There are a few ways to test whether a diamond is real or fake. One method involves fogging the stone with your breath. If the diamond is real, it will stay fluffy for several seconds, while a fake will float in the water. Both of these methods require a fire-proof glove. During the heat test, a real or fake diamond will not react to the rapid expansion and contraction of the heat. A fake will be able to float in the water, while a genuine diamond will not.
If you’re not familiar with a diamond’s structure and components, you may be led to think that a gemstone is a diamond when it’s an entirely different stone—like cubic zirconia or Moissanite. For this reason, it’s essential to know how to spot a fake diamond.
Here Is How To Tell If A Diamond Is Real Or Fake
1) Water Test
Use this easy technique to determine whether or not a diamond is genuine.
Fill a normal-sized drinking glass with water to 34% capacity. Drop the loose diamonds into the glass with care. It’s a true diamond if the gemstone sinks. You’ve got a fake on your hands whether it floats under or on top of the water. The water test determines if your stone matches the density of a genuine diamond.
2) Test for Fog
Hold the diamond or ring between two fingers and blow on it with a puff of air to perform the fog test. Because of the moisture and heat in your breath, a light fog will form on the diamond. If the fog clears quickly, the diamond is genuine. It’s most likely a fake diamond if the fog takes several seconds to clear. Diamonds are excellent heat conductors and dissipate heat fast.
3) Check Setting & Mount
Examine the type of setting and mount used if a diamond has previously been set in a ring.
Because of the exorbitant cost of a diamond, it will only be put in high-end jewelry. A genuine diamond, for example, will be set in white gold, platinum, yellow gold, pave or side-stone setting rings, and the halo setting rings.
Look for indications within the ring’s center to determine if the setting is exactly as stated. The notes 10K, 14K, and 18K, for example, show the sort of gold employed. Platinum is denoted by the letters PT and Plat. If you see a number like 585, 770, 900, or 950 on something, that means it’s platinum or gold.
If you happen to come across a “C.Z.” stamp or engraving, the gemstone is cubic zirconia and not a real diamond.
4) Heat the Stone and See if it shatters
Diamonds are constructed of an extremely robust substance that is unaffected by high temperatures.
Grab a drinking glass and fill it with cold water to see whether a diamond is genuine. To grip the stone, use players or fireproof gloves. Heat the stone for about 40 seconds with a lighter, and then drop it into the cold water. If the stone breaks, it is constructed of inferior materials and is not a genuine diamond. A genuine diamond will not respond in any way.
The heat test determines the stone’s quality and strength. Weak materials, such as glass or cubic zirconium, will fracture and break due to the rapid expansion and contraction of the heat. Consider a cooking dish made of glass or Pyrex. If you take a hot dish out of the oven and try to wash it right away, the sudden temperature difference might fracture it.
Diamonds will withstand such heat testing since they are one of the toughest materials on the earth. The heat will swiftly dissipate, and the diamond will be unaffected by the temperature shift.
5) UV Light Examination
Place a diamond under UV light and observe the reaction to see whether it is genuine in a different way. The majority of diamonds, but not all, will give off a blue hue. Under UV light, some diamonds do not glow. As a consequence, if the stone doesn’t light, the results aren’t always indicative of a false diamond.
Because this test isn’t conclusive, it’s advisable to have a diamond specialist or jeweler evaluate the stone using their advanced equipment.
Test A Diamond At-Home Using Refractivity
You can observe a diamond’s ability to bend and refract light when you watch it shine. Light is bounced and refracted up through the diamond’s table (the top, flat surface) to the naked eye when it reaches the pavilions (the angled surfaces on the bottom half of the diamond). Brilliance is the term used to describe how well a diamond performs in this area and how brightly it glows.
Non-diamond stones, such as Cubic Zirconia, do not refract light as well as diamonds. If they have any genius at all, it will be limited.
Use the following tests to determine a diamond’s refractivity.
6) Newspaper/‘Read-Through’ Effect
Place the diamond flat side down on a sheet of newspaper in an area with a lot of letters to evaluate its refractivity. Make sure the lighting is good and there are no shadows cast on the diamond by objects or people.
The diamond is false if you can read the letters in the newspaper, even if they are a little fuzzy. If the diamond is genuine, its facets will refract light in a variety of directions rather than in a straight line. You won’t be able to see clearly through the diamond and make out the text on the paper due to the refraction of light.
On loose diamonds, the newspaper test is most effective. Consider the diamond’s setting if it is already in place.
7) The Dot Test is a method of determining whether or not a person
If you don’t have any newspaper, the dot test is a great substitute. Draw a little dot with a pen on a white sheet of paper on a level surface. Place the flat side of the stone on the dot. Look down on the paper through the diamond’s pointed end. If the gemstone has a circular reflection inside it, it is a fake. The diamond is genuine if you can’t see the dot or a reflection in the stone.
Light will bounce in many directions instead of a straight path because a genuine diamond has significant refractive properties. This is why a natural, genuine diamond will not allow you to discern letters or dots.
Test A Diamond At-Home Using Reflectivity
A stone’s reflectivity can be tested in addition to its refractivity. Reflectivity relates to the amount and quality of light that is reflected off of the stone, whereas refractivity refers to the directions in which light bounces.
The brightness (white light sparkle) and fire (colored light) that radiates off a diamond’s table are both referred to as reflectivity.
8) Do the Sparkle Test
The only thing you’ll need for the sparkle test is your eyes. Place the diamond in question under a regular light source. Keep an eye on how light bounces off the stone. Do you notice dazzling white light glinting off the diamond? Do you perceive any more vivid light reflections?
A genuine diamond reflects white light brilliantly and sparkles brilliantly. Colored light, or fire, is reflected brilliantly by diamonds.
When comparing a real diamond to a fake diamond, such as Cubic Zirconia, you can see a significant difference in the white and colored light dazzle that the actual diamond emits.
In order to check whether a diamond is real or fake, you should first check for its density. A real diamond will be dense, while a fake will be less dense. If you cannot find a piece of loose diamond, you can ask your local jeweler to perform the test for you. This way, you can be sure that the diamond you are purchasing is genuine. And if you are still unsure, there is no harm in trying out a homemade test.
The next at-home test is a simple one that can help you tell if a diamond is real or fake. The paper test works well with bigger stones, such as cubic zirconia. The paper will show a circle when placed over a fake diamond, while the latter will not. If a stone reflects a black circle, it is not a real diamond.
Besides a black light, another way to test a diamond is to scratch it with a mirror. The stone will not have a blue glow under the light, while a red one will not. A green diamond is a real diamond. A yellow stone is a fake. It will not be noticeable under the light. A yellow or gray stone will be a fake.
Is The Scratch Test Reliable To Ensure A Diamond Is Real?
The scratch test was originally a popular method for determining the hardness of a gemstone’s mineral. The loose gemstone was scraped against a mirror to check if it would scratch the mirror or the stone.
While a diamond is made of extremely hard materials, imitations like cubic zirconia and Moissanite are also extremely durable and scratch-resistant. As a result, the scratch test is ineffective. Other procedures, such as a thermal conductivity test or having the diamond viewed with a professional loupe instrument, are preferable options.
Synthetic Diamonds: How To Spot Them
With the frequency of synthetic diamonds on the rise, it’s critical to understand how to distinguish between lab-created and genuine diamonds. Synthetic diamonds feature chemical and molecular components that are comparable to those found in natural diamonds.
Conductivity test and examine the stone under a microscope. Even if it’s difficult to tell the difference between a synthetic and a genuine diamond with the naked eye, it’s critical for resale and insurance values.
Cubic Zirconia: How To Spot It
Cubic zirconia is one of the most straightforward imitation diamonds to identify. It’s pretty easy to evaluate the amount of sparkle and fire a stone emits by utilizing the sparkle test, for example.
Cubic zirconia also reflects orange-tinted light. They also weigh more than a genuine diamond and are usually free of flaws and blemishes. Inclusions can be noticed with the naked eye or under a diamond expert’s microscope in real diamonds.
How Can You Know Whether It’s A White Sapphire?
Sapphires are usually found in blue and a variety of other colors, including white, which seems to be transparent to the human eye. White sapphires are frequently portrayed as diamonds, although they lack the glitter and contrast of dark and bright parts that distinguish diamonds.
It’s more likely to be a white sapphire if the stone’s hue is more blurred—that is, it doesn’t have clear bright and dark areas. Many of the experiments in this article, such as the fog test and the thermal conductivity test, can assist in determining whether or not a diamond is genuine.
However, because of the variety and intricacy of synthetic gemstone materials, we recommend visiting a diamond specialist or jeweler to evaluate the items you already own. These professionals have been taught to recognize a phony diamond.
You’ll never have a problem determining if a diamond is real or not if you use our diamond education or diamond specialists to buy one. Any diamond you buy will come with a GIA or AGS certificate, and all you have to do is double-check that the diamond matches the certificate.
Conclusion
A diamond is one of the hardest substances in the world, so scratching it with a knife will be the easiest way to tell if it is real. A fake diamond will have a different color and texture, so it is important to determine the size and shape of the stone. Once you know which stone is the true one, you can use the following tests to distinguish the two types.
A diamond’s color can be easily spotted with white paper. Its transparency will give away a diamond’s value. If the stone is yellow or green, it is a fake. In addition to having a clearer color, a CZ can be more prone to scratching. However, the real diamond will be less visible and more translucent. This can easily be determined by comparing a fake with a real diamond.
