When I see someone look at a diamond with their miniature telescope thingamajiggy, I often wonder what the hell they are doing – but then I found this from Business Insider: 5 ways to spot a fake diamond.
Not only do they talk about how to spot a fake diamond, but they caringly provided all the jeweller lingo – so from now on I’ll call the miniature telescope thingamajiggy by its name: a loupe.
High-five! You want some more? Sure.
They spoke to Reyne Hirsch, a 20th-century decorative arts expert and consultant, about spotting fake diamonds. Here are five basic ways – or you can just take them in to your local diamond professionals.
2 – Aaaah, the good ol’ fog test: if it’s a fake, it’ll fog up for a short period of time, whereas a real diamond’s fog will last longer because it’ll retain the heat.
3 – Here it is – the loupe section, and it is probably the most telling. A magnifying glass that you can buy at any jewellery store, it will allow you take a closer look at your gem and its setting:
“When you’re looking at a diamond, there are a few things you’ll notice,” Hirsch told us. “First, the majority of diamonds are made in nature so that means you’re going to see some imperfections in the carbon. A fake stone would be perfect — absolutely perfect.”
Hirsch explains that certain lab-grown stones will also look perfect through the loupe, and so you should be cautious before discarding perfect gems. It can be a clue, however, that you should take a closer look or bring the stone to an expert.
Second, observe the diamond’s edges. “When you’re taking a look at a diamond through a loupe, a real stone is going to have sharp edges, and a fake stone will have rounded edges,” Hirsch explained.
Lastly, look at the mounting and etchings, especially any marks that signify what metal was used. “If the metal is gold-plated or silver, chances are it’s not a diamond, because why would you put a nice stone mounted in such a cheap metal?” Hirsch said. “Most diamonds are mounted in gold or set in platinum.”
“Also take a look at the mounting itself and how that diamond is set,” she added. “If the setting looks like it’s of poor quality, that probably means it’s not going to be a real diamond either.”
4 – The sparkle of a diamond is unique: inside the stone, the diamond will sparkle grey and white (known as “brilliance“) while outside the gem it will reflect, you got it, the colour of the rainbow onto other surfaces. This dispersed light is know as fire.
On the other hand, a fake diamond will have rainbow colours that you can see inside the diamond.
5 – Lastly, diamonds’ refractive indexes are very high therefor they are very, very sparkly. Therefore, you shouldn’t be able to see the through the diamond to the other side – if you can, this is a very bad sign
Now, if you’re looking at that stone on your finger wondering if it’s real, well, I’m sorry. You should have gone to Diamond Jewellery International, whose specialities include:
The best part? They work within your own budget to make sure you get the most bang for your buck, whether it’s now or later in life. Go have a chat, throw around some lingo and definitely tell them we sent you.
[source:businessinsider]
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