Effect of Medium Blue Fluorescence in F color diamond

I’m really interested in this 1.08 carat, F-color, SI-1 clarity, Brian Gavin Signature Cushion cut diamond, but was recently told by local jeweler that any diamond with fluorescence will exhibit some degree of haziness. Is this true? I’ve also read that varying degrees of fluorescence will have different effects depending on the intensity of the fluorescence and the color of the diamond. What effect does medium blue fluorescence have upon an F color diamond? I really love the way the diamond looks in the photograph of the fluorescence provided on the diamond details page, I just want to be sure that the diamond looks just as amazing in natural light. Thanks for your help Danny! – Marvin S.

Urban Myths of Blue Fluorescent Diamonds:

All right, I might be being a bit over dramatic by referring to the potential for a diamond with blue fluorescence to appear milky, cloudy, or hazy, as an urban myth, but the effect is rare enough that it might as well be an urban myth which has been blown out of proportion to the degree that it seems to have become legendary.

From my perspective, it is flat out irresponsible and unprofessional for a jeweler to have told you something like “any diamond with fluorescence will exhibit some degree of haziness” and my guess is that he could think of no other way to try and dissuade you from purchasing a diamond online, other than to try and instill fear in your mind about the potential for a diamond with fluorescence to be negatively impacted by the presence of fluorescence.

It seems to me that the jeweler is playing upon your fears by referencing a statement made within a study of blue fluorescence within diamonds published by the Gemological Institute of America, which said something along the lines of less than 2% of gem quality diamonds are negatively impacted by the presence of fluorescence… expressed another way, that statement indicates that 98% of gem quality diamonds are not negatively influenced by the presence of fluorescence.

Thus the potential for an F color diamond to be negatively influenced by the presence of medium blue fluorescence is quite rare indeed! In my experience, medium blue fluorescence in an F-color diamond is primarily an identifying characteristic, which just happens to look very cool when the diamond is exposed to black light!

Can Fluorescent Diamonds appear milky, cloudy, or hazy?

Obviously if the study conducted by the GIA on blue fluorescent diamonds concluded that approximately 2% of gem quality diamonds are negatively impacted by the presence of fluorescence, that means that a small percentage of diamonds with higher levels of fluorescence, such as those which exhibit strong blue, very strong blue, and distinct blue fluorescence, have the potential to appear milky, cloudy, or hazy, as a result of the fluorescence.

This is why Brian Gavin personally evaluates every diamond produced under his supervision, to ensure that it looks amazing and that the fluorescence is not negatively impacting the diamond in any way. In most instances, I think that blue fluorescence has a positive effect upon the appearance of the diamond, because the blue fluorescence has the potential to offset any yellow which might be present within the diamond and help lift the body color a little bit.

Understand that I am not suggesting that strong blue fluorescence will make an L-color diamond which is considered to be faint yellow, look like an F-color diamond which is considered to be colorless. But strong blue fluorescence in an L-color diamond has the potential to make the diamond face-up on the higher side of the scale for L-color, and might help it look more like a K-color diamond which does not contain fluorescence, especially in direct sunlight which would excite the fluorescent molecules within the diamond.

At the end of the day, I would not hesitate to purchase a diamond from the Brian Gavin Blue collection of diamonds with blue fluorescence, because Brian Gavin has looked at every diamond featured there to ensure that it meets his expectation for light return and visual performance.