Diamonds and Cubic Zirconias Can be Told Apart!

People in the past believed that as long as their diamonds could scratch glass it was genuine. However, today it is a known fact that there are many other methods and tests to ascertain the authenticity of a diamond. Many modern techniques help you to find out if the stone you wish to test is actually a clever imitation or the real thing. Treated diamonds and diamond simulants – the cubic zirconia have fooled many people including jewelers who test diamonds with their naked eye into believing that they are real diamonds.

The cubic zirconia is a manufactured gemstone that was sold on the market in the year 1978. Zirconium which is a metal crystallizes in a natural form along with silicon, forming zircon a gemstone. It is said to be almost impossible for a layman to accurately identify the cubic zirconia. The use of instruments or an expert is needed to tell the diamond and the CZ apart. When the two stones are placed together the cubic zirconia seems to have a better and higher luster, the reason being it has no inclusions and it is synthetic. The lack of inclusions is rare in stones that are natural. Jewelers have an instrument called the “refractometer” to measure the R.I – Refractive Index of the gemstone. This RI is the angle of the light bouncing off.

Clear cubic zirconia has the appearance of a good quality diamond but they are much heavier and do have a RI that is different than that of the genuine diamond. To measure the RI of a cubic zirconia a Jemeter (a special version of the refractormeter) must be used as the RI is outside the normal range. The cubic zirconia is also softer than a real diamond on the “Mohs Scale of Hardness”.

A jeweler who is experienced will automatically look for facet joints that are “rounded”. Diamonds have sharp junctions that can only be seen by an eye that is “experienced”. In the same manner, a cubic zirconia will allow light to pass at angles that a diamond does not allow at all. This is called “reading”.

A diamond is a substance that occurs naturally and is the hardest and most valued substance since ancient times. Many consider the cubic zirconia purer than a real diamond because of its perfect structure. Since it is considerably cheaper than the genuine diamond and few can tell the difference, cubic zirconium rings and other jewelry are being used by many.

There are many tests that can be conducted in order to tell a cubic zirconia from a real diamond. Some of them are mentioned here. The Scratch Test is not all that accurate because modern technology has found that there are high quality cubic zirconias that can also scratch glass like a real diamond. Today, people do not want to conduct this test on a real diamond in case they damage the stone and therefore lower its value during the scratching.

The Transparency Test is common and pretty effective. All one has to do is to place the stone being tested over the print of a newspaper and try to read it. A real diamond is not transparent and reading the print will be hard as compared to the cubic zirconia, which is very transparent and makes the reading very clear and easy. The only problem is that such a test gives more reliable and accurate results if the diamond is loose. Take note that if a real diamond has a shallow cut then it will allow you to read the newspaper print more easily. This test also has its limitations.

The Fog Test also determines whether a stone is fake or not. When you breathe on the stone, it will either stay foggy (a sign that it is a fake) or it will become instantly clear (a sign that it is a real diamond) because genuine diamonds disperse the heat at once as they do not hold heat. Make sure that the stone is clean and totally free of natural oils and dirt before the testing.

A cubic zirconia weighs almost 50% more than a real diamond. Therefore conduct the Weight Test by placing two stones of similar dimensions and shape and weigh them on the carat/gram scale. The real diamond is much lighter than the imitation cubic zirconia.

Other tests like the Loop test which involves the use of a magnifying lens to examine the characteristics of the stone are pretty effective. Facet joints and girdle appearance tells the truth. If the joints are rolled and not very sharp then it is a fake, and if the girdle is faceted and frosty it means that it is genuine.