Many simple techniques can be used to determine the genuineness of a diamond, but the problem is the reliability of these methods. None of these methods can confirm the complete genuineness of a diamond. The best method you can use is making use of an electronic diamond tester.
Diamond Tester
It is a small handheld device that you can conveniently use to identify a fake diamond. There is a tip that extends from this device and you have to place the diamond at this tip. If you are testing a real diamond, then the device will give a beep or show on its display.
Working Of A Diamond Tester
The working principle of a diamond tester is that different stones have different heat conductivity rates. Heat transfer through a diamond is different than glass or any other material. The diamond tester can find the heat transfer rate through the stone and can confirm whether the stone is a diamond or not. Diamonds are poor electrical conductors. So instead of heat conductivity, some diamond testers use electrical conductivity to determine the genuineness of a diamond. Some testers can detect metal but some are not able to. When testing a diamond in a diamond ring, you have to be careful to not put the tester’s probe on the metal ring.
Reliability Of A Diamond Tester
Cubic Zirconia stones can be easily found using a diamond tester as they are poor conductors of heat. But moissanite stones have a strong resemblance to diamond and they are good conductors of heat too. So you have to be careful and use good quality diamond testers to confirm. Diamond testers which can measure the rates of both heat and electrical conductivity are available. Such testers can differentiate between diamond and moissanite stones.
Diamonds cannot conduct electricity like a moissanite stone and this principle is used by diamond testers to differentiate between the two. But there is a rare class of diamonds called Type II diamonds. They have a different chemical composition than diamonds and are good conductors of electricity. When a normal tester is used with a type II diamond, it can mistake the diamond for a moissanite stone. For such diamonds, a Type II diamond tester has to be used.
Diamond testers when used with lab-grown diamonds will show a positive for diamond. This is because there is no difference between the physical or chemical properties of natural and lab-grown diamonds. However, these testers cannot differentiate between natural and lab-grown diamonds.