Different crystalline surfaces show different fluorescence colours and intensities due to the adsorption of different impurities, exhibiting properties that are clearly related to the monomorphism. Fluorescence images of the same diamond surfaces can be obtained using intense ultraviolet light irradiation. It has therefore been proposed to record a fluorescence image of the surface of each synthetic diamond as a 'fingerprint' identification feature.
This growth pattern in new grown diamond also results in a common uneven distribution of colour, with colour banding varying from faint to strong. The majority of natural diamonds have the presence of the 415nm absorption line, but this is not seen in synthetic diamonds.