Diamonds are a luxury that not everyone has the opportunity to own. If you are planning to buy a diamond, or if you already own one, we are sure that you have asked yourself the following question: How to tell if a diamond is real without a tester?
Do you want to be sure that what you have is original, but you do not have or can’t buy various machines and testers?
Don’t worry; We have prepared an excellent guide showing you the best alternatives for checking whether a diamond is original or fake.
There are a lot of ways to do this, but each and every one of them has its pros and cons. So, if you’re interested in learning about these various methods, and finding out which one is your personal favorite, keep scrolling.
Let’s have a look at the alternative methods!
The Water Test
This is arguably one of the simplest ways to tell if your diamond is genuine or not, although it is not definitive.
Fill a glass halfway with water and put your diamond into it. Due to the incredible density of the stone, a genuine diamond will sink to the bottom of the glass.
It will float on the water’s surface if it’s a forgery. Unfortunately, not all imitation diamonds float in water, so you may want to try another strategy.
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The Heat Test
This test may appear frightening, but you have nothing to worry about if the diamond is genuine.
Fill a glass halfway with cold water and put on a pair of fireproof gloves. Heat the stone for around 30-40 seconds before immersing it in cold water.
A genuine diamond will not respond; a fake will most likely break.
Because of heat’s quick expansion and contraction, fragile materials such as cubic zirconia will crack and shatter.
A diamond is resistant to heat testing because the heat quickly dissipates, leaving it untouched by dramatic temperature variations.
We do not recommend this test to anyone who owns a diamond because there are more practice tests and because it carries a particular risk and responsibility.
Also, make every effort to do this test as safely as possible.
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The Fog Test
Fogging it with your breath is a quick and easy technique to recognize a natural diamond from a fake.
It should clean up quickly, confirming that your diamond is genuine. If it remains fogged up for three or four seconds, you’re probably holding a forgery.
Diamonds rapidly distribute heat, making fogging impossible. However, none of the diamonds had the same impact.
Before doing this test, ensure your diamond is clean and free of oil spots and covers.
If you have a genuine diamond with your suspicious stone, do the test on both. Watch how the genuine one stays clear while the false one fogs up as you breathe it in.
The false stone gradually fogs up, accumulating humidity, while the genuine diamond remains pure and clear.
UV Light Test
When exposed to ultraviolet or black light, most diamonds, but not all, glow blue. This diamond lighter tester verifies the authenticity of your diamond.
However, it may not emit identical blue light. This is because, under UV light, not all diamonds glow.
Moissanite may have a slight fluorescence of green, gray, or yellow light. UV tests are only helpful for limiting the options.
This test should not be used as the sole and final determination.
Aside from the possibility of mistaking natural diamonds for fakes, you may also mistake imitation diamonds for the real thing.
This is because of a procedure known as doping. Diamonds are modified to shine under UV light when they would not usually.
Because the sun generates enormous amounts of UV rays, you may also verify for a genuine diamond in sunlight and observe the reaction.
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Test the Mounting and Setting
Consider the setting and mount utilized if a diamond is already set in a ring. Due to the exorbitant cost of a genuine diamond, it will only be placed in high-quality jewelry.
A genuine diamond, for example, will be set in white gold, platinum, yellow gold, pave or side-stone setting, and the halo setting rings.
Look for indications inside the ring’s center to determine if the setting is exactly as stated. For example, the notes 10K, 14K, and 18K show the sort of gold employed.
The letters PT and Plat stand for platinum. If you observe numbers like 585, 770, 900, or 950, there are indications of platinum or gold.
Related Read: Types Of Diamond Settings: A Guide To Setting Styles
The Sparkle Test
The sparkle test is a “by eye” method of evaluating your diamond.
This is marketed as an excellent way to obtain a better knowledge of a diamond’s optical qualities and to determine whether the diamond is a real, natural diamond. (A lab-grown diamond will be identical to a mined diamond.)
Place the diamond in front of a light source – such as a lamp. Then see how the light reflects off it.
Ask yourself two following questions: Does the diamond have a white, flickering quality (scintillation)? Are there any rainbow light reflections?
We desire diamonds for these qualities, and taking the time to investigate this will give you a wealth of knowledge about the stone.
This test works better with a point of reference; For example, if you have cubic zirconia that you can compare to the diamond, you will be able to determine the significant differences between them.
This exam is not without flaws.
A poorly cut diamond that is extensively included and has a low color grading will not provide the unique brilliance that one expects from a diamond, making it difficult for the untrained eye to discern these optical features.
Similarly, the quality of synthetic diamonds has substantially increased over the years, which means that this may mislead a diamond beginner.
As a follow-up, we would have to add that diamond formation occurs only below the oldest continents that have been stable for billions of years; these locations are known as cratons.
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The Scratch Test
Scratching a diamond on a mirror or piece of glass is one of the most well-known myth tests for determining its authenticity.
Based on the Mohs scale, this approach compares the hardness of one substance to that of another. Unfortunately, this test is ineffective. Glass has a Mohs hardness of 5.5.
That indicates that anything with a higher score can scratch it: quartz, moissanite, and cubic zirconia are higher than glass, implying that they will also leave a scratch.
It is also known or reported that a recognized diamond may be used to demolish any imitation except a synthetic diamond.
However, by doing so, you run the danger of scratching a genuine diamond with a natural diamond.
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The Flashlight Test
According to some reports, you may use a flashlight to distinguish between real and fake diamonds.
To determine the authenticity of a diamond using a flashlight, hold the flashlight vertically with the beam pointing up, then place the stone upside down on the lens.
Examine how the flashlight’s light enters and departs the stone. Do you perceive white light or a rainbow of colors on the surface where the flashlight beam exits the stone?
Because diamond has a high refractive index, white light entering the substance is divided into component colors before exiting.
It’s ideal to utilize a comparison stone, such as CZ or glass, that you know is phony for this procedure.
With a flashlight, you can detect if a diamond is natural when it properly separates light into spectrum colors, but the phony comparison stone does not.
The Loupe Inspection Test
A jeweler’s loupe is a small but strong magnifying glass used to inspect metal (hallmarks, solder marks, etc.) and diamonds and gemstones.
A jeweler will search for any naturally occurring inclusions that distinguish diamonds.
However, it is possible that the diamond is genuine but has an IF (internally flawless) or FL (perfect) grade. Because these gems are so uncommon, this would be a fantastic result for your tests!
A lab report should be visible on the girdle if the diamond has been graded by a top-tier laboratory such as GIA, AGS, IGI, or GCAL.
You’ll most likely need a 20X loop for this. Once you have the report number, you may search it up and compare it to the diamond specs.
The Dot Test
The dot test also looks at a stone’s refractive characteristics. With a pen, make a little dot on a sheet of white paper.
Place the flat stone side down over the dot, ensuring no shadowing. Look down at the paper through the pointed end of the diamond.
The diamond is fake if you can see the dot mirrored inside the gemstone, which is round. The diamond is probably genuine if you can’t see the dot or a circular reflection.
The tremendous refractive qualities of a natural diamond, like the newspaper test, cause light to bounce in multiple directions, which is why you can’t see the dot through the diamond.
The Reflectivity Test
Examine the stone’s refractivity. Diamonds refract or bend the light that passes through them, giving them their sparkling appearance.
Glass and quartz sparkle less because of their lower refractive index.
A stone’s brilliance is impossible to change, even with an experienced cut, because it is an inherent feature of the stone. By thoroughly studying the refractivity of a stone, you should be able to determine if it is accurate or phony.
Here is an example:
The newspaper method: To test the diamond’s refractivity, set it flat side down on a sheet of newspaper with a lot of lettering. Ascertain that the lighting is bright and that no objects or people throw shadows on the diamond.
If you can read the letters in the newspaper, even if they are a little fuzzy, the diamond is a forgery. If the diamond is genuine, the facets will refract light in many directions rather than in a straight line.
Because of light refraction, you won’t be able to see clearly through the diamond and make out the letters on the paper.
On loose diamonds, the newspaper test is most effective.
If the diamond is already set, try utilizing the fog test or having it evaluated by a diamond professional.
Also, take note of the reflections.
The reflections of a genuine diamond are frequently in varied colors of gray. Look straight down through the diamond’s top.
You look at a low-quality diamond or a fake if you notice rainbow reflections.
Check for “sparkles” instead. A genuine diamond will glitter far more than an equivalent-sized chunk of glass or quartz.
You might wish to bring a piece of glass or quartz with you as a reference. Don’t mix up glitter and reflection.
The brilliance or intensity of the light refracted by the gem’s cut is called sparkle. The hue of the refracted light determines reflection. So search for bright light rather than colorful light.
Moissanite is a stone with even greater brilliance than a diamond. This gemstone is so close to a diamond that even jewelers have difficulty distinguishing between the two.
Hold the stone to your eye to tell the difference without any extra equipment. Insert a penlight inside the stone. The presence of rainbow hues indicates twofold refraction
This is a moissanite property, not a diamond property.
Related Read: Moissanite Vs. Diamond: What Is A Moissanite Diamond?
Final Thoughts
Today, we tried not only to answer the question posed, which reads: How To Tell if a Diamond is Real Without a Tester?
We try to also describe in detail the most straightforward methods you can use at home to ensure that the diamond you own is original and not a copy or some other stone.
We have selected methods that do not require various tools, but water, newspapers, or light are enough.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article and gathering the necessary information just like we were while writing it!
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