What is a Green Diamond?
Here's everything you need to know about JLo's stunning engagement ring.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are the newest celebrity It-couple to get married. After calling off their first engagement in 2003, the pair found their way back to each other last year and got engaged in April.
For her first ring, Affleck gave JLo a gorgeous pink diamond. For their latest engagement, the actor stuck to colored diamonds and proposed with a green diamond ring. This odd choice in stone has sparked quite the conversation on the internet. While 2022 is no stranger to out-there engagement rings (take Megan Fox's thorn engagement ring, for example), JLo's ring caused people to wonder what a green diamond is.
A green diamond is a rare form of diamond that's made from the Earth's natural radiation. When green diamonds were first formed they were exposed to uranium or other radioactive minerals before they reached the Earth's surface. This exposure causes some of the carbon atoms in the diamond's crystal to disappear, creating color centers that absorb red and blue light until only green is left. No need to fear, the diamonds don't contain any radioactive material, so they are 100 percent safe to wear.
Green diamonds can also be created artificially. If a white diamond is exposed to radiation in a linear accelerator or a nuclear reactor, it will transform into a green diamond. These artificially created green diamonds are so similar to a natural green diamond that jewelers advise getting a color report from the Gemological Institute of America to ensure that your green diamond is real. One way to tell if your green diamond is real or not is to look for green or brown radiation stains on the outside of the rough, as these cannot be replicated in a lab.
If you're looking for a unique twist on the classic engagement ring, green diamonds are a great way to still keep the traditional look with a pop of color.
