Using phosphorescence as a fingerprint for the Hope and other blue diamonds

Research Article| January 01, 2008 Using phosphorescence as a fingerprint for the Hope and other blue diamonds Sally Eaton-Magaña; Sally Eaton-Magaña 1Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jeffrey E. Post; Jeffrey E. Post 2Department of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter J. Heaney; Peter J. Heaney 3Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jaime Freitas; Jaime Freitas 4Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul Klein; Paul Klein 4Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Roy Walters; Roy Walters 5Ocean Optics Inc., 830 Douglas Avenue, Dunedin, Florida 34698, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar James E. Butler James E. Butler 6Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Sally Eaton-Magaña 1Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Jeffrey E. Post 2Department of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA Peter J. Heaney 3Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA Jaime Freitas 4Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Paul Klein 4Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Roy Walters 5Ocean Optics Inc., 830 Douglas Avenue, Dunedin, Florida 34698, USA James E. Butler 6Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 11 Jun 2007 Revision Received: 05 Sep 2007 Accepted: 06 Sep 2007 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 The Geological Society of America, Inc. Geology (2008) 36 (1): 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1130/G24170A.1 Article history Received: 11 Jun 2007 Revision Received: 05 Sep 2007 Accepted: 06 Sep 2007 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Sally Eaton-Magaña, Jeffrey E. Post, Peter J. Heaney, Jaime Freitas, Paul Klein, Roy Walters, James E. Butler; Using phosphorescence as a fingerprint for the Hope and other blue diamonds. Geology 2008;; 36 (1): 83–86. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G24170A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Sixty-seven natural blue diamonds, including the two largest such gemstones known (the Hope and the Blue Heart), were probed by ultraviolet radiation, and their luminescence was analyzed using a novel spectrometer system. Prior to this study, the fiery red phosphorescence of the Hope Diamond was regarded as quite rare compared to greenish-blue phosphorescence. However, our results demonstrated that virtually all blue diamonds phosphoresce at 660 nm (orange-red) but that this emission often is obscured by a concomitant luminescence at 500 nm (green-blue). Although both bands were nearly always present, the relative intensities of these emissions and their decay kinetics varied dramatically. Consequently, phosphorescence analysis provides a method to discriminate among individual blue diamonds. Treated and synthetic blue diamonds showed behavior distinct from natural stones. Temperature-dependent phosphorescence revealed that the 660 nm emission has an activation energy of 0.4 eV, close to the 0.37 eV acceptor energy for boron, suggesting that the phosphorescence is caused by donor-acceptor pair recombination. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.