Have you ever thought that a loose diamond you bought wasn’t real, or wondered whether your diamond jewelry was genuine? Here are 7 ways to check its authenticity.

The Magnification Test

What you need:

• A magnifying glass with 10X magnification or higher
• A diamond that you know is genuine
• Your questionable stone

How it works:

First look at your questionable stone under the microscope. Then look at the genuine diamond, and compare the differences. The genuine diamond will have some internal or external flaws, known as inclusions. If the other stone is cubic zirconia or moissanite, it will have no internal flaws, and probably no external flaws either.

That’s because real diamonds are natural rocks that were formed in the earth, while cubic zirconia and moissanite are grown in labs. They’re not subject to all the environmental pressures that diamonds get while forming, so they don’t have those telltale quirks that identify a real diamond.

The Fog Test

What you need:

• Yourself
• The questionable stone

How it works:

Go to a relatively cool location, and blow hot air on the stone. (Just don’t do this in the middle of Central Park unless you want to get some funny looks.) You’re trying to surround the stone with warm moist air. Since a real diamond doesn’t retain heat well, your breath won’t create a fog on its surface. But a piece of moissanite will get fogged up quickly, just like your mirror, sunglasses, or cell phone screen.

The Black Light Test

What you need:

• A strong UV light
• The stone

How it works:

Hold the stone under the UV light, and see if the color seems to change at all. If the stone emits a bluish glow, it is most likely a real diamond.

The Newspaper Test

What you need:

• A newspaper
• The stone in question

How it works:

Place the stone on top of the newspaper, and see if you can read the words on the page through it. A real diamond of decent quality will refract light so intensely that you can’t see through it. On the other hand, cubic zirconia is more transparent, and you’ll be able to see right through it.

The Candle/Lighter Test

What you need:

• A lighter or candle flame
• A glass of very cold water
• A pair of tweezers to hold the stone with
• The stone in question (loose — don’t do this if it’s in a piece of jewelry!) 

How it works:

Holding the loose stone with the tweezers, heat it up over the lighter or candle flame for about 30 – 45 seconds. Then, drop it immediately into the icy water. A real loose diamond will not react to this extreme temperature change (they’re made of extremely strong material). However, many fake diamonds – including those made of glass, cubic zirconia, or quartz – will break or shatter during this test.

The Water Test

What you need:

• A glass of water
• The loose stone

How it works:

Simply drop the loose stone into the water. Because loose diamonds are so dense, they should sink to the bottom when dropped in a glass of water. Many diamond fakes – glass and quartz included – will float or not sink as quickly because they’re less dense.

The Conductivity Test

What you need:

• You’re going to have to leave the house for this one. Take your stone to a local jeweler.

How it works:

Something that not too many people know about diamonds is that they resist electricity. Testing a loose stone for electric conductivity is especially helpful if you aren’t sure whether your stone is a diamond or moissanite. Moissanite (if it is made well) can be extremely difficult to tell apart from a genuine diamond, having the same level of thermal conductivity. However, one relatively simple way to tell the difference is that moissanite will conduct electricity while a natural diamond will not.

With the rise of moissanite in today’s diamond market, the majority of jewelers have an electricity testing tool on hand to determine the real from the lab-created.

• Source: https://www.ritani.com/

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