How do I tell if a diamond is real?

some_cool_guy · 4 months

Diamond is the hardest mineral on earth, as most of us know. It has a 10 on the mohs hardness scale, which is 40x as hard as a 9 (corundum [ruby, etc]). Test the diamond by giving it scratch tests, if it's scratched at all, it's not a diamond.

ok_you_win · 4 months

Hold it in a flame. If it burns to nothing, it was a diamond. :P

physics4life · 4 months

Xray it. It shouldn't show up because they are radiolucent. If you aren't scheduled for an xray, try jumping off something high. Remember to stow the diamond somewhere first, near the breakage. I suggest your left arm, as it's easy to break and not that useful (in comparison to other bones, e.g. neck, spine etc).

If that's not OK (you don't live near a hospital for instance), then you can try to measure the refractive index of the stone. It's high, much higher than that of glass or cubic zirconia. To test this, draw a small dot with a pen on a piece of white paper. Place your diamond over the center of the dot. Look directly down on it and if your stone is not a diamond, you will see a circular reflection in the stone. This relies on the diamond not being mounted, and being large enough to see through accurately.

If you have just returned from hospital and didn't read the second one before your broke your arm, I apologise.

mz27 · 4 months

Go to a jeweler and ask! I learned everything I know about shiny rocks by sitting at a counter and yakking with the jeweler about cuts and grades and inclusions and colors and such while my ex fawned over rocks. It'll take you only a few minutes of your time to learn how to spot a diamond substitute. A counterfeit designed to pass is much harder.

Jewelers are often surprisingly chill about letting strangers handle and pour over thousands of dollars of their shinies with a jewelers loop. Which I guess is unsurprising if you consider that many of them are shiny-rock nerds.

jersully · 4 months

If it gets you oral it was diamond enough.

Boldprussian · 4 months

Try eating it. You can't eat things that aren't real. Plus, your stomach acids will shine it right up!

xiporah · 4 months

There is a machine that can test it for you. Most Jewelers will have one.

holysnapson · 4 months

Wait forever. If the stone is still there, it's a diamond.

EmpRupus · 4 months

Fair answer - Diamond is the hardest and one of the most stable / unreactive substances known. So, there isn't a simple test. Go to a jewellers.

MadLibz · 4 months

Use UV light to look for flaws. ALL diamonds have flaws. If it doesn't have any flaws it is fake.

But still, you should really go to a jeweler. If the first one says it is fake go to another. Those guys are shady sometimes...

sketchthestars · 4 months

If you go to a jewelry store a gemologist can tell you if it's a diamond usually just by looking. My dad owns a jewelry store and he's GIA certified, and he tends to be able to do this. He also looks with a loupe and usually if there aren't any flaws (carbon) it's a cubic zirconia (fake). He also uses a diamond-scratcher (it looks like a stylus) made out of corundum, which has a hardness of 9, so it will scratch a CZ but glide over the surface of a diamond. If you get one and feel any bite when you test, it's a CZ.

The simplest test, but I've found it only really works on larger stones, is to breathe on the stone. If it fogs up with your breath, it's not a diamond.

luke_c · 4 months

Nice try, diamond thief.

JoshuaQuail · 4 months

immerse it in corn syrup. if it is glass or cubic zirconia, it will cease to sparkle. if it is a diamond, it will still shine.

RoarYo · 4 months

Bite it.

00derper · 4 months

If it's best friend it's a girl, then it's real.

ImStillAwesome · 4 months

Kind of hard to explain, but a real diamond throws off a lot of light. If it's in a brightly lit room and reflecting a lot of light, it's either real or a very good fake.

ifoughtpiranhas · 4 months

I'm pretty sure if you try to scratch a window with it and it works, it's a diamond.

Thurid · 4 months

Am I the only one to ask you to try to find the owner? Call the Police and the bus company. Make sure the people coming to claim it have the match.

gemshonor · 1 month

Hardest substance, yes it is. But don't try with the hardness test, it is one of the destructive test. It is better to ask the gemologist, who can identify gemstones(if they have instruments). Hardness is the property measuring by use a material scratching. Toughness is the property for how well a material resist for breaking.

berryhill · 4 months

Just like you test for gold, bite it. Chew it, and if all your teeth breaks, it's definitely diamond.

pseudonameous · 4 months

HIT IT WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER!

anitsirk · 4 months

a simple method...

The fog technique is an accurate and easy test to perform. To check the stone, simply breathe on it. The reason this is so reliable is that a real diamond is not capable of holding heat. Therefore, after breathing on the stone if it becomes fogged over, it is a cubic zirconia whereas if the warm breath clears up immediately, the stone is an actual diamond.

geft · 4 months

I think it's rather pointless since you can artificially create synthetic diamonds in the lab and they can be of higher grades and have better shines than natural diamonds. Its only flaw is perfection. Natural diamonds are actually slightly dull with yellowish tint due to impurities.

Robbieworld · 4 months

A simple but not completely reliable test is to fog it up with your breath, a real diamond will not fog but glass and other material will.

tnethacker · 4 months

Just as a quick note. This is not r/askreddit

PearsonFlyer · 4 months

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Justarug · 4 months

Maybe try to see if it etches glass?

Teotwawki69 · 4 months

If you found it on the bus, it's probably not a diamond.

Also, the value of diamonds was artificially created by these people because, surprise, they were in the diamond business. They even went so far as to bribe a Hollywood studio to add a famous song about diamonds to this film in order to make women covet them.

Edit: "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" first appeared in the Broadway musical before the film, but it still wound up there because of the De Beers's family lobbying for it.

Turbo_Tacos · 4 months

Smack it with a hammer.

PirateMunky · 4 months

It's all in how it shines! A real diamond will find the light and sparkle even in dimly lit areas- a fake won't. The fake ones tend to look dull and lifeless.

lazydictionary · 4 months

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