Hi Everyone!
I have always scoffed at the idea of irradiated diamonds.
Since we specialize in a natural fancy colored diamonds, the treated ones seemed....I don;t know, wrong?
Plus, a lot of the irradiated stones I'd seen were set into styles and jewelry I did not really love.
I'd always felt it was a matter of personal taste.
What really gets my goat is sellers that offer treated stones with no mention- don't get me started!


Anyway, fast forward to today.
We have a good client who wants a treated blue diamond.


ITEM #: R2906
Radiant Cut Diamond, Loose

  WEIGHT: 1.67ct
  SHAPE: Radiant Cut
  COLOR: Blue ( Color Enhanced)
  CLARITY: VS2
  MEASUREMENTS: 7.40 x 6.00 x 4.12 mm
  TOTAL DEPTH: 68.7%
  FLUORESCENCE: MEDIUM BLUE

Price: $8995


Here's what I've learned.
Many irradiated stones are dark and lifeless. That's because if you start with a dull diamond, you end up with a dull diamond.
It's probably easier to sell it if it's a dull blue diamond, as opposed to a dull brown one.

SO- you need to start with a light brown diamond to end up with the type of color you see here.
Now, I love light brown diamonds, so I would never think about doing something like nuking one.
BUT- there are people who are very good at the enhancement process.
Just so happens one of them is an old friend.
Who also happens to have some gorgeous stones- he has an eye for the type of cuts we love.

ITEM #: R2907
Radiant Cut Diamond, Loose

  WEIGHT: 1.02ct
  SHAPE: Radiant Cut
  COLOR: Blue ( Color Enhanced)
  CLARITY: VS1
  MEASUREMENTS: 6.20 x 5.30 x 3.85 mm
  TOTAL DEPTH: 72.6%
  FLUORESCENCE: MEDIUM BLUE

Price: $4795




I'm not saying they look like natural blue diamonds.
But they do look a lot less unnatural than many of the others I've seen.
Plus they are both nicely cut stones with good life, in spite of the deep color.....


We've always been happy to source color enhanced diamonds on request- and honestly I'd forgotten that our old buddy had this type of thing, till today.
Anyway, do you guys think we should put them on the site?

The sapphire should pose no problem....as far as the blue diamond...that would be another story!

I will take a side by side shot tomorrow!
But I don't believe you'd ever confuse these with Sapphires...
I believe the person looking wants colorless trapezoid sides- and I think it will really look cool....
This is the smaller one...

Well, that is a pretty thing and it will make a really unusual ring with white traps. Cool!

Should you put them on the site? There's obviously a market for them and it wouldn't hurt to let people know that you can source good quality treated diamonds with full and honest disclosure of their treatment and characteristics.

It's a new direction for DBL though, because there has always been a strong emphasis on the NATURAL colours.

If it was my decision and I was sure that I wanted to carry them and advertise them on the site, I think I'd give them their own page, very clearly devoted to them, with a lot of information about treatments in general and each stone in particular. I would make it very clear that they are different and put them on a separate part of the site, just to avoid any...uncertainty.

Jen

I really like the cut (and colour) on the 1.02.

Having said that, I'd keep things on the same basis they are now - "on request" rather than in the mainstream.

I would also keep these as requested...

They do look nice, but they are kind of fake in my book. Please do not put them among your real diamonds. If I had never heard of DBL before and then found the site with a mix of natural and fake .... 

Mikla:   

My thoughts.

Having color enhanced diamonds, goes against the branding of your company.

If in this economy you think that there is a market, I would created  a different brand name, with a link to a new website and the new website having a link back to the original.

Rio

Diamonds by Amelia?


Actually, what about using good old "Rock Diamond?

"


Here you go GL!

I picked a gorgeous unheated sapphire absolutely dripping with color for this shot....


AS you can see, the differences are marked.
The sapphire is a far more "pure" blue- but it's translucence is nowhere near that of the diamonds.

No, it's just incredibly difficult to get a pure blue.
Plus, a stone that looks pure blue, when held next to a sapphire like the one we used can pale the diamond's color by comparison.
Oddly enough it seems that Marquises have about the purest blue.\
I don;t know if that's due to the shape, or just the particular diamonds I saw yesterday....
There's also a few gorgeous treated blue emerald cuts......

It's not just your monitor, GL.  Mine shows it, too.  I think it is really noticeable when next to the true blue of the sapphire

Sorry, sorry! I was being smart (silly!) about the poor irradiated diamonds.
http://en.wikipedia....r_Generating_Station

Extra branding got me thinking though. How about a range of jewellery pieces for babies and children? Amelia got a few little pieces as Christening gifts (and of course, her beautiful DBL studs from GL) so there must be a market for it.

How about Diamonds by Leo? 


Jen

Very interesting conversation!

DH - interesting that you mention the smaller stone as the better fo the two.
In  preson the 1.67 is nicer.
Not by a lot- both are very nice- but nicer by a little at least.


Namtan - that is a good point- but I have to admit, I really do love both of these blues- more than I expected to.....

I prefer the big one. After thinking about these for a few days I've come to decide that, if I liked the color in person, I wouldn't have a problem owning one (especially the bigger one  ) as long as it is done "radiating." 

I remember reading somewhere that initially the gem industry didn't sell much Paraiba tourmaline (of similar electric blue or green colors) because the gems natural colors were perceived as so "un-natural" that sellers feared buyers would not want them. Obviously, this is not the case today as evidenced by the significant increases in Paraiba prices since they were first mined.

So, I do think there is a place in the market for electric blue, and irradiated diamonds, as long as there is disclosure that the diamonds have been treated along with information regarding the treatment process. Now, is the place for these diamonds at DBL? I'm not sure. Certainly, I don't think I'd just sprinkle them throughout the "regular" stock, but, examples could be shown on a separate web page for "Special Projects" or "Custom Work" or "Gem Sourcing" (I actually think I like that one best) along with a statement about irradiated diamonds and DBL's position on the controversial subject.

I'm kind of lusting for a three-stone ring with the larger one as the center... or maybe a REALLY big, high-white, colorless radiant with two smaller irradiated blues as sides.   

That being said, I'd really love to own a ring made with the light brown diamond BEFORE it was changed to blue...