Is your “diamond” forever or a faux? : A Practical Guide to testing diamonds

 

Are you aware that there are several stones in the market that can be passed as diamonds to an unsuspecting eye? Moissanite, Cubic Zirconia, and Glass, to name a few. 

To a common man’s eye, it is extremely daunting to spot the real from the fakes.

With the expansion of the digital savvy luxury customers willing to spend big bucks on buying expensive goods online, it is now even more important to know a real diamond from the sea of fakes.  

BTW, lab-created diamonds have identical properties to mined diamonds and will pass all the tests. The only way to determine whether a diamond is lab-made or mined is to send it to a gemological laboratory. 

There are multiple ways in which you can test a diamond to determine its originality. We have listed some of the easiest at-home tests to check the authenticity of your diamond.

Since every diamond is unique, none of these tests can guarantee 100% accuracy but they can definitely help assuage some of your doubts. 

Test 1: Water Test

Instructions: Get a normal-sized drinking glass and fill it ¾ with water. Drop your loose stone in it, if it floats you have got a fake one. 

Reason: Diamonds have a high density which makes them sinkable. If your diamond is real, then it will sink in water. 

Test 2: Fog Test

Instructions: Hold the stone or the ring between your fingers and blow a puff of air on it. It will form a fog layer on the surface. If the fog dissipates quickly, it is a diamond. 

Reason: Diamonds are excellent conductors of heat and dissipate heat quickly. Thus the moisture also dissipates right away from the surface. 

Test 3: Heat Test

Instructions: Hold the stone in a set of pliers and heat it on the stove for approximately 40 seconds. After heating, put it in a glass of cold water. If it shatters or shows signs of crack then it is a fake diamond.

Reason: Diamond has the strongest molecular bonds making it the hardest material on Earth. Thus, it does not respond to extreme heat and cold conditions easily. Other stones tend to crack due to the expansion and contraction of weaker bonds at the molecular level. 

Test 4: Newspaper Test

Instructions: Place the stone with flat side down on a newspaper page with lots of lettering. Direct a bright light on it while ensuring that no other shadow is being cast on it. If the newspaper letters are visible at all ( even blurry), it is a fake diamond.

Reason: Refraction is the phenomenon of bending light entering a different medium. 

This happens as the speed of light is different in different mediums. Due to the refraction of light entering the diamond lattice at different angles, Diamonds tend to sparkle making it hard to read through them.

Test 5: Dot Test 

Instructions: Another way is to put a dot on a white plain page. Place the stone onto the dot with the flat side down. If on looking through the pointed end, you see a circular reflection inside the gemstone, there are chances that you have a fake in your hand. 

These tests can easily be performed at your home. To know for sure, it is advised to send the diamond to a gemological laboratory or ask for certifications such as GIA, IGI, SGL, or EGL. Certification is the easiest and most reliable source of diamond authentication. 
Thus, at Syndiora, the certificate is provided with each piece of diamond jewelry. So you can go ahead and invest in diamonds that are authentic and guilt-free.