What term do diamond professionals use to describe a diamond's display of dispersion?

What term do diamond professionals use to describe a diamond's display of dispersion?

• A. Fire
• B. Brilliance
• C. Scintillation
• D. Fluorescence

Answer: (A)

Dispersion is the splitting of white light into its spectral colors as it travels through and exits the diamond. When a well-cut diamond breaks light into those colors, the colored flashes you see are described as fire. This is different from brilliance, which refers to the overall white light return; scintillation, the sparkle pattern that changes with movement; and fluorescence, which is a glow emitted under UV light. So the term used for a diamond’s display of dispersion is fire because it specifically denotes those colorful spectral flashes.

Dispersion is the splitting of white light into its spectral colors as it travels through and exits the diamond. When a well-cut diamond breaks light into those colors, the colored flashes you see are described as fire. This is different from brilliance, which refers to the overall white light return; scintillation, the sparkle pattern that changes with movement; and fluorescence, which is a glow emitted under UV light. So the term used for a diamond’s display of dispersion is fire because it specifically denotes those colorful spectral flashes.