Diamond color

With the exception of diamond coloring and the turning of topa2 blue, the source of the irradiation is immaterial. Gamma rays are the preferred source because of uniformity of coloration and the absence of heating and induced radioactivity. The most commonly seen gemstones enhanced by irradiation are summari2ed in Table 4. 

Determination of tint is the essential and the most intricate aspect in diamonds evaluation and may be useful for luminescence interpretation. The coloration of diamond is a reflection of its complex structural pecuharity. To describe a slight shade of color, one has to use a lot of physics, crystallography and analytical tools. The following types of diamond coloration are generally distinguished. 

As much as the diamonds colors are extraordinary their absorption spectra are monotonous. Their absorption curve bends slightly from IR to UV. 

Warning labels aid in the identification of chemical hazards during shipment. Under regulations of the DOT, chemicals that are transported in the United States must carry labels based on the UN classification. DOT placards or labels are diamond shaped with a digit imprinted on the bottom corner that identifies the UN hazard class (1 to 9). The hazard is identified more specifically in printed words placed along the horizontal axis of the diamond. Color coding and a pictorial art description of the hazard supplement the identification of hazardous material on the label the artwork appears in the top corner of the diamond (Figure 1-6, A). 

Fig. 11.6 Conversion of graphite to diamond. Colors are used to identify which atoms become which.

Several gemstone species occur in various colors, depending on the presence of impurities or irradiation-induced color centers. Examples are the beryl, comndum, and quart2 families. Quart2 has poor optical properties (RI = 1.55, DISP = 0.013), but becomes of gemological interest when it exhibits attractive colors. Any material can have its color modified by the addition of various impurities synthetic mby, sapphires, and spinel are produced commercially in over 100 colors (2). Synthetic cubic 2irconia has been made in essentially all colors of the spectmm (11), but only the colorless diamond imitation is produced commercially in any quantity. 

Some treatments are practiced so widely that untreated material is essentially unknown ia the jewelry trade. The heating of pale Fe-containing chalcedony to produce red-brown carnelian is one of these. Another example iavolves turquoise where the treated material is far superior ia color stabiUty. Such treatments have traditionally not been disclosed. Almost all blue sapphire on the market has been heat treated, but it is not possible to distinguish whether it was near-colorless comndum containing Fe and Ti before treatment, or whether it had already been blue and was only treated ia an attempt at marginal improvement. The irradiation of colorless topa2 to produce a blue color more iatense than any occurring naturally is, however, self-evident, and treatments used on diamond are always disclosed. 

A thin layer of dark green beryl had been grown by a hydrothermal technique over the surface of a pale beryl to imitate emerald. It has been suggested that such stones should be called synthetic emerald-beryl doublets (16). The abiHty to grow thin, but not thick, single-crystal diamond on the surface of natural diamond (17) leads to the possibiHty of growing such a thin film colored blue with boron this has been done experimentally (18). 

Boron is electron deficient relative to carbon. Therefore, small amounts of boron, replacing carbon in a diamond lattice, causes electron holes. As electrons move to fill these lattice vacancies, infrared light is absorbed causing the blue color of the Hope diamond and other blue diamonds. 

Venus probe. References should be consulted for the details of the optical transparency of the different type diamonds (9,14,16—19). The direct band gap for diamond is 5.47 eV. Natural diamond exhibits many colors, and color modification by irradiation and annealing is common (36). Though cubic, most natural diamonds show strain birefringence under crossed polaroids. 

Crystal Morphology. Size, shape, color, and impurities are dependent on the conditions of synthesis (14—17). Lower temperatures favor dark colored, less pure crystals higher temperatures promote paler, purer crystals. Low pressures (5 GPa) and temperatures favor the development of cube faces, whereas higher pressures and temperatures produce octahedral faces. Nucleation and growth rates increase rapidly as the process pressure is raised above the diamond—graphite equiUbrium pressure. 

The covalent compounds of graphite differ markedly from the crystal compounds. They are white or lightly colored electrical insulators, have Hi-defined formulas and occur in but one form, unlike the series typical of the crystal compounds. In the covalent compounds, the carbon network is deformed and the carbon atoms rearrange tetrahedraHy as in diamond. Often they are formed with explosive violence. 

Metallic lead is dark in color and is an electrical conductor. Diamond, the most valuable form of carbon, is transparent and is an electrical insulator. These properties are very different yet both lead and carbon are in Group 14 of the periodic table and have the same valence configuration, s p Why, then, are diamonds transparent insulators, whereas lead is a dark-colored conductor ... 

The differences in their band structures also explain why diamond is transparent and lead is dark. Remember that substances can absorb only photons whose energies match differences between energy levels, and a colored... 

Diamonds are the only gemstone whose colorlessness enhances their value. However, the rare, rich, natural coloring of fancy color diamonds commands the highest prices. The Hope Diamond possesses exceptional blue coloring and is undoubtedly the most celebrated diamond in the world. What is the origin of its intensely prized blue hue ... 

Throughout history civilization has treasured the rarity and beauty of fancy colored diamonds. The stunning diamond from India known as the Hope Diamond, once a part of many royal inventories, is now the premier attraction of the Smithsonian Institution (see color Fig. 4.3.1). While the size of the diamond at 45.52 carats has certainly contributed to the public s interest in the gem, the intense blue-violet color of the stone is generally considered to be its most captivating feature. First described in the mid 1600s by the French merchant traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier as un beau violet (a beautiful violet), the gem also acquired the title Blue Diamond of the Crown or the Royal French Blue when in possession of King Louis XIV of France. The blue color is attributed to trace amounts of boron in the carbon matrix of the stone. Substitution of carbon atoms by nitrogen leads to yellow diamonds, such as the famous canary yellow 128.51-carat Tiffany diamond. 

---