How to Spot a Fake brilliant Engagement Ring

Special Review How to Spot a Fake brilliant Engagement Ring

Diamond engagement rings are expensive and deliberately so because they are intended to be symbolic of a life together and commitment of the most serious kind.  Unfortunately, for most couples buying a brilliant engagement ring there is abundance of scope for unscrupulous merchants and jewelers to pass off sub-standard and fake diamonds but charge the high prices the genuine narrative commands.

So how do you tell the fake from the real thing?

There are straightforward tests you can dispose to have done on your brilliant ring, so here are some straightforward steps you can follow:

Use a brilliant Tester

A brilliant tester is an electronic measuring device which can help decide the authenticity of a brilliant by using its weight.  The strict atomic weight of brilliant is known with extremely strict accuracy and if the stone deviates from the proper weight range then it is a unavoidable test for the stone being a fake.  The electronic tester cannot unmistakably tell you that the stone is a real brilliant however, because it may be an synthetic brilliant or constructed from materials which emulate the weight range.

Use the Scratch Test

Diamond is the hardest natural material known to man and so it should be capable of scratching glass.  If the brilliant stone is unable to scratch glass then you have a fake on your hands.

Look for Perfection in the Stone

If your brilliant is perfect, then the risk of it being a fake is higher.  Genuine diamonds carry flaws and imperfections, even the most expensive stones and this is only a natural consequence of how they are formed.  unmistakably perfect diamonds with no flaws or inclusions should be treated with a very high degree of suspicion and is more than likely an synthetic stone.

Seek an appraisal for insurance Purposes

Arrange for your stone to be appraised, both for insurance purposes and also to fabricate that you have a real brilliant on your hand.  A brilliant appraiser will be able to fabricate the authenticity of your brilliant engagement ring using the American Gem society Laboratories grading theory which takes into list the cut, clarity, carat (weight) and color - the so-called "Four C's".

Real Diamonds Have Great Fire

When the light hits a brilliant the sparkle will be intense and you will see an intense light in the center of the diamond: this is known as a stone's "fire".  By contrast, fake stones will not be able to compete in terms of sparkle or the intensity of the fire and you can quickly tell the contrast when you have a genuine brilliant to compare next to fake one.

Fog and Breath Test

The fog and breath test is straightforward to perform - hold the ring in front of your mouth and breathe on it.  The stone will fog with your breath and if it is a real diamond, the "fog" will lift rapidly as brilliant will not hold the fog to itself.  If the stone is a fake, the fog will remain on the stone for around 10 to 15 seconds which is a clear sign it is not a genuine diamond.

There are other things you can look for too: when you hold a brilliant to the light you will not see all the colors of the rainbow laid out like some kaleidoscope.  You should see some shades of grey within the color scheme and if you don't, then you know you have a fake.  In addition, real diamonds are never set in whatever other than platinum, titanium or gold (10K or better) and rarely in some other high-quality metal.