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Diamond
Color
Suppose
you could permanently transform a brownish tinted diamond
into a more valuable looking green or orange diamond. Would
you not be tempted to do so? Thanks to irradiation and heat
treatments, permanent color changes in diamonds are possible.
These treatments are accepted as legitimate trade practices
and allow consumers to buy colored diamonds at more affordable
prices.
Unfortunately,
some people try to pass off their treated diamonds as naturally
colored in order to get a higher price. So, before investing
a high sum of money in a fancy colored diamond, consider having
the stone tested by a reputable gem laboratory for possible
color treatment. There's nothing wrong with color treatment
as long as you are told about it and not charged natural color
prices.
Not
all diamond color treatments are permanent and legitimate.
Many are temporary and done only with the intention of deceiving
the buyer. Occasionally the girdle or back of the diamond
is coated with a chemical or plastic to make it look less
yellow. Sometimes bits of carbon paper under the prongs or
a few dots of ink on the girdle are used to improve the color.
In one instance a 9 1/2 carat fancy pink diamond at a major
auction house was switched and replaced with a stone coated
with pink nail polish.
If
you deal with a reputable jeweler, you won't need to worry
about such deceitful tricks. You should, however, be aware
of them so you can avoid being taken by dishonest vendors
that offer doctored up diamonds al prices which are too good
to be true.
Occasionally
people get concerned when they see their diamond glow under
ultraviolet lights. They suspect that it has been artificially
treated when it just has a natural fluorescence. The GIA estimates
that about 50% of gem diamonds are fluorescent. Blue fluorescence,
the most common type, can mask undesirable yellow tints of
a diamond viewed under the sun's ultraviolet rays. This means
fluorescence can be a positive feature provided it isn't so
strong that it makes the diamond look cloudy.
Adeep
cavity
Impossible
to distinguish
Alphabetical
letters ranging
Rays
vary according
Chemical
or plastic
Indication
that color
The
wholesale price
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