When it comes to buying diamonds, you want to get what you are paying, and you do not want to be taken for a fool. There are a plethora of ‘tests’ detailed online that claim to fool-proof ways to tell if your diamond is real or not, but sadly, few of them are worthwhile and some can be actually harmful and cause the destruction or loss of value to a stone that otherwise might have some value as a lesser gemstone, or be an actual diamond. Despite the claims of many of these dodgy sites, heating up a diamond is not harmless: it might not cause the stone to break, but it can discolour the stone, worsen small internal flaws, or otherwise devalue what might well be a good quality authentic stone.
Even Jewelers Cannot Tell
If you actively ask around, you will not find any jewelers who deal with diamonds who will take a risk on certifying a stone as diamond or not without access to a certain amount of lab equipment, including at least 10x magnification, a bright well-lit room in which to examine, and, preferably, the chance to look at the stone outside of its setting. So, do not let people sting your ego by telling you that you should be able to tell a good diamond from a bad one, and even from a fake one – they are trying to provoke you into unwary action! However: while you may not be able to guarantee that a stone is real, there are some genuine tests that can prove that a diamond is fake.
The Setting Holds the Clue
No one would mount a good quality diamond into a cheap or poor quality setting. Examine the setting carefully, and if it is a base metal, perhaps plated with a goldish coating, it is highly unlikely to be real. Get a magnifying glass and check out the inside of the band and near the underneath of the stone. Genuine precious metals will have easily translated hallmarks telling you where they came from, while cheaper rings will have no such markings. A small gold band with a cubic zirconia as the central stone will often have CZ stamped into the band, clearly and decisively pronouncing that your diamond is not as you had hoped.
X-ray It
A rather niche test, but one that is more possible today than it was some time ago, with all the security measures that abound – as well as the more usual medical array. During a quiet period, ask if you can send your ring through the x-ray equipment, and see what the piece of jewelry looks like. If the stone is crisp and clear, bright white on the x-ray, bad news! It is not a diamond! This is because carbon (from which diamonds are made) has a low atomic number which makes it radiolucent (or less visible to x-rays) while cubic zirconia and other fakes are radiopaque (or more visible to x-rays). This is a simple and cost-effective test if you find an amenable security guard who lets you try it out, and it is one that will neither hurt your jewelry nor allow false positives.
Shiny Sparkly Light
Everyone knows the sparkle of a real diamond is something hard to replicate, and it is possible to tell by eye if a stone is a fake just by examining the sparkle, but there is a caveat here: you must have a genuine diamond to check it against!
But to stave off all these worries, purchase your diamonds from a reputable source, and you will never have to worry if your diamond is fake or not! Buying diamonds at Whiteflash is great for your peace of mind in that regard!
