4 easy ways to know if the diamond is real or fake
Just imagine! You are walking down the lane and you stumble
upon a tiny stone that appears to be a diamond. You never know. It must be your
lucky day or for that matter, a life defining moment. But before you revel in
your lucky find, you must be sure of its authenticity. How to tell that it is
real or fake? Of course, when no one comes forward to claim it, you may wish to
rush to your nearby jeweller's shop to verify but before that, how about trying your own
detective skills!
Here are a few preliminary tests that you can perform on your own.
If the stone is loose and not set into any jewel, just turn
it upside down on a printed piece of paper. If you cannot read the text through
the stone, it may be a real diamond. If the letters are visible, it is possibly
not a diamond. This test works best with properly cut round brilliant stones.
Since diamonds are efficient heat conductors, as you breathe
on a real diamond, the fog will diffuse immediately but if the top stays foggy
for a few seconds longer, it is fake. This test works best with a clean stone.
Since diamonds are efficient heat conductors, using the thermal
test separates most fake diamonds from real ones by detecting the rate at which
the stone disperses heat. This test works on most gemstones, with an exception
being synthetic moissanite.
To rule out that it is not moissanite, using jeweller’s
loupe or microscope, look at the gemstone through one of the bezel or star
facets on the crown. If the stone shows doubling, which means it looks like
there are two of each facet line, then it is mostly a moissanite. If you see just
one of each facet line (singly refractive) and it passed the heat test, then it
may be a natural diamond.
Remember that, other materials such as cubic zirconia (CZ)
are also singly refractive. For further confirmation, examine the girdle (the
narrow edge around the circumference of the stone). If it has a frosted, grainy
look or tiny facets around the girdle then congratulations it is a diamond. But
the smooth ones prove that it is CZ. Better luck next time!
Another observation you can make using magnification is
whether or not the stone has natural inclusions. Real diamonds typically have
some sort of inclusion(s) that naturally occur during its growth process. Since
man-made materials are produced in a controlled environment, they typically do
not exhibit any inclusions.
Note that, no one test is conclusive. Irrespective of the results of each test, do visit your
family jeweller for final confirmation, before throwing the diamond-apparent away.
Author: Deepa Mishra
Disclaimer: All images used in the blog have been sourced from Google purely for the purpose of informative reference. The models, celebrities or products showcased in these pictures are not to promote any brand in any manner.
Comments
Post a Comment