Hmm. Well, my brother in law is a nuclear physicist - shall I ask him? He's visiting next month, so I'll see if he has any thoughts on it (hell, he has a view on everything else).
 
Jen

I think we should handcuff him to the computer...hehehe

I did manage to get a better photo of one of the blue stones- this is the second from the end- not the lightest color, but next to ir..

David,

Do they ever seem to get close to a 'normal' Fancy Blue like one of these?

I love that heart.  I never was able to see how you set it, although I did find that lovely oval pale blue in a princess-Di sort of halo.  Good thing it's long gone.  It's probably  way out of our price range, but I can dream! 

I suppose this diamond would put you back, let's see . . . more than I'll make in my lifetime?   

I'm sorely tempted. He'll be here in a few weeks and it might keep him occupied. For fun, I could wait until his third glass of wine. That's when we really start with the opinions!

The irradiated blue is a really nice colour and I would like to see a close up of the lighter yellow from the first pic if you ever have time, David. It looks pretty too.

That blue heart is in a league of its own though! Stunning.

Oh, and I have an interesting mental image of jewel thieves with rapidly disintegrating fingers, Sparkly!

Jen

 

Wow, Cockneysparrow those are very intense colors; the saturation approaches a colored gemstone.  I favor the WG ring with the red RB set in the round halo with the split shoulders/top.  Thank you for sharing.   

Ohh, I just love those flower settings CS!  The green especially catches my eye.

I was so interested to read about the green irradiation - I'd always wondered about that, as I knew that natural green is caused by radiation - very interesting post OMC.  The irradiated stones still look a little different (as with the blue example) - but is that as true for the green stones, as there is at least a 'nod' to the natural process that would have occurred to get a green colour in any case?  Would shortness/strength of the radiation burst impact on the colour saturation, or is that all down to the initial, most likely brownish, stone that is used?

Yes, it's lovely to see CS!!
Your rings are lovely.
I believe we can get the red irradiateds.

Good questions Ruby ( also great to see you!!)
The stones used for irradiation are brown to start out with.

Ruby - It's great to see you!

CS - What a lovely collection!  I'm a complete sucker for flower rings, so I'm going to have to say that those two are my favorites.  Although, your second red ring is really close in the running!

Mrs M - I asked my DH (a nuclear engineer) something about fluorescence last week, and my only mistake was not having a stop watch on me.  He was very complete, as he always is, but I somehow always seem to walk away "learning" a lot more than I intended to.  I put learning in quotes because I generally forget the details in a matter of hours.     So, I think you should ask your nuclear physicist friend, but you should be sure to casually glance at the clock before hand so that you can see how long the lesson lasts.  Then come back and tell us how much you remember.   

I'm a sucker for green. That green pear up there looks yummy... Is it ripe?