Water Test 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.
This water test is easy if you have a loose diamond: Get a glass and fill it with water (it doesn't matter what type of water you use). Drop the diamond into the glass of water. Due to the high density of diamonds, when dropped into the water a real diamond will sink.
Some diamonds may seem to have speckles on them simply because of the cut, but this is normal for most diamonds. The best way to tell the difference between a crystal and a diamond is by the appearance of the surface. A stone should feel smooth, while a diamond will be bumpy.
Observing your diamonds sparkle to determine if it's real
Simply hold your diamond under a normal lamp and observe the bright shimmers of light bouncing off the diamond. A real diamond provides an exceptional sparkle since it reflects white light extremely well.
Fake diamonds do not reflect spectral rays from the beam of the flashlight. This is because a diamond's refractive index is high; it makes the white light entering the diamond split into multiple colors before it exits on the other side of the stone.
Crystal Form:
The most common mineral that looks like a diamond is quartz and it is hexagonal form. When looking down on the crystals from the top, with the point of the crystal aimed at your eye, quartz will have six sides and a diamond will have four sides. If you see six sides than you probably found quartz.
The first step is to check for any inclusion on the stone with your bare eyes. If you're unable to see any inclusions with your bare eyes, then use a magnifying glass of at least 10X magnification to find out if the gemstone contains any inclusions. If you found any, then they are real gemstones.
27, 2013 – Owners of Android phones and tablets like the Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy can now benefit from GIA's (Gemological Institute of America) free interactive diamond app for consumers and retailers, available in both English and Simplified Chinese.
Genuine diamonds do not sparkle in rainbow colors inside of the stone. Instead, the inside of real diamonds sparkles in tones white and gray. The play on light in the diamond is brilliance. One factor that determines a diamond's level of brilliance is the cut.
True diamonds have high density and should quickly sink to the bottom of the glass. Fake diamonds are not as thick, and therefore, more likely to float in water. This test is not always foolproof. Some materials that make up fake diamonds, such as cubic zirconia and moissanite, can sink if they are heavy enough.
Perform a scratch test. Scrape your gem against corundum and if it makes a scratch, you've got a real diamond on your hands. Diamonds have a density of 3.5 - 3.53 g/cm3, which you can test by dividing the weight of the stone by the weight of the stone suspended in water. Or, take your gem into a professional.
If you're serious about finding out whether your diamond is real or fake, you can put the stone through a fire test. Use a lighter to light the stone for approximately 30 seconds before dropping it in cold water. If it's a real diamond, the stone will remain unharmed, but if it's fake it will shatter to pieces.
You might think the presence of inclusions is a good way to tell natural from synthetic stones, but in fact, synthetic stones and natural stones both have inclusions. Synthetic inclusions may look slightly different from those occurring incomparable natural stones, but only a professional can tell the difference.
Hold a cut stone to the sun, table toward your eye. if you can see straight through it, it is a form of glass, because glass reflects light, while gem material refracts light. Weigh it: Diamonds weigh more than cubic zirconia. Does it have flaws or inclusions?
Whether you're a gemology student or a gemstone buyer, you should always be cautious about whom you trust for gem identification. Most jewelers have limited experience with colored stones. If they have a Graduate Gemologist degree, that means they're well trained in methodology and the use of instruments.
What Stones are Comparable to a Diamond? Moissanites or white sapphires are most comparable to a diamond. While there are visible differences, these gems will look the closest to a diamond while offering a more affordable price.
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. If you only get one of the two, then the diamond isn't real.
And polishing the surface lets more light fall on the stone, which is what makes it sparkle. In other words, polishing rough surfaces allows light to be refracted into and through the diamond. With rough or uncut diamonds, however, the appeal isn't the sparkle, but instead the pure and untouched natural beauty.
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.
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.
Actually diamond has four main characteristics such as clarity, cut, carat and color. Each characteristic has an impact on cost and price of diamond thus, it's important to know what these characteristics are and how they affect the diamond's price.