How To Know If Your Diamond is a Fake?
If you are not a diamond person or know enough about diamonds, it might get difficult for you to differentiate between a real and a fake. In most situations, if you are shopping for diamonds from a reliable source, you do not need to worry about getting cheated. It is still useful information and might help you out in certain situations.
Simulated diamonds like Cubic Zirconia or Moissanite have the characteristics of real diamonds but are not. You don’t want to be getting a princess cut Moissanite for the price of the real thing. Here is how to spot fake diamonds.
How To Tell If Your Diamond is Real or Fake?
This series of tests will help you find out whether you are paying top dollar for fake diamonds. The best recommendation is to always get GIA-certified diamonds. Any diamond with a GIA certification is real. To know more about how to judge the quality of real diamonds, read our blog on the 4Cs of a diamond.
Water Test
This is the easiest way to find out if your diamond is real. You can do this anywhere and anytime. All you need is a glass or small container filled with water.
Gently drop your diamond in the glass, if it sinks you have a winner and if it floats, your diamond is fake. The reason behind this is that a diamond is a high-density stone and therefore sinks. This test determines the high density of your diamond.
Fog Test
This is a bit tricky and you have to be a little observant while doing this test. Take your diamond between two fingers and blow a puff of air into it. The moisture and heat from that air will fog up your stone.
If this fog dissipates quickly, your diamond is real and if it takes a while to dissipate then you need to re-evaluate your jeweler. Diamonds conduct heat and disperse it quickly.
Check The Setting and Mount
If you are looking at a diamond already mounted on a ring then you can use the ring to your advantage. A diamond is expensive and will be mounted on expensive material like platinum, yellow gold, or white gold.
To check your ring setting all you need to do is look inside it and check for inscriptions that determine its authenticity. For example, inscriptions like 10K, 14K determine its gold. The term PT indicates it is platinum. Numbers like, 770, 585, etc also tell you that your diamond setting is gold or platinum. No inscriptions or inscriptions like CZ determine that the concerned gemstone is a Cubic Zirconia or not a real diamond. A cheap setting might also be proof of the fact that your diamond is fake.
Heat the Diamond To See if it Shatters
Don’t worry this method is absolutely safe for real diamonds. A real diamond is extremely strong and susceptible to heat. It will remain unresponsive.
To conduct this test you are going to need a glass container or anything that withstands heat. You need to hold your diamond with a set of pliers and heat for not more than 40 seconds using a lighter. After that drop the diamond into the container of water. This sudden shock will shatter a fake diamond. A real diamond will remain unharmed.
This method tests the durability and strength of your diamond. Owing to the sudden expansion and contraction, weak materials like Cubic ZIrconia crack or break. The only thing you need to worry about while conducting this test is the durability of your glass container. It should be able to withstand heating and sudden cooling.
The Ultra Violet Light Test
This is not a very reliable test. The point of this test is that a diamond generally emits blue light when placed under UV light. The problem with this test is that a lot of real diamonds don’t emit this blue light.
Due to this fact, it is better to avoid this test.
Checks You Can Conduct At Home
The ability of a diamond to sparkle is dependent on Refraction. The light which strikes the diamond’s pavilion is refracted through the diamond’s table. This is referred to as the brilliance of a diamond.
Fake diamonds or simulated diamonds cannot refract light as well as real diamonds. Here are a few tests you can conduct at home to determine if your diamond is real or not, using refraction.
The Newspaper Test
If you place a diamond face side down on a portion of a newspaper with loads of lettering and make sure no external shadow is cast on it, you should not be able to read what is written if your diamond is real.
The facets of a diamond will refract the light in various directions and not a straight line. Owing to this, you should not be able to read what is there. If you can read what is written even hazily, your diamond is fake.
The Dot Method
The same test can be done without a newspaper as well. All you need to do is mark a dot with a pen on a white piece of paper and cover it with your diamond facing down. If you look through the stone and can spot the dot, your diamond is fake. The principle is the same as explained above. If you cannot see the dot, you have a real diamond.
Methods Involving Reflection
Refraction deals with the direction of light, whereas reflection deals with the amount of light or the quality of light that is reflected in the diamond.
The test involving reflection only requires you and your eyes. Hold your diamond close to a light source and observe. You should be able to see bright shimmers or colorful light reflections.
A real diamond reflects light exceptionally well and you will be able to tell the difference between an original and a fake.
Professional Methods Used to Determine If Your Diamond is Fake
It is always recommended to determine your diamond’s authenticity from a qualified professional. A professional gemologist is easily able to determine if your diamond is real or not.
Using A Loupe
A loupe is a special magnifying glass used by gemologists to look for inclusions, blemishes. Any authentic diamond will have blemishes or inclusions owing to the fact that diamonds are naturally formed under high heat and pressure under the earth’s surface. A fake diamond on the other hand can be absolutely perfect and blemish-free.
A Thermal Conductivity Probe
It measures the rate at which a diamond disperses heat. If the diamond disperses heat at a slower rate then it is a fake. However, in the case of gemstones like Moissanites, the thermal conductivity is roughly the same as a real diamond, making this test unreliable.
High-End Weighing
The weight of a fake diamond will be more than a real diamond. This can be determined by using special scales.
Electrical Conductivity
Fake diamonds are not better conductors of electricity than real diamonds. This is another method used by jewelers and gemologists to determine the authenticity of your diamonds.
How To Spot GemStones That Are Not Diamonds?
The legitimacy of the scratch test is doubtful. This is because contradictory to popular belief, fake diamonds are also pretty durable and might scratch the mirror without taking on any damage much like an authentic diamond.
With simulated diamonds gaining a lot of popularity, here is how you spot the fake.
Synthetic diamonds
Synthetic diamonds are lab-grown and have similar chemical and molecular components as real diamonds. Due to their intricate internal qualities, it is best to have your diamond reviewed by an expert. They can run high conductivity tests and observe the stone under high magnification. Even if it is difficult, it is important to always figure out the authenticity of your diamond for resale purposes.
Cubic Zirconia
Cubic Zirconias are the easiest fakes to spot. They weigh more than real diamonds and do not have inclusions. They also reflect orange-tinted light. They can easily be differentiated using the sparkle test.
White Sapphire
White sapphires are often passed on as diamonds. However, they lack the sparkle of a real diamond and the contrast of dark and light areas.
If your diamond lacks distinct dark and light areas, you might have a white sapphire on your hands.
Moissanite
This is the most difficult fake to spot and needs expert guidance. They cannot be differentiated using the thermal conductivity test as they have almost the same thermal conductivity as real diamonds. An electric conductivity tester will determine if a stone is a Moissanite.
White Topaz
White Topaz might bear a close resemblance to a diamond but lacks durability. The easiest way to determine whether your diamond is a white topaz or not is to simply look for damages along the surface. Owing to the durable nature of a diamond, there will be no damages on the surface.
The Best Place To Buy Authentic Diamonds
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