10 Ways To Tell If A Diamond Is Real Or Fake

Reliable Ways to KNOW if a Diamond is Real or Fake

1)  Go to a local jewelry store!

Gentlemen, this is the surest way to validate the authenticity of a diamond. If you are looking to buy a diamond from a private party via an online market place, you can easily arrange a meeting at a local jewelry store where you can have one of the staff members examine the stone free of charge. This method will also save you time as fraudulent diamond sellers, or con-men as I like to call them, will not meet you if they know their diamond is fake. I used this option almost every time I met with private parties to potentially buy a diamond or ring. One warning I should mention however, is that with this strategy you will run the risk of losing your deal. I have personally been in a situation where I negotiated an amazing deal with a private party only for the jeweler to hear the numbers, bid me up, and steal the deal. If you use this method, do your best to not mention the price you are paying for the stone so that you don’t lose the deal. Also, I recommend that you, yourself choose which jeweler to go to. I may be overly paranoid, but I would hate for there to be some sort of inside job where the jeweler is in on the scam. I recommend going to a more high-end establishment as they will be less busy, and in my experience, very willing to help.

2)  Use a Thermal Conductivity Probe (aka “The Diamond Tester”)

This simple (and cheap) device will give you instant peace of mind when wondering whether a diamond is real or fake. This tool is used by gemologists to determine the thermal conductivity of gemstones. Diamonds naturally disperse heat rapidly when warmed (unlike fake diamonds) and the thermal conductivity probe will validate this instantly. If the stone you are testing disperses heat quickly, the stone is a real diamond (the light will turn green). If the stone disperses heat at a slow rate, the stone is not a diamond (the light will stay red). These devices are quite common as they are very affordable and accurate. There are many different thermal conductivity probes but here is a link to one you can pick one up for about $15 on Amazon. Bring it with you while you are searching for your diamond as it is quite small and portable. This is an especially good tool if you are unable to meet at a local jewelry store or have a jeweler validate a diamond’s authenticity.

3)  Use a Loupe

A Loupe is a tool used by jewelers across the world. It is basically a powerful magnifying glass which will allow you to see a diamond at 10 to 60 times magnification. A Loupe will show you a diamond as you’ve never seen before. If the diamond is genuine you will be able to see small inclusions within the diamond or a code. Not all diamonds have these features, but the majority do. Unless you are dealing with a perfect IF (internally flawless) clarity diamond, which is unlikely as there are very few and they are extremely expensive, you will see small imperfections in the diamond created by substances trapped in the diamond while it was formed.

If the diamond is GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified, it will be engraved with a code, only visible under magnification, and this code will match the paperwork that comes with the diamond. Fake diamonds will not have either of these features. You can pick up a Loupe for about $10 on Amazon and bring it with you to confirm whether a diamond is real or fake, here is a link. If you do not want to purchase one, you can go to a local jeweler and have them examine it with their own or ask to use theirs.

4)  X – Ray Examination

If you would like a full and certain examination of your diamond, you can send your stone to a professional diamond lab for testing. A diamond lab will completely examine your stone, internally and at the molecular level to qualify it as a diamond. Their X – Ray machines will test a diamond for radiolucent molecular structure and radiopaque molecular structure. A true diamond will have a radiolucent structure while fake diamonds, like cubic zirconium or crystals, will have radiopaque features. This method will cost you around $100 depending on the size of your diamond, but you can be certain you will have the truth. A reliable recourse for this service is GIA.

5)  The Fire Test

This test is for someone who is very serious about validating a diamond and not afraid of losing the stone if it is fake. For this test, you will need a lighter, some tongs or pliers, and a cold glass of water. Hold the diamond with the tongs and place the diamond in the flame for 30 or 40 seconds. Don’t worry, if the diamond you are testing is real it will be completely unharmed. After you’ve held the diamond in the flame for the allotted time, drop the diamond into the cold glass of water. If the diamond is fake it will at least crack, if not shatter completely. This will happen due to the weaker (fake) material not being able to handle the rate at which its molecules expand and contract from the extreme temperature change. Diamonds are formed through immense heat and extreme pressure, so this rudimentary test will have absolutely no effect on a real diamond.

Reliable Ways to INDICATE if a Diamond is Real or Fake

6)  The Fog Test

The fog test is a simple indicator to whether a diamond is real or fake. For this test, take a loose diamond or a ring’s center stone and breath on it. This will fog up the diamond like you would a window in your car. If the fog disappears quickly the diamond is real. If the fog remains from 3 – 4 seconds before dissipating, the diamond is fake. This is due to a diamond’s ability to conduct heat much more efficiently than fake diamonds. One thing to be sure of before using this indicator is to clean the diamond thoroughly. If the diamond is not clean, the dirt and oils that build up on the diamond could make the fog last longer than it would otherwise. This could make a real diamond seem fake. Simply washing a diamond or ring with soap and lightly scrubbing the scum away should make a diamond clean enough to perform an accurate assessment. With that being said, I would use one or more of the other 10 methods listed here to further validate a diamonds authenticity.

7)  The Transparency Test

The transparency test is another good indicator to whether a diamond is legitimate. For this test, you will need a newspaper, or any other type of white paper with words, and a well-lit space. Place the diamond upside-down over a letter on a page and look through its pavilion. If you are able to read the letter through the pavilion of the diamond, there is a high chance your diamond is fake. The letter should appear blurry and fragmented if the diamond is real. This is due to the highly reflective facets on the diamond that should cause the reflection to be disjointed. For this test you should also be sure to clean the stone beforehand. An unclean stone can alter the results of the test and could make a fake diamond appear genuine. Like with the fog test, this test is also an indicator. I would do further investigation to be sure a diamond is real.

8)  The Floating Test

This is another simple test to indicate whether a diamond is real but will only work if you are dealing with a loose diamond. For the floating test, you will only need the diamond and a glass of water. Diamonds have a very high density and because of this they will sink in water very quickly. If you place the stone you are testing in a glass of water and it sinks to the bottom quickly, you know that the stone could be a diamond. If the stone floats or sinks very slowly, the stone is definitely not a diamond. From this point, you can do further testing to completely verify the diamond’s legitimacy.

9)  Examine the Setting & Mount

As you all know, diamonds are an extremely valuable stone. Therefore, diamonds are set in precious metal setting that are marked for authenticity. This test is another great indicator on the legitimacy of a diamond. While examining a real diamond setting and mount, no matter the style, you will most likely be looking at yellow gold, white gold, or platinum. These types of metal will be marked with letters and numbers indicating which kind and of what grade you have. For an example, gold will be marked with 10K, 14K, or 18K indicating the grade of gold used for the setting.