It is essential to learn how to know a real diamond to spot a fake diamond! These days fake diamonds can be easily mistaken for real diamonds. You’ll find plenty of natural gems with a strong resemblance to diamonds such as white topaz. In today’s post, I will discuss how to know a real diamond from a fake. There are several methods you can consider to inspect your own jewels. This will surely help you to know the authenticity of your diamond jewelry. Without wasting much time, let us now find out how to know a real diamond using 15 simple tests.
How To Know A Real Diamond?
Using the following methods, you can easily learn how to know a real diamond.
- Fog Test
- Water Test
- Heat Test
- UV Light Test
- Weight Test
- By Using A Loupe
- By Using A Diamond Tester
- Dot Test
- Check Diamond Mount
- Scratch Test
- Newspaper Test
- By Using A Microscope
- Sparkle Test
- Flashlight Test
- By Getting An X-Ray Examination
One of the simplest ways to learn how to know a real diamond is using the Fog and Heat test. By using the Sparkle test, you can be able to do a visual inspection of the stone’s behavior in the light.
You can keep on reading to check out how to know a real diamond using other home tests.
Different Ways To Know A Real Diamond
In this section, I will discuss how to know a real diamond using different tests.
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Fog Test
Using the fog test, you can easily determine how to know a diamond is real. Simply hold the diamond between two fingers and breath on it with a puff of air. You’ll notice a light fog formed on the diamond due to moisture and heat in your breath. The diamond is real only if the fog dissipates right away.
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Water Test
You can consider this simple water test to ensure your diamond ring is real! Take a glass/bowl filled with ¾ water and drop your ring into the glass. Observe if your diamond ring sinks or floats at the water surface. A real diamond has high density, so it will sink in the water.
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Heat Test
We all know diamonds are unresponsive to high heat. So, how to know if a diamond ring is real with a heat test? For this method, take a glass filled with cold water. Heat the gemstone with a lighter for about 40 seconds and drop it into the cold water. If the diamond shatters, it is not a real diamond.
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UV Light Test
Another unique way to determine if a diamond is real or fake is by placing it under a UV Light. Real diamonds will emit a blue-colored glow while fake diamonds do not glow under UV light. Instead, if you see a slight green, gray or yellow fluorescence, it means the gem is not a diamond.
Note: Remember that this is not a conclusive test and not all diamonds will emit blue color.
You can keep on reading further to know more about how to know when a diamond is real.
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Weight Test
Most jewelers and gemologists have a very fine-tuned scale for measuring small differences in weight. Usually, a weight of a real diamond will always be lower than fake stones like Cubic Zirconia. To perform this test, you can compare a fake diamond of roughly the same size and shape with the real diamond.
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By Using A Loupe
A loupe is a special magnifying glass designed for diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry. Using this device, a professional is able to look for blemishes and imperfections within the diamond. A real diamond will have small imperfections called inclusions. While a fake one is always perfectly constructed.
Let us now check out how to know a real diamond using a tester.
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By Using A Diamond Tester
Apart from Loupe, most gemologists prefer using a diamond tester to determine the thermal conductivity of a gemstone. As diamonds are good heat conductors, real diamonds will disperse heat rapidly after being warmed. Generally, fake diamonds will disperse heat at a slower rate.
You can keep on reading further to find out how to tell if diamonds are real without a tester.
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Dot Test
Using the Dot test, you can easily tell if a loose diamond is real or fake. Simply take a piece of paper and draw a small dot on it. Now, place your diamond over the dot and check if you can see the dot through the stone. If you are unable to see the dot, your gemstone is real. Real diamonds will refract the image and you won’t see anything through the stone.
- Check Diamond Mount
Each diamond jewelry item has a stamp or hallmark inside the setting indicating real gold or platinum. You can learn how to know a real diamond by checking the diamond mount. If you look closely, you’ll see the following values 10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750, 900, 950, PT, and Plat. But if you see a C.Z stamp at the center, your gemstone is not real. Here, C.Z stands for Cubic Zirconia which is a synthetic diamond.
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Scratch Test
Now, how to tell if a diamond is real with a mirror? One of the best tests to see if a diamond is real is to scratch it against a mirror or piece of glass. During this, if the mirror is damaged, then there is a chance that the diamond is real. And if the stone is damaged, then it is a fake diamond. Unfortunately, this test is not accurate as materials like quartz and cubic zirconia can also leave a scratch on the glass.
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Newspaper Test
You can also test a diamond at home using refractivity. Simply place the flat side of the stone onto a newspaper with lots of lettering. If you’re unable to read the letters, the diamond is real! You’ll see its surface will refract the light in different directions. This method is mostly used on loose diamonds.
Do not worry if this doesn’t work for you. You can try other alternative methods to learn how to know a real diamond to check its quality.
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By Using A Microscope
Using a power microscope with 1200x magnification, you can examine the stone in detail. Simply place the gem under the microscope and observe it carefully. Jewelers can easily see inclusions and small differences in real diamonds compared to fake diamonds!
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Sparkle Test
Do you know how to know a true diamond by eye? You can consider the sparkle test if you want to check whether your diamond is real or not. Simply hold the diamond under sunlight and watch how light reflects off the stone. Real diamonds will reflect white light providing exceptional sparkle. Whereas a fake diamond will give colored light sparkle.
Let us now find out how to tell if a diamond is real with a flashlight.
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Flashlight Test
Some experts claim that a flashlight can be used to separate real diamonds from fake ones. Simply hold the flashlight vertically with the beam shooting up and place the gemstone upside down on the lens. A diamond is real when it separates light into spectral colors whereas a fake diamond does not.
If you want to learn how to know a real diamond with the help of a professionalist, then keep on reading.
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By Getting An X-Ray Examination
Last but not the least, you can send your diamond to a professional diamond lab for testing. These experts use x-ray machines to tell if the stone has a radiolucent molecular structure or a radiopaque molecular structure. Real diamonds are radiolucent while fake diamonds are radiopaque.
FAQ
How Can You Test If A Diamond Is Real At Home?
Using cold water is a much simpler and safer way to test the validity of a diamond. If you place the stone into water, a real diamond will sink to the bottom due to the density. Fake diamonds are far more likely to float or bobble around
What Are Real Diamonds Called?
Other names include cultured diamond, cultivated diamond, lab-created diamond and man-made diamond. They are produced artificially, unlike natural diamonds formed in the Earth. Essentially, synthetic diamonds are real diamonds. But, unlike natural diamonds, they are formed above ground by artificial means.
How Much Does A Diamond Cost?
How much does a diamond cost? The average price can range from $1,500 for a 0.5-carat diamond to $21,000 for a two-carat diamond. The truth is that answering this question is not easy because the price of a diamond can vary depending on a number of factors, including Clarity, Color, Cut, Carat, Shape and Fluorescence.
How Do You Test A Diamond?
To test the diamond’s refractivity, place the stone on its flat side onto a piece of newspaper with lots of lettering. Make sure to use bright lighting and that no objects are casting a shadow on your diamond. If you can read the letters from the newspaper — whether they appear blurry or not — then the diamond is fake.
How Does A Real Diamond Look Like?
A real diamond appears gray and white inside (brilliance) when held to the light and can reflect rainbow colors (fire) onto other surfaces. A fake diamond will display rainbow colors within the stone when held up to light.
What Is The Easiest Way To Tell If A Diamond Is Real?
If you have a loose diamond to test, fill a regular glass about ¾ of the way full with water. Gently drop the diamond into the glass. If the diamond sinks to the bottom, it’s real. If it floats at the surface or just underneath, it’s likely a fake.
Is Diamond More Expensive Than Gold?
There’s no doubt about it. Diamonds are expensive. Diamonds cost more than gold or platinum.
Do Fake Diamonds Scratch?
Artificial diamonds are chemically and optically the same as diamonds that are found under the earth, which were formed billions of years ago. Thus, they are not any easier to scratch than other diamonds. These diamonds are visually indistinguishable from real diamonds.
Are Diamonds Heavy Or Light?
As the hardest gemstone known to man, diamonds are also extremely dense. This makes them durable and great for everyday wear but also makes them heavy. Because of their weight and density, diamonds sink when they’re dropped into a glass of water. Unlike diamonds, crystals are not nearly as dense.
Conclusion
In the above post, I’ve discussed how to know a real diamond at home in detail. You can perform a Fog test or Heat test on the gemstone. Real diamonds won’t fog up easily and will clear the fog much faster than fake diamonds. You can also heat up the stone and observe if it shatters. The newspaper method and Dot test help you to look at the stone’s refractivity. However, you can also seek out the advice of a reputable jeweler if required. Once you learn how to know a real diamond, you can enjoy and appreciate the gem much more than before!
