4 Ways to Help Determine if a Diamond is Real or Fake at Home?

Are you curious? Is the diamond you inherited or the diamond gift you received really a diamond? Many people come to Royal Gold Buyers in Rockville Centre, due to our honesty and expertise, wondering if their diamond is real or fake, and what it’s worth. Some of our clients begin the process with a phone call. While we are always happy to schedule an appointment to identify and evaluate a diamond, there are certain fast and easy tests, which can begin at home, if the client prefers. These include:

1. Fog Test: Hold the diamond and release a small breath of air directly onto the stone, creating a light fog. If the fog disappears right away, it would be real - because a diamond conducts heat, it does not retain it.

2. Sandpaper Test: As one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals, a diamond will not scratch when rubbed with sandpaper. However, if the diamond is fake - perhaps a cubic zirconium… it will scratch!

3. Water Test: Fill a glass ¾ with water and gently drop the loose stone into the glass. If it sinks, it’s probably real, due to its density. If it floats on top or near the top… it’s fake.

4. Newspaper Test: A diamond sparkles, because of its ability to bend and refract light. A simple test to determine if a diamond is real, is to place the loose stone with the flat side down on a newspaper. Make sure that there is bright light and no shadows are being cast. If you are unable to make out the letters, good news - it’s probably real, due to the refraction of light.

If at-home tests reveal that the diamond is fake, the stone may be a white sapphire, synthetic cubic zirconia, synthetic rutile, synthetic moissanite, synthetic spinel or glass, - to name a few. However, due to the complexity of synthetic stones - for peace of mind, we recommend scheduling an appointment at Royal Gold Buyers to evaluate the stone, ensuring that the diamond is real! As a professional gemologist, with years of experience and proper equipment, you can rest assured. Once determined that the diamond is real, you may want to sell it. Once again, rest assured that Royal Gold Buyers is buying and paying the highest prices. So, if you are curious, why wait? Call (516) 208-3891 today and get the Royal Treatment.