A jeweler in San Jose, California was arrested on the 18th of September for selling cubic zirconium stones as real diamonds. Investigation of the man began in February following a story aired about customers who believed they had been ripped off. More victims emerged, and through the search of the man’s home, evidence of more victims was brought to light. He is accused of selling more than $240,000 worth of fake diamonds to at least 20 customers, although there may be plenty more who do not know they have been victimized. The man has been selling these fakes for over five years, so there is a good possibility that many more people bought stones which they believed to be genuine.Diamonds are often the center of thievery. With current economic conditions, thieves realize the value which lies in diamonds. Recently in Texas, a man posed as an eager customer in a jewelry shop was being shown some expensive diamonds. He craftily swiped the diamonds while the clerk was not looking and replaced them with fakes which he had brought inside with him. Later, the store found evidence of the swipe on the store’s security video tape.
The first key toward avoiding this situation for one’s self is to avoid jewelers that don’t have a good reputation. The man in San Jose was not part of a chain, nor had he been in business for very long. Chain stores have more at stake to lose if a misrepresented diamond is sold, so they are generally safe places to buy from. A huge chain store would be unable to handle the massive amounts of negative press generated by such a scandal. Even if it was an accident, such an occurrence would be devastating. Therefore, these chain stores are exceptionally careful as to sell customers truly represented pieces of jewelry.
Jewelers with good reputations are also great places to buy. They may not be a chain, but some jewelers at these stores have won awards for their work, and their reputations mean the world to them. These types of businesses would not take the risk of misrepresenting jewels and losing everything they have worked for. One can often fine high quality and more unique pieces at these individual jewelers than they would at a chain jewelry store.
Spotting a fake can be tricky, but it is always worth a shot. If anything looks suspicious about the weight or appearance of the diamond, don’t buy it. A real diamond, unless it is a purposeful color that is obvious, should be colorless or only have a slight yellowish tinge. Real diamonds are not clear, however, and one should not be able to read text through a diamond. If there are any visible marks on the stone such as scratches or nicks, it is probably fake, as real diamonds are extremely hard to damage. Fake diamonds are also more commonly placed in poorer mounts than real diamonds with lower quality metals.
Most fake diamonds are made out of cubic zirconium. These are relatively easy to determine as fake. They are much heavier than real diamonds and scratch more easily. While diamonds glow blue when exposed to UV light, cubic zirconium stones glow yellow. Moissanite is much more difficult to distinguish from a real diamond. It is a natural crystal that humans can alter to make look so much like a diamond that even appraisers can mistake it for the real thing. This stone requires its own special equipment to determine what it is.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A diamond being sold for half of its “appraised” value or any other ridiculous claim is fake. No jeweler could afford to sell genuine diamonds for large percentages below market value, so this should be a dead giveaway. However, a diamond being fake may or may not bother a person. One might like to buy a fake if it is a particularly good one, as only a jeweler will be able to tell the difference. There are great bargains to be had in buying cubic zirconium pieces. If the piece is appealing and the price is right, it’s ok to indulge in look-a-like diamonds.
Diamonds will always be a sought after possession to own. They have the highest value of any gemstone today, and hold their value even in difficult economic times. This means that thieves will always be looking to make a profit off of diamonds whether by stealing them or by selling fakes. One can only do their best to be careful against fake scams and keep valuable diamond jewelry in a safe place. Unfortunately there will always be a market for stolen gems, so one can only hope that justice will prevail.
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