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Hued Afterglow: Fingerprinting diamonds via phosphorescence

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

The eerie phosphorescence displayed by a rare form of blue diamond can be used as an easy, cheap, and nondestructive way to identify individual gemstones and to distinguish natural blue diamonds from synthetic ones, analyses suggest.

BURNING BRIGHT. Aspects of the phosphorescence of natural blue diamonds, such as the famed Hope Diamond (seen in visible light, left, and glowing in the dark after exposure to light, right) can serve as virtual fingerprints for the gemstones.