What are Diamond’s Brilliance, Fire, Scintillation and Fluorescence?

Fire is a magical effect of the most durable mineral found on the surface of Earth, that is, a diamond. Every person expects different things from this rock. Some want the largest and affordable carat size, others seek a certain clarity grade or cut, and others want it to be set in something flashy.

For some, getting a diamond ring after dating for years brings about maximum happiness. Then, there are those who want the rock to sparkle and show its optical properties in the best possible way.

When you research on diamonds, you will come across various terms that sound similar but that are different in some regards. Brilliance, fire and scintillation are those. Not everyone understands these optical properties of the stone, and to make matters worse, they interchangeably use these without understanding what they are.

• Brilliance refers to the white colored light you see when you look at a diamond in plain light environment. It happens when the natural light gets in through the crown, bounces about inside and goes out via the same area of the stone. That area, the crown, is amid the girdle and table.
• Scintillation refers to the light flashes which bounce back from the surface of this stone when it moves. It is alternatively known as the sparkle.
• Fire refers to the rainbow-like colors that you see because of light dispersion. It happens when the light gets into the diamond at an angle and then disperses into various colors.

Besides these optical properties, some diamonds also fluoresce. Diamond fluorescence is one matter that divides opinion: some think that it is good to have, while others feel the opposite. Usually, the best way to arrive at a consensus in such cases is to look at what experts have to say.

For one, the GIA notes down that diamond “Fluorescence is neither good nor bad.” The institute expert has a point when they imply that the observer gets to decide whether it is beautiful or not.

A good thing with fluorescence is that it can come in handy when you try to discover your lost diamond. Several diamonds luminesce color when put under UV light. Although that luminescence is usually not visible, you can utilize a blacklight at a dark space and thus, make this effect easily noticeable. To know more on diamond fluorescence, visit Rockher.