How to Tell if a Diamond Is Real

Diamonds are precious stones that look stunning and have specific characteristics. However, they can be easily confused with other gems at first glance. 5-Minute crafts has compiled 6 quick tests to check if your diamond is real or fake.

1. Water test

Drop the stone into a glass filled with 3/4 of water. If it sinks, it’s a real diamond. If it floats at the surface or in the middle, it’s fake.

2. Fog test

Hold the diamond with your fingers or tweezers and breathe on it with a puff of air. This will form a light fog on the gem. If it disappears quickly, the diamond is real. If it stays for several seconds, the stone is fake.

3. Sandpaper test

Rub the gritty side of the sandpaper against the stone. If it remains in perfect condition, it’s a real diamond. If the sandpaper scratches the diamond, it’s fake.

4. Heat test

First, fill a glass with water. Hold your gem with pliers and heat the stone with a lighter for 40 seconds, then drop it into the glass. A real diamond will remain in perfect condition. A fake one will shatter and break.

Warning: If your stone is fake, this test will damage it.

5. Sparkle test

Hold the gem under regular light and watch how the light reflects on it. A real diamond will reflect white and colored light very well. Fake diamonds aren’t good reflectors and aren’t as sparkly.

6. Read-through test

Grab a sheet of paper with some plain black text on it and turn the diamond upside down. Look through the stone to read the words on the paper. If you can’t read anything, the chances are you have a real diamond. If you can still read the words, it’s clearly fake.