text: Ocean Optics' portable spectrometers have been also been used to examine the phosphorescence spectrum of the Hope Diamond, the Blue Heart Diamond and other natural type IIb blue diamonds.
  The Smithsonian, the  United States Naval Research Laboratory, Ocean Optics Co. and Pennsylvania State University collaborated on a study to examine hundreds of blue diamonds. 
  Researchers examined the spectral and temporal properties of the diamonds using a USB2000-FL spectrometer for UV/Vis light studies and an IR512 spectrometer for Raman spectroscopy.
  The Hope Diamond, in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, shows a distinctive red phosphorescent glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Visible to the human eye, it had never been explained.
  The researchers discovered that all blue diamonds show red and green peaks in their phosphorescence spectrum, due to the presence of nitrogen and boron in the stones. The intensity and rate of decay of the spectrum varies from diamond to diamond.  
  This technique may enable individual blue diamonds to be "fingerprinted" for identification purposes.