How to Tell if a Diamond is Real? Spot a Fake With These Tell-Tale Signs

How to spot a Fake Diamond Before Your Purchase?

1. The Loupe Test

A loupe is a small magnifier jeweler’s use that can magnify objects up to ten times their size. If you don’t have one, you can always politely ask the store to use theirs.

So what should you watch out for when observing the stone?

• Firstly, make sure it has some imperfections in the carbon. Genuine diamonds are made by nature, and that means their carbons are slightly flawed. This does not take away from the stone’s value; it just ensures it was made naturally, this should be harder if you’re examining a high grade clarity diamond (VS and flawless)
• Secondly, look at its edges. A genuine diamond will have sharp edges while a fake one will have rounded ones.
• Finally, if you are buying a ring, check the metal that the diamond is mounted on. Generally all diamond rings are paired with gold or platinum bands, while fake diamonds are more likely to be mounted on steel or cheaper metals.

2. Perform the Fog Test

Try to create some fog on your diamond by breathing hot air on it. Think about how bathroom mirrors fog up with steam from the shower, or glasses become cloudy when leaning over a hot bowl of soup. This is the reaction you do not want. A real diamond won’t fog up because it doesn’t retain heat.

3. The Refraction Test

Diamonds usually sparkle for one reason – they refract light so intensely that you can’t see through them. To do this test, take your loose stone and place it on top of a newspaper or magazine.

If you can still read the words below through the rock, then know you’re probably dealing with a fake.

If the diamond in question is already mounted, and not loose, then make sure you can’t see the setting when you look through the diamond.

4. The Sparkle Test

As mentioned above, diamonds sparkle because they refract light intensely. But some fake diamonds sparkle too, so how can you tell whether yours is genuine? Well, start by holding it in light and observing how it sparkles.

Inside the diamond, you should be able to see gray and white sparkles (referred to as “brilliance”). When the reflection hits an outside surface, it should form rainbow colors. Secondly, look at it under UV light. If it is a genuine stone, it should glow blue.

Note that the amount of blue color depends on fluorescence grade, the color will be very limited if it has a grade of none.

5. Rub it With Sandpaper (or at least, try)

Chances are the jeweler will not allow you to do this, which makes sense, but if you can, try to rub the stone with sandpaper, please be very careful if diamond is mounted as you can easily scratch the ring!

Diamonds are among the world’s hardest materials and can’t be scratched by rough surfaces. So, if you rub you see scratches after rubbing your stone with sandpaper know that you are dealing with a fake.

How to Tell if Diamonds Are Real After The Purchase?

1. Water Test

Diamonds are very dense (3.5 compared to ~1 for water), and will always sink to the bottom when dropped into a water container. Other fakes like quartz will sink but slower that genuine diamond, note that other substances, like moissanite, also sink as quick as diamonds, so this test is not entirely 100% proof.

2. Heat Test

One outstanding feature of diamonds is that they are incredibly strong. They’re not affected by heat or cooling. Or at least not at the temperatures you and I can produce without the help of special machines.

To perform this test, take your stone and heat it thoroughly for like 20-30 seconds, if it cracks or shatters, it is certainly not a diamond.

If it doesn’t, then drop it in cold water. Again, if it neither cracks nor shatters then chances are you have yourself a genuine diamond.

If It’s not a Diamond Then What it is ?

• Moissanite: arguably the closest thing to a real diamond, this metal is hard and dazzles just like a diamond. The main difference is that its inner sparkle creates a rainbow rather than gray and white rays.
• White sapphire: like diamonds, sapphires are used in jewelry. On the surface, the white type resembles diamonds a lot, only that it doesn’t have the same brilliance of a diamond. It is also prone to scratches.
• White topaz: while topaz can usually be found mostly in yellow, brown, red, and pale gray colors, there is a rare white type that imitates diamonds.
  However, it is not a hard mineral and will wear down very quickly when compared to the strength of a diamond.
• Cubic zirconium: this is a very popular crystalline form of zirconium dioxide that neither has the shine or strength of a diamond. However, it can trick you easily thanks to its high density and clarity. But its carbons are too perfect compared to those of genuine diamonds.
• Artificial diamonds: technically speaking, lab-made diamonds are real, but of course they are not as valuable as natural diamonds. That is why they usually sell for up to 40% less than the real thing. If you want to tell whether a diamond is natural or lab-made, look at the perfectness of its carbon and the sharpness of its edges.