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How Do You Know If You Are Buying A Fake or A Real Diamond

By Rachael Stone

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 29Sep2009 Word count: 763 Viewed: 396 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

They say diamonds are forever. They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend. Well, whatever it is that they say, diamonds are an expensive investment, so one has to take care not to get fooled when purchasing one. You might be lured into buying a seemingly cheap one, but do not jump right ahead and buy it. You might end up on a losing end especially if you do not how to differentiate a fake from a real diamond.

So how does one differentiate the two? To begin with, one has to understand first the basics of diamonds before shopping for them. This will help you to avoid purchasing a fake diamond and giving yourself the ability to identify them. This can save you a lot of time and money, so take some time first to understand what diamonds are really are.

The Carat of the Diamond

Diamonds have four characteristics, which are carat, clarity, color, and cut. First, the carat is the weight of the diamond. There are five carats from every gram of diamond. With this, bigger diamonds tend to increase in carats, thus making them more expensive. In weighing diamonds, one has to take the exact weight, for every point is important. To digress, one carat is 100 points, so if someone urges you to buy a diamond a few lines away from one gram, do not buy it as one gram. The carat of a diamond must be measured with accuracy and precision.

The Clarity of the Diamond

Second is the clarity of a diamond. There is a system of range in measuring the clarity of a diamond, which is by the way, answers how clear it is. A diamond with perfect clarity is said to be flawless, although there are also internally flawless diamonds, which means they still have minor blemishes, but only on the outside. Diamonds classified as VVS1 or VVS2 have very, very small inclusions, with the latter being more visible than the former. VS1 and VS2 have very small inclusions while SI1, SI2, and SI3 have small inclusions. I1, I2, and I3 have inclusions that could be seen without using any instrument.

The Color of the Diamond

Third is the diamond's color. This can be classified using the letters starting from D to X. the whitest diamonds are classified as D, and the color changes, the classification does too. There are diamonds that are different in color, so one must not be surprised to come across with blue, green or red diamonds. These are commonly irradiated, and in any way, secure the guarantee of the diamond's color and clarity. There is nothing better than being sure about your diamonds.

The Cut of the Diamond

And fourth is the diamond's cut. This is also referred to as the shape of a diamond, which could be oval, pear, or round. A diamond reflects light more brilliantly if it is proportionately cut. This can be measured using percentage, and when you are asking for it, 60% should be good enough.

Identify Real Diamonds

Now that you know the qualities of a diamond, you are all set to determine whether a diamond is a fake or the real thing. The first test that you can do is to do the newspaper test. Simply put, you place the diamond on top of any newspaper. Try to read the newspaper through the diamond. If you cannot read it, do not worry, because chances are the diamond is a real one. Otherwise, if you can perfectly read every word, then the diamond you are looking through is definitely a fake.

The next thing that you can do is to do the fog test. Real diamonds clear away quickly when exposed to fog. Other precious stones clear out longer. If the diamond you have just fogged is taking a bit longer to shed off its fog, then it must be a fake.

Using a diamond tester and a jeweler's loop can also help in detecting fake diamonds by checking the refraction of the light and any scratches on the diamond, respectively. Try to subject diamonds to as many tests as possible. If the results are rather vague, secure the diamond's certification. The most reliable certifications are issued by the European Gemological Laboratory or the Gemological Institute of America. Certified diamonds are more expensive because the certification process generally costs at least $100. Yet, this certification helps create peace of mind.

Buying diamonds is both an investment and luxury. Before indulging in this activity though, know your real diamonds first and protect yourself from fake ones.

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