All That Sparkles: The Difference between Real and Fake Diamonds
Imagine proposing to the love of your life. You spend days searching for the perfect ring to solidify your relationship. You’ve finally found a diamond that spoke to your heart and reflected your love. But what if you become suspicious that the diamond you bought isn’t real?
Well, if it came with a certificate from GIA then you’ve got nothing to worry about. But if it didn’t, you’re right to wonder!
Here are a few things you can do to make sure that your diamond is real.
The Sparkle Test
Diamonds are famous for their eternal sparkle. They reflect light due to their high refractive index, their shape and cut. Hold your diamond under a bright light. A real diamond will reflect light, color or fire extremely well. A fake one would not.
The Water Test
Conducting this test is the easiest way to spot a fake diamond. Get a glass of water and put your loose stone in. As the density of a real diamond is very high, it’ll sink. However, if you have a fake on your hands, it’ll float in the water.
The Fog Test
A genuine diamond doesn’t retain heat. So take your stone to a cool environment and blow on it. A real diamond won’t get fog on its surface. A fake one, on the other hand, will get fogged up fast.
The Candle Test
For this test, you’ll need a candle, a pair of tweezers and a glass of cold water. After you have collected all the required material; hold your diamond with the tweezers. Heat it up for about 30–45 seconds then drop it into the glass of cold water. If your stone survives the test, it’s real because a fake diamond would break or shatter.
The Dot Test
Similar to the sparkle test, this test also checks the refractive property of the stone. Draw a black dot on a piece of paper then put your stone flat side down on it. If you observe a reflection of the dot in the stone, the diamond’s probably not real. If you don’t see a reflection, then the diamond is real.
You won’t see a reflection in a real diamond because its high refractive nature disperses light in different directions.
The Loupe Test
A diamond professional uses a Loupe—a specialized magnifying glass used for jewelry—to test if the diamond is real or not. A fake diamond might be perfect when looked at closely. A real diamond, however, has imperfections that aren’t visible by the naked eye but a Loupe picks it up.
These are some of the tests you can do to spot a fake diamond. But if you don’t want the hassle, go to our website and buy a GIA diamond right away. We are a diamond wholesaler in NYC that provides high quality diamonds at unbeatable prices.