthetic and economic value.

On the other hand, there are brown diamonds which are very common; presenting varieties with light brown, reddish and brown tones, which has a higher valuation in the market and is quoted at a high price. Also there are diamonds of saturated or intense yellow color, which is called «canary diamond»while the diamond, which has an intense greenish-yellow hue, is known as champagne diamond

As we can see, the optical properties of diamonds mean that there is a set of varieties that are sought after in the market, to create beautiful jewelry, which is then sold at very high prices, and the rarer the color of the diamond, the more value it has. will have. Likewise, there are orange diamonds that are abundant, black diamonds that are characterized by being opaque; but they are not considered as gems or precious stones, but as something out of the ordinary, rare or curious.

Fluorescence: One of the important optical properties of diamonds is their level of fluorescence; that can be observed when a ray of ultraviolet light falls on the gemstone; and in most gems it manifests itself as blue.

In this context, it is convenient to explain that some diamonds, when in contact with sunlight, become fluorescent; and a bluish hue is observed, which alters its true color, and this can occur when the diamond is exposed to artificial light, when it shows a pronounced yellow hue; which tends to confuse and alter the true price, because pure blue diamonds are much more expensive.

At present, there are diamonds on the world market to which some treatments based on atomic radiation are applied.; with the use of an instrument called «Diamondlite», which determines the exact color, after assigning the color of the gem with a natural light against the geographic north; which is possible due to the optical properties they possess.

Finally, it is good to know that to verify if a diamond is pure; It must be observed with a magnifying glass of 10 magnification, which has chromatic and spherical correction; to check that they do not have external or internal imperfections, called inclusions. External imperfections are due to defects associated with carving and fissures; or produced by defects in crystallization, such as lines of external growth.

Each of these properties, together with their physical properties, such as hardness, toughness, rupture and exfoliation, as well as electrical, magnetic and chemical properties, make up a set of conditions that give these gemstones used in the jewelry industry jewelry, the preference of millions of women and jewelry designers.