Fake Diamonds - 7 Tips On How You Can Identify Fake Diamonds

There are many fake diamonds circulating around in the markets all these while and the problem is getting ever more serious day after day. Even the diamond engagement rings and wedding rings fixed in beautiful casings could be using fake diamonds. Ever heard of the phrase "a diamond is a girl's best friend"?

If you are intending to buy a diamond engagement ring for your sweetheart, it is important to ensure that you are not getting her fake diamonds. Many counterfeiting jeweller have used other gemstones that looks rather similar to diamonds such as cubic zirconia and moissanite as well as other gemstones in place of real diamonds. As such, how could you tell whether the diamond is a fake one or a real one? Here are some tips that could guide you to examine and identify whether your diamond is really that real.

You can check your diamond with a diamond tester if you have one or alternatively, you could also visit your jeweller's store to have it tested out for you. A standard electronic diamond tester could easily detect fake diamonds within minutes. However, most standard electronic testers lack the ability to reliably differentiates a moissanite from diamond. As such, if your diamond is a moissanite, you need another method to really test it out. So what is a moissanite actually? Why moissanite is so similar to diamond that even electronic diamond tester fails to differentiate between them?

The second method you can use to check fake diamonds is by checking its transparancy. Remove the diamond from the casing and place it upside down on a sheet of newspaper. If the words on the newspaper are legible then it is most probably a real one. However, this method isn't without its flaws because some gemstones with fine cuttings particularly cubic zirconia may appear as a real diamond as well. Cubic zirconia is actually a type of transparent crystal-like gemstone that looks similar to diamonds.

The third method is to test the weight of the diamonds. As different gemstones have different weighting thus, a true diamond can be easily identified. For example, a cubic zirconia is heavier than a real diamond of the same size. It is in fact heavier by about 50% more than a real diamond.

The forth method to test whether a diamond is fake is by testing it's reflection. A real diamond shows grayish shade of relections while other typical gemstones have rainbow colour reflection.

The fifth method is to blow some air with your mouth on the diamond surface itself. If the fog still appears on the diamond surface for a couple of seconds then the diamond is probably fake. Fog on a real diamond would disappear very quickly, that is as soon as you finish blowing. However, this method holds true provided that the diamond surface is totally free from other materials or leftovers such as oily surface, or dirt which could prevent or slow down the fog disappearance.

The sixth method of testing involves the use of ultra-violet light. A real diamond put under an ultra-violet light tube would turn blue in color. However, if the light does not turn blue but becomes black instead, then it could well be fake diamonds. This method of testing also has its own limitations as sometimes very good quality real diamonds could turn out as black too.

The final method of testing is to put the diamond under a magnifying glass. However, this method of testing is only effective in testing against fake diamonds that are made of glass. If the diamond under the magnifying glass appears to have a large amount of tiny air bubbles, then it is definitely a glass and not a real diamond.

As there is no one sure way to test out and differentiate real and fake diamonds, the methods highlighted above could not be relied on fully due to the different characteristics of different gemstones and mineral substances. There could be some margin of errors in the test resulted by these differences of the materials tested. Even professional jewelers and experts find it hard to make a clear distictive line between them.

As such, the only best way to tell whether a diamond is real or fake is to always ask for a certificate that comes with it. A diamond that comes with a certificate is a genuine diamond. But then even with that, the certificate could be a fake one too. Nonetheless, arming yourself with the best of knowledge is still the greatest way in buying a real diamond. As a sidenote, diamonds with fake certificates are automatically fake diamonds! Read also on Moissanite Vs Diamonds for more information.