What are Green Diamonds?

When someone would say that green diamonds got their color from radiation, you will be worried right away. But then, there is no need for that because green diamonds are totally safe in every way. It won’t have any negative effects on the mind or body.

The cause for these diamonds’ green color is because of the amount of radiation that they were exposed to while they’re being formed. However, this event has occurred hundreds or even thousands of years ago, thus making it totally harmless in today’s present time.

Green Diamond

Cause of the Color

As it was previously said, the reason for the green color of certain diamonds is because they have been exposed to radioactivity. Because of its nature, it can be a bit difficult to identify if a certain green diamond has been treated or made by natural means. A lot of polishers intentionally leaves what is being called as Natural together with the girdle of the stone. The purpose of being a Natural is so that a lot of diamond associations, including the GIA, can identify the stone’s natural color and then award it with the certified diamond certificate.

Green Diamond

A Brief History of Green Diamonds

The fancy color green diamonds originated from the mines in Africa and South America. For gemologists, the biggest challenge that they are facing right now is finding a clear-cut way to differentiate the treat green diamonds from the natural ones. Green diamonds can be processed to irradiation, both laboratory and naturally generated, where the latter matches the former to the point that it can be difficult to tell which is which.

Green Diamond

Fluorescence
It is very common that green diamonds are able to display a fluorescence trait to them. The natural fancy green stones can display its fluorescence in these varieties: medium to strong blue, strong white, strong yellow, and strong green. In conclusion, the enhancement that is being done to the aesthetic of the stone that fluorescence offers can be very subjective.

Tone
When you hear about the tone of a green diamond, it refers to its lightness or darkness as well as the continuum in between. The GIA grading doesn’t create a distinction in the tones, but to the naked eye, a stone that has darker tones may look as if it is more intense in color. If you are looking for something with the appearance of a Fancy Intense Green diamond but without having an expensive price, then the best option for you is to go for a Fancy Green Diamond with darker tones.

Shape
The round cuts usually produce lower color saturation so because of that, green diamonds, as well as other colors, are usually cut into fancy shapes such as radiants, cushions, pears, etc. The reason why round cuts can cause desaturation is that they can reflect white light which eventually gives them their scintillation. As for green diamonds, the round cut may make the color green look fainter whereas when it’s cut into a fancy shape, it only reflects a lesser amount of white light thus maximizing the color saturation. Make sure also to be mindful of some uneven color distributions since this can have some great effects on the appearance and value of a diamond.

Clarity
All the clarity levels are available in fancy green diamonds. VS, VVS, and IF diamonds are already rare, but when combined with some fancy green color then they are made even more than rare. A green diamond that is at the lower end of the clarity scale has a high value and is considered to be rare just as long as the major inclusions doesn’t detract itself from the stone’s appearance and color.

Value
Natural fancy green diamonds really do have a high value. The most expensive kind falls on the green stones that are just pure green minus any other color modifiers. However, there are also some considerations when it comes to the secondary color modifiers. The best example is if the secondary color is modified by colors like blue then it will give off a Fancy Blue-Green or Fancy Bluish-Green. It can be very valuable and is somewhat close to what the regular green diamonds would be regarding the price per carat.

Colored diamonds are usually priced based on the appearance of their natural color. Diamonds that are rare and exclusive are already expensive, but if its base color is more intense, then it will also become more valuable. In short, the intensity of the colors also drives the price of the green diamonds. Stones that have the intensities of being Fancy, Fancy Intense, and Fancy Vivid will demand the highest of price amongst the rest. Also, if their size becomes insanely large, then their asking prices will also be on par with that as well.

Green Diamonds

Famous Green Diamonds

Get to know about the famous green diamonds below:

Dresden Green Diamond
Gruosi Diamond
The Ocean Dream

Dresden Green Diamond

This diamond weighs in at 40.70 carats wherein its origins can be traced back to the Golconda mine in India and is probably known as the largest natural green diamond.

Gruosi Diamond

This diamonds weighs in at 25 carats and is famous for being the 2nd largest natural green diamond that is known to exist.

The Ocean Dream

This has been graded by the GIA as a 5.51 carat diamond. It has a shield-shaped cut and comes as a Fancy Deep Blue Green in which during that time, it was the first stone ever to exhibit such an astonishing color.