Light plays a huge factor in the brilliance of a diamond. Light is known to travel through a vacuum at 186,000 miles per second. When light travels through a diamond, it travels at less than half this speed. This is because light must bend and slow down when it travels through certain matter. Diamonds are especially dense which slows down the light going through it.
Light affects a diamond’s brilliance in three ways: reflection, refraction and dispersion. As light enters the top of the diamond, a portion of it gets reflected back out the top. The light that is still in the diamond will ricochet off the walls before escaping through the top. This phenomenon is known as refraction. Finally, dispersion is what transforms the white light into multiple colors as it exits the top of the diamond.
The diamond is the one stone that most effectively disperses white light into all the colors of the rainbow spectrum. This brilliance is what makes it so captivating to buyers and sellers alike.