Diamonds have captivated human fascination for centuries, their brilliance and rarity making them one of the most sought-after gemstones in the world. However, decoding and differentiating real diamonds from fake ones have become nearly impossible, especially due to the steep rise of synthetic diamonds in the market.
These sophisticated imitations have made wearing “diamonds” accessible for many people but it has also made it difficult for people to distinguish between the fake one and the real deal, thereby leading to a rise in the diamond-related frauds that are happening in the world.
Whether you’re shopping for an engagement ring, investing in jewelry, or simply curious about gemstones, it’s crucial to know how to identify a genuine diamond. And, that’s exactly what we will cover in this guide – How to tell if a diamond is real or fake.
From the different methods of identification to analyzing the true authenticity of a diamond, several factors deserve a shoutout. We will take you through them all in detail.
What are the Physical Tests to Distinguish between Real and Fake Diamonds?
Diamonds are formed deep within the Earth’s mantle under high pressure and temperature, composed of carbon atoms arranged in a crystal lattice structure. Somehow, it is this unique structure and method of formation that contributes to the essential hardness of the diamond, surprisingly making it one of the hardest naturally occurring substances on Earth.
Some of the key factors to keep in mind when it comes to assessing a diamond’s authenticity include:
- Cut
- Color
- Clarity
- Carat
If you want to simplify the way you can differentiate between a real and a fake diamond, there are a bunch of physical tests that can help, including:
- Water test
The density is a real diamond is between 3.5 and 3.53 g/ml, which mean that when you drop it into a glass of water that’s filled three-fourths to the top, the diamond will sink to the bottom of the glass due to the high density. The same doesn’t happen with a fake diamond like Moissanite or Cubic Zirconia. The fake ones tend to float just beneath the surface of the water or at the surface.
- Fog test
For this, you need to hold the diamond with two fingers and place it right in front of your lips. Breathe on it and the puff of air will most likely form a thin film of fog on top of the stone. If the diamond is real, the fog will dissipate quickly and pretty much immediately. If the fog persists for a few seconds before dissipating, the diamond is most likely fake.
- Mount and setting
Another factor that will help you determine the authenticity of a diamond is the mount and setting. When you get a real diamond from a reputable jeweler, the amount that the stone is affixed on will be durable, well-polished, and made of the finest quality material to compliment the hefty price tag of the diamond itself.
This means that when you are buying real diamond jewelry, the mount will typically be made of elements like white gold, platinum, yellow gold, etc. In the case of a fake diamond, the look of the mount and setting might seem premium but the quality won’t match the aesthetics, given the price you are paying for it.
- Heat test
Remember when we mentioned that the diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance on this planet? Well, that’s exactly the feature that you have to put to the test. Heat tests are quite common to test the authenticity and resilience of the diamond in question.
For this, you have to sort a few things out – A glass of cold water, gloves, a heating area, and tweezers to hold the diamond above the flame. Following that, take the diamond place it right above medium heat, and wait for 30-40 seconds. You don’t want high heat exposure for the test. Once the 30 seconds is up, take the heated diamond plunge it directly into the glass of cold water, and wait for a few seconds until it cools down.
Take the diamond out of the glass and check if the “diamond” has cracks on it. If you find the stone shattered and having a crackling effect, it is not a real diamond. A real diamond is so tensile that it doesn’t react to the heat at all.
- UV light test
The last physical test that can help you gauge the authenticity of a diamond is the UV light test. However, despite being in use, the UV light test is potentially the only one that can generate false positives, so you’d have to be careful.
When you place a real diamond under UV light, it might emit blue light. However, we also need to understand that not all real diamonds do that. So, in some instances, the blue light might be dispersed and, in some cases, it won’t.
How to Use the Laws of Light to Test the Authenticity of a Diamond?
We have read about the laws of reflectivity and refractivity when we were younger. But, did you know that these laws can also help you analyze whether or not the diamond is real or fake?
Well, you know now. We have sorted out all the relevant tests that you can conduct utilizing these principles, by yourself and at your home.
Using the Principles of Refractivity
- Newspaper or the Read through effect
You need two things to conduct this test – A newspaper and exposure to direct, bright, and natural sunlight.
Take the diamond in question and place it flat-side down on the newspaper where there is a lot of lettering visible. Your objective is simple – See if you can read through the diamond. Surprisingly, the results aren’t what you think.
If you can read through the diamond and the letters on the newspaper are visible through the diamond, it means that the stone is refracting the light in a straight line, depicting that it’s not a real diamond.
With a real diamond, the light will be dispersed randomly, meaning that you won’t be able to read the letters that are on the other side of the diamond.
- The Dot test
When it comes to testing the authenticity of a real diamond from a fake one, The Dot Test is the most common test that people conduct. This is pretty much the same as the read-through test that we mentioned before.
For this test, you need to take a piece of white, blank paper and draw a dot with a pen or pencil on it. Place the diamond flat-side down over the dot. Bring your eye closer to the pointed side of the diamond and look through the diamond.
If you can see a circular appearance through the diamond, it is fake. If you can’t see the dot through the diamond, it is real.
Using the Principles of Reflectivity
- Sparkle test
The USP of a diamond lies in the way it can reflect light. When you place a diamond under white light, it will reflect the light uniformly, almost creating a rainbow halo around the nearing areas.
However, a fake diamond will not produce as much reflectivity and colorful light reflections as the real one. Placing these side by side will enable you to distinguish the difference pretty much immediately.
How do Professional Jewellers Test the Authenticity of a Diamond?
Even if you have conducted all the physical and at-home tests that we have mentioned here, you can’t deny the fact that getting an official confirmation from a professional is a game-changer.
In most cases, a professional jeweler testing your diamond has a Graduate Gemologist (GG) degree to justify what they are doing. So, ensuring that you are seeking advice from a professional is mandatory.
Following is a list of tests that they conduct to tell if the diamond is real or fake:
- Using a loupe
For those who are staring into the distance confused about what a loupe is, let us set the records straight for you. A loupe is a specialized magnifying glass that a gemologist and professional jeweler have in hand to assess the authenticity of a diamond, other gems, and precious jewelry.
The stunning beauty of a diamond sets it apart but what we don’t realize is that a real diamond has a lot of imperfections on the surface called inclusions. The loupe helps the professional look for those inclusions to assess their authenticity.
- Using the diamond tester
If you are a social media fiend, chances are that you know of that one TikTok account where they use a “diamond tester” to help their clients assess if the diamond is real or fake. Well, they are using a thermal conductivity probe to assess the authenticity of the diamond.
But, the question is, “How does it work?” Diamonds are excellent heat conductors, meaning that when heat is exposed to the stone, it will disperse the heat evenly throughout the diamond and pretty much instantly. This is why the meter sparkles “green” when the diamond is real.
When the thermal tester is used on a fake diamond, the rate of heat dispersion is slow, testifying to the fact that the diamond isn’t real.
- Using weighing scale
This can seem confusing because how will a weighing scale help you check if the diamond is real or fake? Well, this is where specialized weighing scales are brought into the picture. These aren’t your typical weight scales that can measure the weight of anything.
Instead, these are designed specifically to analyze and assess the weight of the carats in a diamond. A real diamond, despite its hardness and resilience, is a lot lighter than a fake one.
- Using electricity conduction
Much like heat, a real diamond can also conduct electricity promptly and uniformly. When you pass a zip is electricity through a real diamond and then through a synthetic one like moissanite, the conduction rate will be higher through the real diamond.
These specified and regulated electricity testers are available with professional jewelers only, which mean that you’d have to take the diamond to the store to analyze its authenticity.
- Using a microscope
This is one of those methods that professional jewelers might not use often but it is an option available nevertheless. You’d need to look for microscopes with 1200x magnification to be able to analyze the stone in detail.
What you are looking for are inclusions, differences in the shape, reflectivity, etc. What can take the comparison a step ahead is when you place the real diamond and fake diamond side by side and then analyze the differences?
- Using x-ray examination
Well, it looks like X-rays can do a lot more than check your bones. Most jewelers opt for an in-depth X-ray examination when they want to assess the molecular qualities of the diamond. Since the process is quite sensitive, it makes sense that the testing is often done in specialized labs.
During the testing, if the results depict a “radiolucent molecular structure,” it means that the diamond is real. If the results depict a “radiopaque molecular structure,” it means that the diamond is fake and is most likely moissanite or cubic zirconium.
Different Types of Synthetic Diamonds, Stones, and Crystals and How to Distinguish Them
By now, you should be able to distinguish real diamonds from the synthetic ones. But, how do you analyze what kind of stone you are working with?
Is it a synthetic diamond? Is it white sapphire? Is it Cubic zirconia? The list of options is quite extensive. To help you out, we have made a list of the different stones and crystals and ways to identify them:
| Type of Stone/Crystal | Ways to Analyze Them |
| Synthetic Diamonds | These often have the same kind of chemical and molecular components like the real diamond, which makes sense because they often look very similar. Tests to analyze the difference include: Heat conductivityElectricity conductivityHigh magnification |
| Cubic Zirconia | These are the most common type of fake diamond available in the market. The easiest test to analyze its authenticity is by doing the sparkle test. Looking at these stones will almost make you feel everything is “perfect.” But, the catch with real diamonds lies in their imperfections. |
| White Sapphire | A single look at a white sapphire is enough to let you know about the differences. White sapphire is generally less perfect, shiny and instead has a blurred appearance. You won’t find “light and dark” spots on the stone like you would with a real diamond. |
| Moissanite | Given how close it looks to a real diamond, seeing it with naked eye will almost fool you. This explains why professional jeweler need to make the call for you. For this, tests like heat and electricity conductivity are considered ideal. |
| White Topaz | If the stone is easily scratched and has a rough appearance, it is likely a white topaz. So, if you are assessing the authenticity of the stone in your hand and it is a white topaz, conducting a scratch test is the best option. |
Does the Scratch Test Stand as a True Marker of Authenticity for Testing a Diamond?
Technically, yes.
Diamonds are resilient and one of the hardest elements on Earth. They are also naturally “scratch resistant.” So, when real diamonds are scratched against rough mirror-like surfaces for a few seconds, they won’t have any visible scratches on the surface.
On the flip side, if you scratch a synthetic diamond like moissanite and Cubic zirconia against the mirror, it will have a scratch pretty much immediately, depicting that the stone is not a real diamond.
Is the Acid Test Effective in Assessing the True Nature of a Diamond?
Besides the scratch test and the plethora of other tests we have mentioned until now, the acid test is a pretty effective option as well. However, when conducting acid tests, ensure that you practice caution.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Obtain a small, inconspicuous sample from the jewelry piece in question, away from the gemstone.
- Place a drop of nitric acid on the sample. If the sample fizzes or dissolves, it is not a real diamond.
- Remember that this test is not foolproof, as some imitations may not react to acid. Additionally, the acid test can damage certain metals and gemstones.
Think of this test as the last resort and never something that you have to consider in the beginning, given the complexities that come with the test.
Conclusion
Testing whether or not the diamond is real or fake depends on several factors and these standalone tests can help streamline that process. While the methods mentioned above can provide some insights, it’s crucial to exercise caution and consider multiple factors, especially if you don’t want to expose your jewelry to permanent damage. Our recommendation would be to take the jewelry directly to a professional and get things assessed from there to avoid any confusion and prevent lasting damage.
