How do you know if you are looking at a real diamond versus a fake?
To begin with, there are a few common sense factors about genuine diamonds.
The Price of a Genuine Diamond:
A low priced stone with no visible flaws should raise an immediate red
flag for you. Examine the stone with your naked eye, then use a
magnifying glass or jewelers loupe. If you can't spot flaws under
magnification and the color is a clean white, then you are looking at
either a VS Clarity and D-F Color diamond, or a fake. Wholesale
cost on a 1 carat diamond of VS Clarity and D-F Color is about $7500,
and no dealer would charge considerably less than his cost.
You can also evaluate this principle from a price standpoint: a
one carat diamond that sells for $1500 or less will be an I2-I3 Clarity
grade and a J-L Color grade. If you are looking at a $1500 one
carat diamond, you should see obvious flaws visible to the naked eye,
and a noticeable yellow Color. Otherwise, it is suspect as a fake.
Gem Lab Certification:
Not all diamonds are certified, but when the stone is accompanied by a
third-party certificate it adds an extra level of security to your
purchase. The certificate should be signed by a graduate
gemologist, and it should state that it is a genuine diamond. The
certificate should also the Carat Weight, the Color Grade, the Clarity
Grade and in some cases, the Cut Grade. A full certificate also
includes the dimensions of the diamond. There are many reputable
Gem Labs, but try an internet search of the lab name just to confirm
it. The largest gem labs are AGS, GIA, IGI, EGL, and IGL.
Consider Who you are buying the Diamond From:
The retail diamond industry is based on trust, and it makes sense that
a large retail chain store would not take the risk of ruining their
reputation by selling even a single fake diamond. Most of the
large retailers buy their diamonds directly from a DeBeers siteholder,
and the quality control is very strict in this process. If you
buy your diamond from a mall jewelry store you may not be getting the
best quality at the best price, but you won't be buying a fake.
If you buy your diamond from an independent jeweler, stay away from the
downtown "wholesale districts" in large cities because there are many
reports over the years of these guys cutting corners or misrepresenting
their goods. The cream of the crop in independent jewelers are
members of AGS, and they display it prominently.
If you buy your diamond on the internet, make sure it is from a well
established website that specializes in jewelry and offers an ironclad
return policy. It is true that you can save 35% or more when
buying diamonds on the internet versus a walk in retail jewelry store
because they can afford to work on lower margins. The smart
internet customers use a credit card that features a buyer protection
plan, and they also get their online diamond appraised locally within a
few days of receiving it. We have received many letters from
gracious customers that include copies of independent appraisals
showing the retail replacement value of their diamond at substantially
above what they paid for it. In fact, we encourage our customers
to get their diamonds appraised and we display a list of certified
independent appraisers throughout the country on this page.
There are a few websites that intentionally confuse customers with
terms like "diamond cz" and "russian cut brilliants", but if you do
your homework it is not hard to spot the cheaters. On the other
hand, there are some very sophisticated scams perpetuated by
individuals selling diamonds at online auction websites. We have
seen repeated examples of diamonds with certificates from very reliable
gem labs being sold at auction sites for prices that are way below
wholesale cost. How do they do it? Anyone can send a high
quality diamond to a gem lab for certification and then send it back to
be certified a second time. Now you have two official
certificates describing one good diamond and you can use the extra
certificate to inflate the value of an inferior quality diamond.
Even if the diamond is laser inscribed with a unique identification
number on the girdle, anyone can buy a micro laser machine and the cost
is relatively low compared to the profits one can make on this kind of
scam. Simply stated, be very cautious when buying diamonds from
an individual on an auction website.
If it is not a genuine diamond, following are the most likely substitutes, and their characteristics.
Spotting a CZ being sold as a Diamond:
Spotting a Moissanite being sold as a Diamond:
Spotting a Man Made Diamond being sold as a Natural Diamond:
About Clarity Enhanced Diamonds:
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