12/28/11

Presenting The Quick And Easy Guide To Determining Diamond Jewelry Authenticity

By Amanda Kirby


If you are like most individuals, you would want to buy a diamond ring where the diamond is sparkling, sturdy and without the shadow of a doubt, genuine. The proliferation of imitation diamond jewelry in the market has motivated us to offer a few helpful hints - just a few - to help you determine whether you are looking at the real McCoy or a cheap imitation.

Everybody has a right to learn these professional secrets, those neat tricks that experts use to determine authenticity of a precious stone. Your diamond is now about to undergo a very important test.

A fake is not flawed but a Real Diamond is!

While some might think that the goal in purchasing the perfect diamond is to find one that is virtually flawless-that is not always the case. For example, a meticulously crafted Cubic Zirconia does not manifest any defect, which would make it an obvious fake in an expert's eyes. Ironically, a pure diamond would have a few barely noticeable flaws that add to their brilliance in the grand scheme of things.

Look inside your Diamond.

Looking inside a diamond is akin to looking inside a crystal ball - doing so would reveal what is really inside and how genuine it really is. The key is: Real diamonds always have something inside. If you look into your diamond with a 1200x microscope, you should be able to see tiny inclusions within the stones infrastructure. If you hold the diamond in front of your eye and look through its side, you should not be able to see through it, nor should it look to be one clear, unified color. If there is not a modicum of luster from the side and you can clearly see through it, then your diamond is, to put it loosely, bogus.

Tips on the Setting and Mount

Since stones made up of imitation substances such as Cubic Zirconia and Moissanite are so much cheaper than diamonds, they are usually set in less expensive metals. Logic would dictate that nobody would set a diamond in real gold.

What is the Diamond's Condition?

It takes not an expert to know that a real diamond can scratch glass, with its durable infrastructure and innate sharpness. You would be the unlucky owner of a fake Diamond if there are scratches on it, or if you can nick it yourself with something less than a pocket knife.

Simple Two-Minute Tests

The Reading Test.

Works best with non-mounted Diamonds - set yours on a newspaper to start. If you can see through it at all, even if you just see distorted black smudges instead of clearly-marked letters, than your diamond is a fake. Real diamonds have so many intricacies in their infrastructure that it is impossible for light to pass all the way through them without being first refracted.

The Sandpaper Test.

Diamonds are the hardest known substance. That being said, it is impossible for real diamond jewelry to be scratched. All you need would be a piece of sandpaper, either wet or dry, which would be rubbed against the diamond with vigorous motions. You will know it is a fake if you see a few nicks on it.

The Sparkle Test.

Observe your diamond from above then from the side. All that has to be done would be to compare the appearance of the stone and how it reflects and shines, first from when you were looking down onto it, then from when you were looking at it from the side angle. Imitation diamonds can tend to look very much like the real thing, as you could notice if you look at them from birds' eyeview, but would not be predisposed to share the same physical manifestation if you look at them at another vantage point.




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