How can I make sure I'm buying a diamond and not a simulant?

Insist on a GIA report with your diamond. Not only will a GIA report include unbiased and accurate information on the 4 C's of your stone, it will also be able to tell you if the diamond has been artificially enhanced in any way. The thing is, with new technological advancements, there are a ton of synthetics and artificially enhanced diamonds on the market that would never be detectable to the naked eye. That's why you need a reliable GIA grading report to inform you. GIA's lab has the most expert, up-to-date equipment to detect these kinds of things.

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If you are still shopping, there is no reason that you should have to perform any kind of test on the stone. Meaning you should make sure that you are buying a real diamond before making the purchase. The best thing to do is to buy from a seller who can provide a GIA certificate or something of the kind which outlines everything about the characteristics of the diamond and certifies it as the real thing. Don’t ever buy a diamond if you are not sure if it is real or not.  

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There are a few things you can do to prevent this from happening.

1. do a bit or research on the fakes. For example cubic zirkonia looks different than a diamond because it is shinier. It is also fake looking because it has no flaws or imperfections. That is your fist clue. Diamonds are naturally occuring and typicall unless they are very expensive, they will have a few imperfections.

2. have the stone appraised by a trusted jeweler. If you can't tell he or she will be able to for sure

3. request that the stone come with a report from one of the diamond grading organizations such as the GIA.

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Well, here's what not to do: There's this wife tale about how ball point pens can leave a mark on Cubic Zirconia but not on a diamond, so you want to scribble something on the stone to see if the mark stays or not. That is not a very reliable test and you rely don't want to risk a significant amount of money on this idea. Fraudulent salespeople know about all of these little tests and they do everything to treat their fake stone such that it will be pen proof and will "pass" any other "wife test". Be careful!

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Oh yeah, the old am I being sold Zirconia at the cost of diamonds question. Here's what I've heard: This is definitely a trend, and there are various materials that are being used including glass,YAG,GGG and many others. I know a little bit about zirconia. Selling supposed diamond rings which are actually zirconia has become quite a trend. The best thing to do would be to look in a magnifying glass once you know what a diamond is supposed to look like and what zirconia looks like. If you study this from pics you can find online, just ask your jeweler to have a look. There is no reason for him to refuse is it's a genuine diamond he's trying to sell you.
Here are a few more tips though: Weight. Zirconia is almost twice as heavy as a diamond. If you're looking at a 1 carat diamond ring and it seems a lot heavier than other 1 carat rings you've tried on- that is almost twice as heavy, there is a good chance the stone in the ring is not a real diamond. I'd say go to Tiffany's or somewhere reputable you can trust, and try on a few diamonds that weigh 1 carat, or whatever weight you're looking into, and get a feel for how that weight feels on.
Another important factor is the price. Zirconia is ridiculously cheap. A $2,000 diamond ring would be worth about $2 if it were zirconia. Your ring won't cost 2 dollars, of course, but the salesman will try to attract your attention with an almost unbelievable bargain. If the price seems insanely low- be cautious. From my experience no genuine diamonds ever cost a lot less than other genuine diamonds of the same supposed properties (color, carat weight, clarity, cut). There are differences in prices, but they are never really extreme.

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