Press Releases

GSI Discovers Extreme Color Instability in CVD Diamonds

Color went from near colorless to blue color.

Published

5 years ago

December 6, 2019

INSTORE Staff

(PRESS RELEASE) NEW YORK – Researchers at Gemological Science International (GSI), one of the largest gemological organizations in the world, witnessed a case of extreme color instability of a CVD diamond within its laboratory testing facility.

During standard testing procedure, a 2-carat CVD diamond in GSI’s laboratory was exposed to high powered UV rays and went from near colorless to blue color.

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The stone then was returned to the vault and stayed in it for a week and a week later the stone still retained the blue color. While it’s known that CVD diamonds can change colors under this type of ultraviolet light or extreme heat, typically a diamond of this variety returns to its normal color after 30 minutes to an hour of direct sunlight. The GSI lab team discovered that under standard ambient lighting conditions, this particular stone took two and a half hours to return to normal color.

Though the GSI team stresses that most CVD diamonds do not change to this extreme, they emphasized the importance of lighting conditions when color grading diamonds.

“It is strongly suggested that all laboratory-grown CVD diamonds are placed in a full-spectrum light box for at least 30 minutes before color grading,” said Nicolas Del Re, chief information officer of GSI. Based on these findings, he notes that color changes may happen through casual use as well.

“When wearing out in the open, CVD diamonds may change in coloration upon even subtle exposures to electromagnetic radiation such as UV rays on a sunny beach or under a blacklight in a nightclub for example,” said Del Re, noting its due to Photochronism. “We have the electrons in defects within a CVD diamond causing the energy state to change and in turn affect the way color is absorbed on the visible spectrum.”

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”