DON’T FORGET ABOUT FLUORESCENCE!

Florescence is an visual aspect of diamonds that is always forgotten.

People will spend days and weeks looking for a high quality diamond, one with high color (as in E) and high clarity (like VVS2), they’ll make sure it has a great cut (Excellent), they’ll make sure it’s certified (GIA is the best), and they’ll get themselves a really, really awesome deal, but…

They always forget about florescence!!!

Forget about it, or they just don’t know enough to ask.

The truth is, florescence (as listed on a diamond report, aka certificate) can kill the true beauty of a diamond. In fact it can make a top-notch diamond look cloudy, dull, or even foggy. And people will be clueless as to why this high quality diamond looks so bad! (“But I bought what you suggested…“)

So what is florescence?

Florescence is a phenomenon that occurs naturally in diamonds. It’s really not a good, nor bad trait, it’s just another way to identify and grade a particular stone.

Under a black light, a diamond that has florescence can actually glow-in-the-dark…

Many diamonds that have florescence will actually look fine or face up well in natural light.

But some diamonds are not so lucky.

Some diamonds will look really weird or odd in natural light (see the second row of diamonds above). Some stones look foggy, hazy, blurry, overcast, or just milky in appearance.

Let’s compare two diamonds

Both diamonds shown above are nearly identical as far as color, cut, clarity, and carat weight goes. See their full specs here…

CW, FLUORESCENCE, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERT	PRICE	VIEW
1.04, MEDIUM, VVS2, D, EXCELLENT, GIA	$12,050	VIEW
1.04, NONE, VVS2, D, EXCELLENT, GIA	$15,510	VIEW

But the first diamond has “medium” florescence (which also makes it much cheaper), while the second diamond has “no florescence“, and appears much more sharp, detailed, and vivid. So one diamond will be bright and shiny and have tons of brilliance and sparkle, while the other diamond will lack sparkle and actually look dull and dreary (like a low grade stone).

And if you didn’t know about florescence then you would buy the first diamond because you could save a couple thousand dollars… and you’d also regret it.

Everyone would look at your diamond once it’s set in an engagement ring, and wonder why it doesn’t sparkle… Especially since you’re bragging about the fact that it’s top-of-the-line.

They’re not all BAD!

Like I said, not all diamonds with florescence are bad. Some have florescence and look just fine. You would never know they had any. So you could save money and get a great looking stone.

But those that don’t look good, those that look foggy, can really be a big disappointment.

And unless you see the diamond with your very own eyes in different lighting atmospheres (outside, inside, halogen bulb lighting, fluorescent bulb lighting, etc…), you’ll really never know.

My rule of thumb:

If you’re buying a diamond (especially over the internet) don’t forget about florescence. Make sure it has “none” (again, all diamond reports will list if a diamond has fluorescence or not).

None is good.

That way you won’t have to worry if your diamond is hindering light or life.

Because who wants to buy a diamond that doesn’t sparkle?

Not me.

Here are some great diamonds without fluorescence:

CARAT WEIGHT, CLARITY, COLOR, CUT, CERTIFIED	PRICE	VIEW
.30, VS2, F, EXCELLENT, GIA	$630	VIEW
.36, VVS1, F, PRINCESS, GIA	$620	VIEW
.41, IF, F, PRINCESS, GIA	$970	VIEW
.51, VVS2, D, CUSHION, GIA	$2,510	VIEW
.62, VS1, F, PRINCESS, GIA	$1,980	VIEW
.72, VS2, D, RADIANT, GIA	$2,990	VIEW
.82, VS2, F, PRINCESS, GIA	$2,970	VIEW
1.01, VS2, F, CUSHION, GIA	$3,720	VIEW
1.07, VS2, F, PRINCESS, GIA	$5,390	VIEW

Now those diamonds rock!

Cheers! :)