The state atomic energy corporation rosatom

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THE STATE ATOMIC ENERGY CORPORATION ROSATOM
Gemstone Coloring for jewelry industry
2018

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Gemstones may be irradiated either with neutrons or with gamma quanta of high
energy of the order of several tens of MeV produced by electron beams to
improve their properties (e.g. changing to a more de-sirable color to increase
their appeal and monetary value).
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The color of gemstones is
induced by the interaction of
fast neutrons. Changes in
the color of the stones are
observed which can be
attributed to the formation of
defects in the structure of
the stones. The defects can
absorb certain wave length
which is observed as a
change in the stone color
Effects of irradiation on
various gemstone materials
Material
Starting color
Ending color
Colorless
Yellow
Blue
Green
Colorless
(Maxixe-type)
Blue
Diamond
Colorless or
yellow to brown
Green to blue
Fluorite
Colorless
Various
Pearl
Light colors
Gray to black
or gray-blue
Quartz
Colorless to yellow
or pale green
Brown, amethyst,
"smoky", rose
Yellow to orange
Intensify colors
Colorless to pale blue
Brown, blue, green
Colorless to
pale colors
Yellow, brown,
pink, red,
green-red (bicolor)
Blue
Purple
Colorless
Brown to red
Beryl
Topaz
Tourmaline
Zircon
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These are the examples of gemstones colored using this
technology
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Rusatom Overseas
e-mail: raos@rosatom.ru
Web page: www.rusatom-overseas.com