The Aurora Butterfly of Peace
Natural light
UV light
Photography by: Robert Weldon
the bombers jet planes
riding shotgun in the sky,
turning into butterflies above our nation.
Joni Mitchell- from Woodstock
Calling all butterflies of every race
From source unknown
but from no special place
They ever will return to all their lives,
Because unlike the bees they have no hives,
The milkweed brings up to my very door
The theme of wanton waste in peace and war
As it has never been to me before.
And so it seems a flower's coming out
That should if not be talked then sung about.
The countless wings that from the infinite
Make such a noiseless tumult over it
Do no doubt with their color compensate
For what the drab weed lacks of the ornate.
Robert Frost - from Pod of the Milkweed
The Goddess of Fluorescence
A new awareness of the mysterious beauty of fluorescence in colored diamonds is evidenced by research being conducted at the Smithsonian Institution by a team led by Sally Eaton-Magana of the Gemological Institute of America.
In the olden days (pre-1979), diamond people would look at fluorescence as a virtue, referring to stones as "blue white" when the sun lit up the diamond. Certainly, in natural color diamonds, there can be much excitement and enthusiasm concerning this phenomenon.
Fluorescence is the reaction of certain diamonds - 36 percent of all diamonds fluoresce to some degree - to ultraviolet (UV) light as a living light energy is revealed.
Ultraviolet light, a component of the daylight spectrum (sunlight), is a wavelength that is invisible to the naked eye. Certain natural-occurring objects in nature, like diamonds, have a unique atomic structure that will go into this state of excitation when exposed to direct sunlight or direct ultraviolet light. There is no reaction to incandescent indoor light.
Fluorescence can be an additional positive characteristic for a diamond, bringing mystery and greater wonder to the more obvious brilliance and color that hypnotize us. It is not a flaw or negative attribute. The only time it should be considered negative is if the fluorescence causes the brilliance to appear dull and hazy. Certificates use it as an identification tool just to state it exists. It has no impact on the grade.
Fluorescence in a diamond is analogous to bioluminescence, the production and emmission of light by a living organism. This is a rare occurence in nature that can be seen in some species of deep sea creatures, algae, plants and fireflies. This living light is not a reaction to UV light but essentially has the same supernatural glow as fluorescence diamonds.
We are just beginning to explore the many mysteries and secrets of our world. We should embrace fluorescence for its unique contribution to beauty. The goddess of fluorescence has been revealed.
A new awareness of the mysterious beauty of fluorescence in colored diamonds is evidenced by research being conducted at the Smithsonian Institution by a team led by Sally Eaton-Magana of the Gemological Institute of America.
In the olden days (pre-1979), diamond people would look at fluorescence as a virtue, referring to stones as "blue white" when the sun lit up the diamond. Certainly, in natural color diamonds, there can be much excitement and enthusiasm concerning this phenomenon.
Fluorescence is the reaction of certain diamonds - 36 percent of all diamonds fluoresce to some degree - to ultraviolet (UV) light as a living light energy is revealed.
Ultraviolet light, a component of the daylight spectrum (sunlight), is a wavelength that is invisible to the naked eye. Certain natural-occurring objects in nature, like diamonds, have a unique atomic structure that will go into this state of excitation when exposed to direct sunlight or direct ultraviolet light. There is no reaction to incandescent indoor light.
Fluorescence can be an additional positive characteristic for a diamond, bringing mystery and greater wonder to the more obvious brilliance and color that hypnotize us. It is not a flaw or negative attribute. The only time it should be considered negative is if the fluorescence causes the brilliance to appear dull and hazy. Certificates use it as an identification tool just to state it exists. It has no impact on the grade.
Fluorescence in a diamond is analogous to bioluminescence, the production and emmission of light by a living organism. This is a rare occurence in nature that can be seen in some species of deep sea creatures, algae, plants and fireflies. This living light is not a reaction to UV light but essentially has the same supernatural glow as fluorescence diamonds.
We are just beginning to explore the many mysteries and secrets of our world. We should embrace fluorescence for its unique contribution to beauty. The goddess of fluorescence has been revealed.