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The Real Thing?
How to tell a real diamond from a fake
Hands down the #1
question I’m asked online is "How can I tell if my diamond
is the real thing?" People want to know if there is some simple
test they can do at home or little tricks of the trade to tell if
the ring they own is a valuable heirloom or of the Cracker Jack
variety.
Without question
the quickest and most reliable method for authenticity would be
an independent appraisal. This can be accomplished easily enough
by looking under "Appraisal (Jewelry)" in your yellow
pages. When you call to enquire about their services you want to
ask three questions:
1.) Can you schedule
an appointment or is it first come first served.
2.) Ask the fee;
$35.00-$75.00 is considered a fair price.
3.) Ask if the jewelry
will always be in your presence. If the appraiser says they will
not evaluate the jewelry in front of you, find another appraiser.
If spending 50 bucks
seems a little too steep to uncover the identity of your rock, you
can head to your local jewelry store and ask their in-house gemologist
to take a peek and give you their opinion. Since opinions are like
belly buttons (everyone’s got one) understand that in a lot
of these quick 30-second evaluations mistakes can be made. Especially
since most jewelers won’t charge you for 30 seconds of their
time. (Just like with independent appraisals, don’t let the
merchandise out of your site.)
There are some less
reliable methods you can try but there are no guarantees with these:
1. The old “If it will scratch glass it has
to be a diamond.” Well, it is true that diamonds do scratch
glass but so do a lot of the other fakes on the market. To boot,
it’s possible to injure your rock even if it’s real during
your hardness test.
2.
The transparency test. If you flip the diamond in question
upside down and place it over some newsprint and can clearly read
through the stone, it’s not a diamond. (The problem with this
test is some diamonds are cut shallow and can be read through.)
3.
The fog test. This test I like a lot. Put the rock in front
of your mouth and fog it like you would try to fog a mirror. If
it stays fogged for 2-4 seconds, it’s a fake. A real diamond
disperses the heat instantaneously so by the time you look at it,
it has already cleared up. (A down fall to this test is oil and
dirt on the stone can effect its reliability and the test is not
accurate at all on doublets where the top of the stone is diamond
and the bottom is cubic zirconia epoxied together.)
4.
The weight test. The most popular of diamond simulants (fake)
is a cubic zirconia. C.Z.’s weigh approximately 55% more than
diamonds for the same shape and dimension. So if you have a carat
or gram scale at your disposal you can see if the imposter tips
the scales too much.
5.
The U.V. test. A high percentage of diamonds fluorescence
blue when put under an ultra violet light (black light). Since 99%
of all fakes don’t, a positive identification of medium to
strong blue would indicate a diamond. The bad news is if this method
proves you have a diamond, it also proves your diamond is worth
less. Diamonds with blue fluorescence are as much as 20% less valuable.
Remember, lack of blue fluorescence doesn’t mean it’s
a fake; it could just be a better quality diamond.
6.
Under the loop test. If you own some sort of magnifying lens,
there are some things you can look for on the stone that might give
away its identity:
A. Look at the rock from the top and see how
well the facets (cuts on top of the diamond) are joined. They
should be sharp not rolled.
B. Look at the girdle and see if it is faceted
or frosty (a clear sign it’s a diamond) or waxy and slick
(an indication it’s a fake).
C. While you’re looking at your stone under
magnification, look into your stone to see if you detect any flaws
(carbon, pinpoints, small cracks). These are typically clear indications
it’s the real thing since it’s very hard to put inclusions
in a fake.
D. After examining the stone, focus in on the
stamps inside the setting. A stamp of "10K, 14K, 18K, 585,
750, 900, 950, PT, Plat" indicates the setting is real gold
or platinum which gives a better chance that the stone in it is
real as well. While you’re looking at the interior of the
ring, also look for any "C.Z." stamps that would indicate
the center stone is not a diamond.
I hope this helps
all you Sherlock Holmes that want to know what you got.
by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book
"How to Buy a Diamond."
More questions? Ask
the Diamond Guy®
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