The Curious Case of Fluorescence

(diamonds.net) - The diamond industry has a complicated relationship with fluorescence. Historically, both the trade and consumers saw value in a diamond that fluoresced under ultraviolet light. The perception was that it added to the color of the diamond while also providing various niche marketing opportunities. Take the ’80s disco era, when neon was in and a glow-in-the-dark diamond might have been cool. But the positive view of fluorescence has changed over time — at least, from the trade’s perspective. Various periods of oversupply, and one or two scandals related to the subject, led the trade to discount diamonds with varying degrees of fluorescence.