Color Enhanced Diamonds

Color enhanced diamonds

Color enhanced diamonds – This treatment is popular especially in small stones up to 0.15ct.

The treatment is irreversible.

The jewelry industry use the color enhanced diamonds a lot. The treated diamonds are much cheaper than natural fancy color diamonds and you can have a set of diamonds with the same color and measurements.

There are 2 systems to treat the color of the diamond:

The old system: Changing the color by a nuclear furnace.

Advantageous: lower price

Disadvantageous: long “cooling” period after the treatment. Also, the high level of radiation makes it hard to control the colors.

The new system: Changing the color by exposing the diamonds to an industrial accelerator.

The accelerator shoots a sheaf of electrons that change the structure of the diamond that is used as a filter to the light beams. The use of industrial accelerator does not create a radioactive radiation. You can make the color darker by repeating the treatment, but it is impossible to lighten dark colors.

Advantageous: no radioactive radiation. It is possible to control each phase in the process, the diamond can be used immediately.

Disadvantageous: a higher price, differences of hues between the table to the culet.

There is an accelerator in kibbutz Shaar-Hgolan, and the diamonds are shipped there once a week.

Legal Aspect:

You can make color enhance only in polished diamond. You cannot treat rough. It is obligatory to notify each stone that has been treated by the terms: Treated or enhanced.

The stability of the treatment:

The enhanced colors are stable in temperatures of: 400 – 800. The color can be affected and become lighter in these situations:

1. Repolishing of the diamond
2. Casting
3. Long heating by torch

You can solve these problems by:

1. Working inside water
2. Spread an apoxi material on the diamond.

The colors and their sources

Blue

Original color	First phase	Second phase	Third phase
D-H	ICE	SKY	OCEAN
TTLB		SKY	OCEAN
TLB			OCEAN

Green

Original color	First phase	Second phase	Third phase
CAPE – -P		APPLE	FOREST

Canary – Cognac

Original color	First phase	Second phase	Third phase
CAPE	NONFLORESCENT	CANARY	COGNAC

Black

Original color	First phase	Second phase	Third phase	Fourth phase
ANY COLOR				BLACK

The clarity of the diamond does not affect the color.

In the market there are 3 kinds of black diamonds:

1. Natural – used for the industry or for jewelry.
2. Treated in a nuclear furnace.
3. Treated in an electron accelerator.

WORLD DEMAND:

Use of color enhanced diamonds:

1. Small stones up to 1/10
2. Pr for invisible setting
3. Specific sizes
4. You can order a large amount of fancy colored diamonds in the same color and measurements.
5. The market focuses in the black, canary, blue, cognac and green.

The world demand for color-enhanced diamonds is in constant rise because of:

1. Openness in all areas.
2. The marketing system of jewelry demands attractive jewelry in low prices.
3. The leading jewelry chains started to use color-enhanced diamonds.
4. The price of a natural fancy color diamond is much more expansive than a treated fancy color diamond.

Why make this process?

1. A specific order for a specific color.
2. Changing the image of a diamond.
3. The treatment is not expensive – $35 per carat and does not take a lot of time.

Would you like to learn more about diamonds? You can approach the Center of Gemological Studies and register to the most prestige, affluent and respected gemology course in the Israeli Diamond Center.

Hadas Dori Bar Moshe also lectures about diamonds in her lecture: The Secrets of the Diamonds.