Gemstone irradiation

The gemstone irradiation is a process in which a gemstone is artificially irradiated in order to enhance its optical properties. High levels of ionizing radiation can change the atomic structure of the gemstone's crystal lattice, which in turn alters the optical properties within it. As a result, the gemstone's color may be significantly altered or the visibility of its inclusions may be lessened. The process, widely practised in jewelry industry, is done in either a nuclear reactor for neutron bombardment, a particle accelerator for electron bombardment, or a gamma ray facility using the radioactive isotope cobalt-60. Irradiation has enabled the creation of gemstone colors that do not exist or are extremely rare in nature.

The term irradiation is a very broad one, which covers bombardment by subatomic particles as well as the use of the full range of electromagnetic radiation, including (in order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength) infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays.

Certain natural gemstone colors, such as blue-to-green colors in diamonds, are the results of the exposure to natural radiation in the earth, which is usually alpha or beta particle. The limited penetrating ability of these particles result in partial coloring of the diamond's surface. Only high-energy radiation such as gamma ray or neutron can produce fully saturated body colors, and the sources of these types of radiation are rare in nature, which necessitates the artificial treatment in jewelry industry.

...
Wikipedia