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How many of you have had the urge to streak your diamond jewelry across a mirror or glass surface to test to see if you have real diamond rings? Since diamond is the hardest substance known to man with a hardness of 10 on the Mohs' Scale of hardness, a real diamond will scratch any surface, including another diamond. However, just because your gem scratches a mirror or glass or any other "hard surface", doesn't necessarily mean that it's a diamond. Corundum, more commonly known as ruby or sapphire, has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs' Scale, and will also scratch many hard surfaces including glass. So will topaz with a hardness of 8, and quartz with a hardness of 7. Cubic zirconia, with a hardness of 8.5, and synthetic moissanite, with a hardness of 9.5, (the most common diamond simulants) will also scratch these previously mentioned surfaces. Glass usually has a hardness under 7, but some beryllium glass is harder. Just because your gem is not a real diamond, doesn't mean that it's not a valuable or beautiful piece of jewellery. Even if it does turn out to be glass, or paste. Destructive tests should be avoided at all costs. If you have a known diamond, it's not recommended that you scratch it across the table or top of your unknown gem to test to see it it's a diamond. Remember, diamond will also scratch another diamond, and may possibly visibly ruin your piece of jewellery. Some obvious signs that your diamond jewelry may be glass is to look for any signs of large air bubbles or swirl marks inside the stone. If your gem collects dust easily, or has a tarnished, scratched or a residue on the surface, chances are it's not a genuine diamond. Molded rounded edges and concave facets may also be a giveaway that your "diamond" is actually glass. A real diamond will have sharp facet edges and flat smooth facet faces. If you have a loose gem, and it feels "light" or "warm" to the touch, this may also be an indication that your "diamond" is not real. A keen eye, or with the aid of a jeweler's loop, one might be able to detect a join line revealing an assembled stone. A Simple immersion test in water or glycerin might also make it easier to spot a gem that has been "glued" together to appear as either colored diamonds, or may only be a diamond top with another material underneath. The colour of a diamond is a very important factor, and can have a tremendous influence on price. Colored diamonds come in all colours of the rainbow naturally, including black. Colored diamonds can also have their colours enhanced, or colourless diamonds can be treated to another colour. It's kind of like dying a cotton shirt to a desired colour, only diamond is exponentially harder than cotton, so more intense means are required to alter or add colour to a diamond. Like your shirt, it's still "real", only changed to a different colour. One of the ways to make colored diamonds, or to make a diamond MORE colourless, is to use extremely high pressure and high temperature or (HPHT) treatment. A colourless diamond can be changed to green this way for instance. Other ways to add colour are to use irradiation. The irradiation methods used today have no lingering radiation effects and the diamonds are perfectly safe to wear. These are "acceptable" treatments in the industry. Other less desirable treatments that can alter the value of your diamond is to paint it, use different coloured backings, or to "assemble" a diamond with a different colour to enhance it or make it look more colourless. In the Cape Series of diamonds, the best colourless diamond grading starts with D for best, or most colourless all the way to Z where a diamond can appear black. Cape Series diamonds are colourless, but as you go down the colour scale, they can appear more yellow, or gray or brownish. Fancy diamonds are naturally occurring colored diamonds. Canary yellow diamonds fall in this category, and are not to be confused with Cape Diamonds that can appear yellow as you move down the colour diamond grading scheme. Naturally occurring canary yellow diamonds are more valuable. Naturally occurring blue diamonds are very rare like the Hope Diamond, and most blue diamonds are very pale blue in colour. Pink diamonds are also less available, and more valuable with red diamonds being the most rare and expensive diamond. More sophisticated tests to identify a diamond can be done using polarized light, specific gravity tests with loose diamonds, and by using a diamond tester. If in doubt, it's best to take your jewellery to a qualified gemmologist who can help you identify if your diamond jewelry is authentic. Sometimes a gemmologist may not know exactly what something is with all of the new inventions and trickery out there continuously in play to fool the unknowing buyer, but they can certainly tell you what it ISN'T. So be aware when making your diamond purchases. If you're still not sure you have real diamond rings or other diamond jewelry then get a second opinion with an appraisal by a qualified gemmologist. |
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Note: All prices in Canadian Dollars
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PO Box 46009 |
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