Most of us have heard mothers and grandmothers speak nostalgically about Blue Jager diamonds; rare, beautiful diamonds with a bluish glow, almost mythical treasures hardly ever seen, but rumoured to be owned by this or that celebrity.
Have you wondered what the Blue Jager diamond really is? Is it even true? Can you get one now? In the age of technology, it is now time to demystify the legendary Blue Jager.
To begin with, yes, they do exist. The word Jager, or Jagger as it is sometimes spelt, stands for the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa, from where these diamonds were sourced. The Blue Jager diamond is an extremely rare diamond with a blue body hue, but this should not be confused with a blue diamond, which is a diamond with trace boron impurities that colour the diamond blue. The Blue Jager appears like any other “white” diamond, except where it is exposed to UV light.
To understand the Blue Jager diamond better, we must learn about fluorescence. When an object absorbs light of one wavelength, but emits light of a different, usually larger, wavelength, the object is said to fluoresce. About two-thirds of diamonds fluoresce under ultra-violet light, present naturally in sunlight, but can also be projected artificially. Jager diamonds emit a blue fluorescence when observed under artificial UV light, or even sunlight.
However in the diamond trade, the best diamonds are colourless or as close to colourless as possible, with little or no inclusions. While certain types of fluorescence might make a diamond attractive when set in a jewel, any type of fluorescence usually takes away some of the value of the diamond. Blue Jager diamonds are valued more for their rare occurrence, than in the sense of traditional diamond value.
The Jagersfontein mines closed down in 1971. It can said therefore that genuine Blue Jager diamonds are no longer sourced, although fluorescent diamonds are still fairly common.
What did you know about the Blue Jager diamonds before this post? Share the stories you’ve heard, we’d love to hear them.
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