Colored diamonds have a special allure, and rare natural color green diamonds may be the most intriguing of them all.

The green color in a diamond is the result of exposure to radiation. The source of the radiation can be naturally occurring or performed in a laboratory. Natural radiation is the result of the diamond being exposed to radioactive uranium from rocks near the earth’s surface. Artificial irradiation is achieved in a lab using either a linear accelerator (called a linac), gamma rays or a nuclear reactor. (more…)