Identifying Diamonds

Because diamonds are such a popular and sought after stone, there are a lot of imposters trying to pose as the real thing.  Buying a beautiful only to realize it isn’t real would be devastating.  Before you understand the best way to identify a diamond, lets discuss an unreliable test.  A popular idea is that diamonds can scratch glass, which is accurate.  However, so can many other types of materials so it is not reliable to assume it is a diamond because it can scratch glass.  Here are some simple tests to determine the authenticity of a diamond:

• Look through the diamond.  If you can see completely through the stone, it is probably not real because real diamonds bend light while imposters may not.  Place the loose stone on a magazine and see if you can read the text.  If it is real, you won’t be able to.  For an unloose stone, you should not be able to see the bottom of the mounting from the top.
• Look at the reflections.  Diamonds only reflect grays so if the stone is reflecting rainbow colors, it is not real.
• Look at it under UV light.  Real diamonds generally have a blue tint under the light while fake stones may not.
• Look at its weight.  Diamonds way less than Cubic Zirconia of the same size.
• Look at it under water.  Some fake stones are capped with a real diamond exterior but under water the cap would come off.

Although these tips can be helpful for non-jewelers buying diamonds, the most reliable way to test the authenticity of a diamond is to allow a jeweler to inspect it.