If you suspect that a diamond you have purchased or been given is not real, then there are many different tests that you can do at home to check its authenticity. The best test is always to take a diamond to have it professionally appraised, but if you want something a bit quicker then here are some things you can do to check if your diamond is the real deal.
Fog Test
The same way that you blow on glass and make a window foggy, you can do to your diamond. The downside to this test is that it only really works on larger diamonds because you can’t see the results clearly on small diamonds. Blow onto a diamond to try and fog it up. If the stone becomes covered in fog it is not a diamond; if it does not get foggy, it is a real diamond. This is because real diamonds do not retain heat the way glass or cubic zirconia does.
Can You Read Through It?
If you have loose diamonds (diamonds not set into jewellery), then you can try to read through them to see if they are real. Place the diamond onto a newspaper and see if you can read the letters through the diamond. If you can read the letters, chances are your diamond is a fake. If your diamond is real, the light will be bent in a different way, and you will not be able to see the newspaper underneath.
Sandpaper the Diamond
This one is risky because if you like the fake diamond, you will ruin it sandpapering it. If you scrub your diamond with sandpaper, and it is a real diamond, though, it will not be damaged whatsoever because the sandpaper is not strong enough to withstand the abrasive material. Make sure that you do not buy sandpaper covered in diamond powder, though, or you will damage your diamond. Do not use this method if you want to retain the possible fake diamond, as it will be ruined in the process.
Check for Rainbows
This is a difficult test to do on your own, because fake stones shine brighter than diamonds, such as moissanite. The trick to telling if a diamond is real or not is that while it creates a rainbow on whatever surface that light is shone through it, light will appear grey or white inside the diamond. In fake diamonds, a rainbow also appears within the diamond. This is tricky to do though and can be difficult with diamonds that are in deep settings.
Examine the Facets
A real diamond must be cut by a diamond cutter, which leaves the edges (facets) of the diamond sharp. Take a magnifying glass with at least 10x magnification and examine the edges. If your diamond is fake and made of glass or zircon (and not another gemstone) it was melted into a mould and will have rounded and imperfect edges as a result. This is not foolproof, however, as glass and zircon can also be cut like a diamond (though it is more expensive to cut them than to mould them) and so you can get a false positive this way.
Get Appraised at Rain City Jewellers in Vancouver
If you have diamond jewellery, engagement rings, diamond earrings, or even costume jewellery that you are unsure of the value, bring it into Rain City Jewellers for appraisal. We will be able to tell you if your diamonds are real, and if they are not, we have a wide variety of diamond jewellery for you to replace it with. Come in today!