There are a variety of unscrupulous jewelers who try to pass off glass stones or cubic zirconium as the real thing. Is it possible for a person to tell if their diamonds are real or not without having to go to another jeweler or get them appraised? Not only is it possible, but it's much easier than you might think.

One simple test to tell wither or not a is real is to simply breathe on it. Unlike glass, is a very hard stone. it's made up of highly compacted carbon molecules, and isn't as prone to fogging as glass and some synthetic diamonds are. If you breathe on the stone and it gets damp and foggy, then chances are it's not really a at all.

Another test to see if a stone is a or not is to take a small piece of glass or a mirror and rub a corner of the stone on it. A common test in the movies, it can actually work in real life as well after all, diamonds are harder than glass, and are more than capable of scratching them when pressure is applied. The drawback to this test is the fact that if it's not a diamond, there's at least a small chance that your stone can actually be damaged by doing this. Of course, this would prove that it's not real but at what cost do you want your proof to be found?

If the gem in question is loose and unmounted, try placing it over printing. Diamonds refract so much light that they will not work as a magnifying glass and you would see no lines, circles, or letters through them. Other clear stones like glass or crystal will reveal the print clearly. A similar test uses a small light, such as the one that comes with your key ring. If you shine the light through the stone and cannot see it on the other side, but only a bright halo around the rim, it is more likely to be a true diamond.

Diamonds are also very good at conducting heat. Breathe on the surface of the stone and immediately check to see if it has fogged up. Again, quartz, glass, and cubic zirconium will stay hazy for a moment before the condensation dissipates, but you shouldn't be able to see any moisture on a true diamond. However, one rock, called moissanite, will also pass this test, so the best way is to get a complete thermal conductivity evaluation performed by a jeweler.

Looking closely at the specks, ridges, and facets can also give you a clue into the identity of your gem. Diamonds do have inclusions, tiny bits of other minerals that got crushed into the while it formed deep under the earth. However, if the facets have worn or rounded edges, bubbles,

or if the gem looks rippled or pitted, it is probably glass. Those gems that are perfectly clear, with absolutely no inclusions, are probably quartz.

Finally, some common sense measures can prevent you from getting pressured to purchase a gem that turns out to be something other than a diamond. It shouldn't be ridiculously inexpensive, or you'll get what you pay for. It also will usually be mounted in an "open back" setting, which means that you can see around the rear of the gem and the back surface isn't coated with any silvery substance. Although it's true that diamonds are the hardest organic substance on earth, the infamous test of scratching diamonds across glass or metal might just give you a damaged diamond.

Even many gemologists cannot distinguish "real" diamonds from cultured diamonds. Cultured diamonds have been artificially manmade in a laboratory, not mined from mountains, yet they are chemically identical to those diamonds. Some companies are developing new kinds of identification methods for those who would like to purchase a mined or for those that prefer a cultured one.

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