Buying a diamond online is a very overwhelming experience. There are essential factors that have to be checked to ensure that it is original. First, make sure that the jewelry you are buying comes from a trusted online store, then you can check other things. If you’re torn between James Allen and Blue Nile, you can check their comparison review on CreditDonkey. Apart from checking the designs, you also have to know the price and resizing and warranty policies of your prospected diamond store.
These precious gems usually come in different shape, size, and color, but not all are quality diamonds. Therefore, it is important to understand the criteria which is also known as the 4c’s. The tips will help you pick the best gemstone like a professional jeweler. In this article, we will look at how you can tell if it is real or fake.
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What are the 4c’s of a Diamond?
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Before buying a diamond online it is wise to check at the 4c’s to be able to compare them as most of them look very similar to an untrained eye. This factor enables one to check at all the small factors and the differences that are not easily noticeable. 4c’s determine the value of your stone. They include;
Cut
The cut pertains to the quality of workmanship. When it comes to cut you should check at how it is aligned, the size of facets, and if it’s a round stone it should be perfectly curved. The cut is what determines the beauty of it and the more it’s precise, the more beautiful it is because the cut determines how a diamond interacts with light.
Color
The appearance of a diamond is affected by color. It usually ranges from D (colorless) to Z (light-yellow). When looking at the color its best to keep it simple, it’s either good or not good. D is the purest and the best, as you go down the alphabet the color keeps changing.
Clarity
Diamonds with high clarity are very hard to find and that is why clarity determines its high price tag. When selecting a diamond based on clarity either it will appear to be clean to the eye or not. The appearance of inclusions can easily be noticed in a larger rather than in smaller pieces. The chart is inclusive of FL, IF, VVS1, VVS2, VS1, VS2, S11, S12, I1, I2, S13, and I3.
Carat Weight
The Carat refers to its weight. The carat has a major effect on pricing, the higher the carat weight the more expensive it is. A single carat is equal to 1/5 gram and is usually subdivided into 100 points. The diamond price per carat calculator at Pricescope gives you all the details about its value, depending on its carat weight. It is not exactly a linear relationship, but also other factors affect the pricing.
Certification
Certification is always considered to be the fifth C. It is a measure of quality as it provides confidence to the customers. The GIA and AGS certification are the ones that are mostly used. It is because they are trustworthy, reliable, and respectable in the industry. They help you to understand the property of a stone and to determine the value of a diamond and its quality.
Both the GIA and AGS have a system of grading the quality of diamonds and the only difference between the two is in the way they are graded. When it comes to GIA, they use parameters such as excellent, good, very good, fair, or poor. For AGS they use numeric where 0 represents ideal while 8-10 is poor.
How to Tell A Real Vs Fake
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When you have received your piece from a trusted website or store, you will want to check or confirm if it is the real deal. Do bear in mind that most precious stones come with a certificate, so you should not have to worry. Here are some of the best methods to use to see if the diamond is real or fake though.
Reflection Test
A real diamond usually reflects on surfaces as shades of grays. If you happen to see a reflection of rainbow colors the diamond is not an original one.
Water Test
This can be an easier way to test the authenticity of a diamond at home. Mostly a real one is going to sink in water due to its high density, while a fake one will float. The water test cannot be very convincing to most people. Therefore, it is good to also confirm it using other tests like the fog test.
Fog Test
In this test, release a puff of air from your mouth or simply breath on the diamond. Fog will form on its surface and should clear immediately if your stone is a real one. If the fog stays for a few seconds its probably a fake one. A real deal conducts heat and that is why it fogs up, but it should clear immediately after the process.
Heat and Shutter Test
Real diamonds are naturally made from strong materials and will be resistant when exposed to high heat. To perform the test, use a lighter and heat the stone to about 40 seconds then drop it into a glass of cold water immediately. A fake one is going to shutter due to expansion and contraction.
The heat test is usually for testing the strength of the diamond, and a real one should show no results. Diamonds are among the few strongest materials on earth and are rarely affected by temperature changes.
Diamond Tester
This is a tool that is used to tell if a stone is real or not. The tester is mostly found in jewelry stores, but you can visit one to check if your stone is original. The principle behind this tester is that every stone has its unique physical properties. It means that a diamond is going to respond differently when exposed to things like heat and electricity, unlike other stones.
Is Buying a Diamond Worth It?
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People buy precious jewelry for different reasons but purchasing a diamond should not be a problem. The issue is if you are buying a real or a fake stone. Online stores retailing precious gemstones have a guide on how to purchase a high-quality item and it is essential to understand the criteria before thinking of purchasing one.
It is possible to confirm the quality of the diamond at home by using the methods mentioned above. Although, some methods may not be reliable you can always get a tester to be sure.