By purchasing an expensive product, each buyer is certainly interested in how to determine a diamond, not being a specialist.
Certificate
How to identify a diamond when buying? The authenticity of the jewelry is confirmed by the presence of a certificate. After the assessment, the jewel is packaged in a blister, in case of violation of the integrity of which the document of conformity loses force. Well-known companies provide goods with certificates, so the name of the manufacturer itself already says a lot. In addition, you should pay attention to other characteristics.
Required parameters:- diamond color (defined on a transparency scale; colored nuggets are a rarity);
- the size;
- carat weight (200 mg / 6.4 mm);
- cleanliness (presence of inclusions);
- cut shape (circle, oval, emerald, pear).
Optional Features:
- glow, radiation property in ultraviolet;
- the degree of polishing of the surface;
- symmetry of faces.
An independent appraiser with the highest degree of gemologist who is not related to the implementation will provide comprehensive information on how to distinguish a real diamond from a craft. He will carry out identification and make an indicator of the value of the product.
The next step is to register the stone in a specialized laboratory, due to which unique characteristics will be indicated, including the color of the diamond, and if the stolen jewelry is in the international database, it is easy to return it based on the recorded description.
Home tests
1. Transparency
A true diamond is not so transparent that images and letters are visible through it. This can be ascertained by placing the stone with a stable face on the printed font. The corners and the top of the cut should not be visible through the decoration, if it is in the frame, although this is possible due to the disproportionate polishing.
Another method is to look through a stone at a point left on a blank sheet. If the diamond is fake, circular stains will appear in that area, not visible when looking through a natural diamond.
2. Misting
How to identify a diamond at home in seconds? When interacting with vapors, a real stone does not fog up. This can be detected by breathing on a diamond. If there is a “haze” on its surface, most likely it is artificial. No enhanced breathing is capable of creating a plaque, unless very short-lived.
3. Invisible in water layers
A true diamond is hardly noticeable in the water column when viewed from above. But a fake will immediately reflect the unnatural part and the border of its connection with the real one. Often the lower part is forged.
Color
1. Expressive shine
High light refraction is the cause of the brilliance of a diamond. For comparison, crystal and quartz have a lower refractive index. Regardless of the cut, luster is an unchanging quality of the nugget.
2. Double refraction
A diamond casts double rays, unlike other stones: one is perpendicular to the face, and the other in the direction from it.
3. Gray highlights
The diamond casts glare exclusively gray, intense, but not iridescent. Multi-colored shades are direct evidence of the low quality of diamonds. An authentic stone cannot sparkle with rainbow colors or be too bright: all these are features of artificial products.
Other criteria
View from any angle
What is characteristic of a fake, only the top face is ideal. Therefore, it is important to examine the jewel from different angles.
Temperature susceptibility
If you hold the stone in the palm of your hand, it will remain cool for a long time. Fast heating is not characteristic of a diamond.
Roentgen
Since the diamond has a transparent molecular structure, it makes sense to check it with an X-ray, which can be performed in a professional laboratory or at a local X-ray center. A true diamond is invisible in x-ray irradiation, unlike any minimal impermeability of crystals, glass, zirconium.
UV transillumination
If there is a possibility, before asking the question "is it possible and how to determine a diamond at home", it is worth testing it with ultraviolet radiation. Most diamonds give a bluish glow. If the reaction of the stone to ultraviolet is green, yellow, gray - you see moissanite.
Recognized Characteristics of Authenticity
Weight and size
From the table of values of weight and size, it is easy to determine compliance with the data of an existing diamond. For example, zirconium is half heavier than diamond.
Imprint on the rim
The official approach leaves no questions about how to define a diamond in a jewelry. Of course, according to his attributes. A cheap quality frame will immediately give out a fake. If the print is missing or if the stamp contains an inscription like "CZ" instead of the estimated 585, 750, 950, PT, Plat - you have a fake. The mark "CZ" is placed on ordinary metals, framing artificial jewelry, usually cubic zirconias.
Jewelry Magnifier
Natural diamonds are usually not without minor defects. As a rule, these are subtle inclusions of natural origin characteristic of fossils, as well as color changes.
Cubic zirconias and semiprecious stones usually do not contain defects, since they were created in laboratory conditions where random natural influences are not provided. However, the absence of flaws is not a determining factor in authenticity.
Strength Testing
Strength testing of a stone is hardly appropriate without previous tests: if the decoration is artificial, the test can destroy it. And before you determine the diamond in this way, you should decide what is more important: leave the jewelry in its original form or find out the truth at all costs. The version that the stone will withstand the blow of the hammer, if it is real, is wrong: strength does not exclude the fragility of the material.
Interaction with other stones
The diamond has cutting properties, which can be traced using glass and other stones, on the polished surface of which from the real diamond there will be scratches.
Interaction with abrasives
If you rub the stone with sandpaper, there should be no scratches. This difference is not the only one, and auxiliary tests are needed.
Fire test
It is enough to hold the stone over the lighter for about 30 seconds, then throw it into cold water, and then watch how a sharp temperature difference will affect it. If there are no cracks inside, what happens with quartz or crystal, then the strength test can be considered passed.
Even experienced gemologists find it difficult to distinguish a nugget from an analogue created by artificial means, due to their identical chemical structure. Therefore, with frequent need for checking the stones for authenticity, it is recommended to purchase a comprehensive tester in a specialized center.