Green Diamonds

Green a perceived color resembling the peel of an unripe lime or a healthy grass lawn or the gemstone emerald. Green is spoken of as being a cool color when tinged with blue and a warm color when tinged with yellow. The range of color tone for green diamonds is variable in both lightness and saturation, resulting in pale (lettuce) green, bright (emerald) green, dull (laurel) green, and deep (bottle) green colors. The majority of green diamonds occur in pale or dull tones with light through dark lightness and weak through moderate saturation.

Green color of a diamond was thought to be caused only by exposure to natural radiation in the diamond's host rock. The radiation damages the crystal structure of the diamond, causing selective absorbtion. The problem with green diamonds, and the reason that a good one is so expensive, is that the radiation usually does not effect the entire diamond. It may be green only in patches or on the surface of the crystal.

Faceting a diamond that is only green on the surface just cuts off the green color. That is why the Dresden Green is so special and the green diamond's exorbitant price mentioned above is justified. However, recent research may yield other sources. Very rarely, hydrogen may be the cause in some grayish-green stones. There is also the special case of chameleon diamonds.

The world's biggest green diamond "Dresden Green Diamond" is modelled by Izumi Mori, granddaughter of Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, at U.S. jeweler Harry Winston's Ginza shop in Tokyo September 8, 2005. The 40.70 carat diamond, its worth estimated at 200 million dollars according to Harry Winston Chairman Ronald Winston, was shown for the first time in Japan to mark the fifth anniversary of the Ginza shop.

There are many other fancy colored diamonds which are far more attractive. Here is the information about other fancy colored diamonds.