Irradiated Blue Diamonds

[kenny]

We actually EAT those! I will enjoy them more from here on out!

If you eat blue diamonds you must be very rich and have very strong teeth.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We actually EAT those! I will enjoy them more from here on out!

If you eat blue diamonds you must be very rich and have very strong teeth.

One or the other, but I won't say which!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Very much my pleasure to talk abut FCD's DS- thanks for asking well thought out questions!!

You used the term "fancy Light Brown"- and in my experience, this grade exists- but it's rare as chicken's teeth.
Far more common are stones with a second modifier- like Fancy Light Yellowish Brown.

Which will sell for more- a Fancy Light Brown, natural color or a Fancy Intense Blue, irradiated?
That's a good question, and I'd love to know the answer

Based on this discussion, I called a friend that irradiates stones to clear up some confusion.
1) I was incorrect about uncertainty of results- if one starts with the right color stone ( light brown, or even white) and it can be irradiated blue. It would not make a lot of sense to nuke a colorless stone to blue as it will loose value
2) DS's point is also a good one about quality
When irradiated blue, imperfections become very difficult to see, therefore imperfect stones are commonly irradiated- so saying that many irradiated blue diamond are lower clarity, is an accurate statement.

My confusion bout blue was based on the fact that other colors- notably Yellow, and darker brown, like Cognac- are not possible to get reliably and consistently.
If you irradiate a J-K color stone, with no Fluorescence, and try for yellow, you might get a "canary"- and my buddy tells me that if you start with a clean stone, and it does take the yellow in the best possible way, it can be sold for a higher price than a J color

 

[Rockdiamond]

More:
GIA will indeed grade an irradiated diamond.
The origin will be note as "Irradiated" and the stone is automatically laser inscribed.
Otherwise, the report will look like other GIA FCD reports- they even use the same color scale.

 

[motownmama]

sorry if I sound like a buffoon, b/c you clearly stated that your GF knows what she wants, but I want to point out that sapphires come in many different colors including many shades of blue. Have you even considered that route?

 

[diamondloveaffair]

try d.neadiamonds.com.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

David, thank you very much for the updates! That was great you were able to get facts from someone in that business. I can certainly understand a canary yellow commanding a high price since it wouldn't stand out as an irradiated stone as much as some other colors, like blue, would. The clarity issue was one I thought I had heard before so I am glad to have that confirmed. I have seen irradiated stones once at a jewelry show before PS. I knew there was some kind of treatment to the diamonds because of the prices. I do not recall seeing yellows, but there were other colors that certainly did not look like a natural diamond color.

 

[Niel]

DS that pink diamond you posted in the other thread jokingly had a GIA cert for a HPHT diamond, thought it might be worth posting here

Id love to see the strong orange fluor!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Niel, yes, I thought that was a funny coincidence!

 

[Rockdiamond]

Not a great shot, but this stone had Medium Orange

 

[heididdl]

Thanks Rockadiamond. 15 years ago I purchased a 5 carat tennis bracelet in San Fransisco. It has pink, blue, yellow and green irradiated diamonds. I was in love with it thinking they were natural when I got back to NJ and looked up irradiated I realized that they were all color treated and returned the beautiful bracelet.

There are alot of yellow Canary stones as DS said that are irradiated. My mom had a 1.5 marquis cut canary and the appraisal said it was natrual yellow. When my mom passed and sis had the stone reevaluated we were shocked to hear that it was irradiated. (My sister was annoyed)

anyway just FYI

 

[kenny]

15 years ago I purchased a 5 carat tennis bracelet in San Fransisco.
It has pink, blue, yellow and green irradiated diamonds.
I was in love with it thinking they were natural when I got back to NJ and looked up irradiated I realized that they were all color treated and returned the beautiful bracelet.

There are alot of yellow Canary stones as DS said that are irradiated.
My mom had a 1.5 marquis cut canary and the appraisal said it was natrual yellow.
When my mom passed and sis had the stone reevaluated we were shocked to hear that it was irradiated. (My sister was annoyed)

There are exceptions but if a fancy colored diamond does not have a reputable lab report stating material and color are both of natural origin you can assume they are not.
Why?
Money!
The seller can sell it for much more if it has a lab report that states it is fully natural, especially a report from GIA.

Very small FCDs of the most affordable colors may sell without a lab report since the report may be half or more of the sale price.
It is important to buy such report-less FCDs only from a reputable dealer of FCDs if you want fully natural FCDs.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Heidi, you're welcome!
Sorry to hear about your mom.

Years ago the market was far less developed- and a lot more "shenanigans" may have gone on.
I'm sure it still goes on- I'd like to think less....
Yes, there are irradiated yellow diamonds.
In my experience- and I'm not an irradiation expert" the irradiated stones don't have a "natural" looking yellow color.
Maybe more natural looking ones exist, but those that I've seen looked ...kind of fake. This has been true of all irradiated colored diamonds I've seen.
Additonally, the radiation tends to dull the diamond - so the irradiated ones never seem to have the life of a nice, non irradiated FCD

Good point Kenny- any stone being sold as a natural FCD without a GIA report ( Kenny said "reputable lab"- I'd limit it to GIA) is suspect - particularly those of larger size.