Diamonds – Are They Real or Fake?

Diamonds are an expensive investment. For most people shopping for a diamond, they want to find quality at a great price. Therefore, many people will turn to online auctions on the internet, estate sales, and online companies. Typically, these options are legitimate and offer an excellent means for buying a great diamond at a great price. However, that nagging question, “How do I know the diamond is real?” seems to always be lingering overhead.

Now that so many manufactured diamonds are available, this really is a good question. Most people have a hard time picking the real diamond from the phony one. When they’re made of glass, crystals, or colorless stones, they aren’t too hard to scope out. When manufacturers use cubic zirconium or Moissanite, the job gets tougher.

If you find a diamond you want to purchase, have a jeweler or diamond cutter take a close look at it. This is harder to manage when you’re shopping at an online auction, but you should figure out a way to have the stone checked. Paying a lot of money for something that turns out to be an imitation could cause you a lot of grief and frustration. If you think someone is offering to sell you a cubic zirconium, there are a few ways to check it out.

First, breathe on the stone. If the fog created lingers then you know the stone is a cubic zirconia but if the fog disappears quickly, the stone is real. Then, with an ink pen, try to write on the surface of the stone. If the stone is a cubic zirconia, the ink will ball up whereas it would stay in a clean line if real. Another test is to flip the stone upside down, looking through it over a piece of newspaper. If the print can be read easily and clearly, the stone is more than likely fake. Now, the one exception to this rule is that today, some shallow cut diamonds are more transparent.

Checking its weight is another way to test a stone. Cubic zirconium weigh about 55% more than a comparable diamond. Comparing it with a diamond the same size, or accessing a gram or carat scale, will help you in this situation. Another telling feature is the color. The majority of manmade diamonds (99%) look clear when viewed under a black light. What you want to see is a fluorescent blue color. Blue indicates a true diamond, but too much blue indicates one that’s of inferior quality.

Other options include using a magnifying glass. Start by looking carefully at the facets from the top of the stone to see how well they are joined. Facets for real diamonds would be sharp, not a rolled appearance. Then, the girdles will need to be checked to see if they are faceted or frosty in appearance, which represents real. However, if the girdles are waxy and slick, the stone is a fake. You have a number of ways to make sure you get what you are paying for, but these are insiders secret tips that work.

Copyright 2006, Joy McDougle, All Rights Reserved. This article may be published on web sites or in newsletters provided this notice and the resource box is included without ammendment.

Article Source: http://publisherscloninghouse.com

Joy McDougle is passionate about diamonds and runs Raja Diamonds, a web site which focuses on how to buy a great diamond. For more information, go to: www.rajadiamonds.com

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