The Extraordinary Chameleon Diamonds
Everyone is fascinated by the extraordinary chameleon, that remarkable animal that can not only see 360 degrees around him but also has a tongue that moves so fast to catch his prey (1/30,000 of a second) that the human eye cannot perceive it. This is in addition to its skin that famously changes to many colours, including pink, orange, red, purple, blue, turquoise, yellow, green, brown, and even black. This is not only for camouflage but also to show the mood he or she is in; an angry chameleon can change to black and the one who wants to attract its mate can even be multi-coloured.
The diamond, the king of gemstones has in rare cases, the ability to do the same and make this an irresistible attraction to the woman of mystery and many emotions.
The Natural Chameleon Diamond changes colour if put into a dark place for a period of time or if heated slowly and usually these diamonds modify their colour to a darker shade; the stone will then revert back to its original colour upon cooling down or once exposed to light. There are chameleon diamonds that are called “reverse” and as implied removal from light will cause the stone to assume a temporary lighter shade. A report by Gübelin Gem Lab of Switzerland, wrote, “Chameleon diamonds are one of the great mysteries of the diamond world. It is still not known why these diamonds change from deep green to yellow when heated or left in darkness . . . these qualities make ‘chameleons’ among the most fascinating of coloured diamonds.”
They are highly sought after and a must for a serious collector. This phenomenon was discovered fairly recently in the 1940’s and the science behind it is not fully understood. This marvel only occurs in natural coloured diamonds and the process can not de duplicated in laboratory conditions adding yet another reason to possess one of these unique stones.
