The World’s Most Coveted Green Diamonds are Exhibited in L.A.

On December 9, 2017 The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) will add some green sparkle to its mineral and gem collections with a new exhibition called “Green Diamonds: Natural Radiance”. Some of the world's rarest natural green diamonds will be exhbited for a limited period of time.

The NHMLA built its mineral and gem collections through several donations and major purchases. The museum displays more than 2,000 - only a small fraction of the Museum’s extensive collection, which now includes more than 150,000 specimens- spectacular specimens within two large galleries that comprise what is considered to be one of the finest exhibits of gems and minerals in the world.

Optimum Diamonds LLC’s, known for its rare natural fancy color diamonds, has loaned some extraordinary green diamonds of its "Gamma" collection for this exhibition. A variety of shapes, cuts and shades of the green color spectrum will be showcased. Among the highligths we can name:

• “The Mantis”, the largest vivid yellowish-green diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America at 4.17 carats
• “The Shangri-La", a large vivid green diamond weighing 3.88 carats.
• “The Light of Erasmus", an extremely rare 1.63-carat vivid greenish-blue diamond.

The visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about the formation of diamonds and scientific origins of the color green, including the gamma radiation that inspired the name of the collection.

Billion years ago some carbon atoms, at depths of up to 100 miles in the Earth’s crust, were exposed to extremely high heat (+/- 2,000° Fahrenheit)  and intense pressure. These extreme conditions cause carbon atoms to bond together in a highly-ordered arrangement. Diamonds were born. When they rose to the Earth’s surface to cool down, some of them were exposed to natural gamma radiation. This radiation changed their internal structure - order of electrons in carbon atoms - and created little gaps in the pattern of the diamond crystal.

Those "structural gaps" are the main cause of the green color. Indeed, they affect the reflection of the light as they send green wavelengths of light. In other words the diamond is white (if no impurities) but our eyes see the green wavelenghts of the light.  The shade of green varies depending on the amount of radiation exposure, and appears more yellow or blue if the crystal has other impurities.

The exhibition also will explore the unsolved mysteries behind “Chameleon” diamonds, which temporarily change color when exposed to light or heat.

Do not mis this unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most coveted natural fancy green color diamonds as two other very rare diamonds:   

• The Argyle Everglow™, a 2.11 carat polished radiant cut Fancy Red diamond, and
• the Argyle Liberté™, a 0.91 carat radiant shaped Fancy Deep Gray-Violet diamond

won by Optimum Diamonds, at the 2017 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender.

Coinciding with the launch of the exhibition, the Los Angeles GIA Alumni Association and WJA Los Angeles are hosting the second annual “Night Among Gems” event at the museum on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The exhibition Green Diamonds: Natural Radiance in the museum NHMLA, located at 900 Exposition Boulevard in Los Angeles, is open daily and runs December 9, 2017 – April 1, 2018.  For more information, visit the NHMLA website.

By YDCDL - Langerman Diamonds

Picture courtesy: Optimum Diamonds LLC, Copyright © Digital Jewelry Photography