Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
October 8, 2010
My boyfriend bought me a diamond ring he found for an almost unbelievable bargain. I'm afraid it might be fake. How can I tell if my bracelet is made of real diamonds or cubic zirconia?
October 14, 2010
There are a number of do-it-yourself ways to check whether or not your diamond is real, but it all depends on the setting. If you can take the stone out, then you can try checking it out on your own. If it is set in a ring, though, then the only thing you might be able to try at home would be to check for fluorescence. This involved placing the ring under UV light and see whether or not it glows. Many diamonds are fluorescent, meaning that when placed under UV lights, they glow blue or green, sometimes even orange. CZ will glowa kind of dirty mustard yellow color. But, the best way to find out for sure whether or not your ring is a diamond or not is to take it to your local jeweler.
October 14, 2010
There are many differences. Diamonds and cubic zirconia are not made out of the same chemical compounds and therefore have completely different attributes. There are some differences that it's hard to detect with the naked eye. that's why Cubic zirconia is such a popular diamond simulant. It does really look a lot like a diamond. Here are some of the main differences:
- weight: Cubic zirconia is almost twice as heavy as diamond, so a cubic zirconia ring will weigh twice as much as a diamond ring of the same size.
- color: Almost no diamonds are completely colorless. They almost always have slight yellow or brownish tints, whereas cubic zirconia can be completely colorless. A diamond that is completely colorless would cost a lot. If the price of a diamond ring is an extraordinary bargain - it probably isn't a diamond. be careful.
-Cut: diamonds are cut in ways unique to diamonds, enable light to reflect best off their unique facets. Cubic zirconia is not cut quite the same way. This is hard to detect with a naked inexperienced eye. but if inspected closely with a loupe, the differences are visible.
- flaws: Almost all if not all diamonds have flaws, that is little blemishes and inclusion. Cubic zirconia, on the other hand, is almost completely flawless. a flawless or nearly flawless stone for a bargain price should raise your suspicions.
-hardness. diamonds are harder than cubic zirconia. They are the hardest naturally occurring material in the world. This means that nothing can scratch a diamond, but a diamond can leave a scratch on any other material, even steel. This is tough to test, inless you bring a diamond with you on your shopping excursion and convince the sales person to scratch their jewelry with your stone and see if it leaves a mark.
There are other methods to tell cubic zirconia from diamonds, but they require sophisticated technological equipment.
