Reflection of light To start off right: a diamond itself does not shine, it reflects light which gives them their beautiful sparkle. This has three main causes: internal reflection, refraction, and dispersion.
The way that diamonds reflect light is unique: the inside of a real diamond should sparkle gray and white while the outside should reflect a rainbow of colors onto other surfaces. A fake diamond, on the other hand, will have rainbow colors that you can see inside the diamond as well.
All diamonds can be made to sparkle, but they actually do not sparkle naturally. Natural diamonds simply resemble transparent rocks when they are mined and have little to no sparkle or shine at all.
Does it Reflect Both Color and Light? We all love how a diamond shines in the sunlight. Test your stone by putting it in direct sunlight and examining the colors it reflects. A real diamond will reflect both rainbow colors as well as white light.
“People have a misconception that diamonds sparkle like a rainbow, but they don't,” Hirsch said. “They do sparkle, but it's more of a gray color. If you see something with rainbow colors [inside the stone], it could be a sign that it's not a diamond.” Still confused?
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.
You see, diamonds are a magnet for grease/oil as their surfaces muck up easily. A dirty stone doesn't sparkle because light simply can't enter the diamond and causes it to appear dull.
Look and Look Again. Diamond facets are like mirrors: they reflect what's around them.
In cut stones, cubic zirconia tends to have dull, rounded edges, while diamonds' facets stay sharp. Diamonds rarely show polish marks, but if they do, they will be in different directions on different facets. On the other hand, cubic zirconia will show polishing marks in the same direction on adjoining facets.
Color also has a big impact on the sparkle produced by a diamond. Because diamonds reflect white light, colorless diamonds produce the best sparkle and fire. In fact, the more color a diamond has, the less likely it is to reflect white light. And as a result, will produce less sparkle.
Any diamond will flash, sparkle and look the best in direct sunlight. So, if you really want to know what exactly a diamond looks like, you must observe it in natural daylight. This is when its true brilliance and sparkle can be noticed. This is why most dealers sort their diamonds in indirect sunlight.
When light enters a diamond, it travels through it, reflecting off its interior surfaces, called facets. It then either leaves the diamond as white light, called brightness, or it divides into the spectral colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, called fire.
Excellent: This is the highest grade, representing the top 3% of all diamonds in the world. Diamonds with an excellent cut grade are masterfully crafted and precisely cut to create maximum sparkle and brilliance. Little or no light leakage occurs as light passes through.
An ideal cut diamond shows only a few intensely bright flashes in direct sunlight. A diamond that actually looks good in sunlight splits those few flashes up into ten or twenty smaller sparkles.
Diamond professionals use the grading system developed by GIA in the 1950s, which established the use of four important factors to describe and classify diamonds: Clarity, Color, Cut, and Carat Weight. Diamonds can be fashioned into a variety of shapes and still be beautiful. These are known as the 4Cs.
This is the stage before they are actually cut or polished in order to create the marvelous diamonds found in all of our unique jewelry. To the uneducated eye, rough diamonds look more like a shard of glass that can be found anywhere. They are dull, oily looking and come in many colors.
Real diamonds should not float. To perform the floating test, all you need is your stone and a glass of water. Drop the diamond into the water. True diamonds have high density and should quickly sink to the bottom of the glass.
But sometimes we see diamonds that look cloudy, hazy or dull. Problems with the diamond's transparency may be the culprit and can result from several different causes. A diamond that is not properly cut will leak light and appear less brilliant and fiery than it should.
For each individual diamond, there are specific proportions that will make the diamond sparkle at its best, and it is far better to have an Ideal-cut diamond that is 0.90 carats than a poorly cut diamond that is 1.00 or 1.10 carats. A good cut will result in a better sparkle.
Minerals are assigned a number between 1 and 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale to describe how resistant to scratching they are. Diamonds are given the highest number, a 10. There is nothing that can scratch a diamond except another diamond. A mineral like talc, on the other hand, is a 1 on the scale.
To determine if your diamond is real, hold a magnifying glass up and look at the diamond through the glass. Look for imperfections within the stone. If you're unable to find any, then the diamond is most likely fake. the majority of real diamonds have imperfections referred to as inclusions.
Get a glass full of water and simply drop your diamond into the glass. If the diamond is real, it will drop to the bottom of the glass due to the high density of the stone. If it's a fake, it will float on the surface of the water.
As straightforward as it sounds, fill a glass of water at home to roughly three-quarters full. Separate the stone so that it is loose, and drop it into the water. Diamonds are highly dense and a genuine gem will sink to the bottom – every time. If it hovers to the surface or only partially sinks, then it is a replica.
With light reflection, look for shades of gray. Synthetic stones, such as cubic zirconia, sparkle with more iridescent colors. Natural diamonds reflect light in more grayish hues. So, if yours is a stone of many colors, it's probably synthetic.