Diamonds emit a regal feeling. Every woman dreams of adding a diamond necklace or a bracelet to their jewelry collection. However, buying a diamond is a matter of serious investment. You will not want to own a fake stone in the name of a solitaire. It is therefore essential to know how to verify the authenticity of a diamond.
Here are some ways to tell if the diamond is genuine or not.
- Before buying the diamond ornament you should ask for a certificate from the dealer. The grading authority such as GIA, LGP, AGSL, and PGSL will prove its authenticity. If you do not have much experience in purchasing diamonds, do a basic research before you buy.
- As diamonds have high refractive index, they sharply bend the light passing through them. If the diamond is not mounted put it on a paper where a small dot is drawn. If you see a circular reflection on the stone it is not diamond. If it is mounted you should not be able to see its end point when you look from the top.
- When you look at the facet junctions of the stone from the top position, if you see double visions then probably the stone is Moissanite. This silicon carbide gemstone is so similar to diamond that even professionals cannot tell the difference at times.
- Diamonds doesn't give rainbow reflections. The reflections should be greyish.
- Take the diamond under a microscope and shake it. If you see orange streak of light it is not diamond.
- Another trick is to check the setting and mount of the metal. Diamonds do not fit into cheap metals. So make sure the metal has a stamp indicating a real gold or platinum.
- Diamond weighs almost 55% lesser than cubic zircona of the same shape and size. So by weighing you can make sure whether the stone is diamond or not.
- Real ones disperse heat more quickly than the fakes. They do not even heat up with a probe. The best part is that the test wouldn’t cause any alterations to the stone.
- Another wonderful and easy test is the fog test. Open your mouth and blow air on the piece of stone like it is done on mirrors and glass. If the fog stays even for a couple of seconds it is a fake stone as diamond disperses heat so quickly that in the time you look at it, it will be gone.
- As diamond has the radiolucent properties, it does not show up in an x-ray. All other stones which are used as a substitute like cubic zircona, glass or other crystals have radiopaque properties. So these are easily detectable in an x-ray.
- You can use jeweller's loupe to inspect the diamond. The mined ones generally have minor inclusions or imperfections which can be seen under the loupe. This is the best test as lab grown diamonds which pass all other tests and lack the imperfections.
- A quick test may include simply putting the diamond in a glass of water. Diamond will sink completely while the imitations will float or sink half way.
