Gem Cutter Irvine

What’s the first thing you think of when buying a diamond? How can you be sure that you are not being fooled or ripped off with fake look alikes? As a layman what can you do to set your mind at rest when confronted with a gem cutter? Irvine has a few really good tips to help to make you into a well informed and knowledgeable diamond purchaser.

If you turn a diamond upside down and place it over newsprint and can clearly see the printing through it – you do not have a real diamond, says gem cutter, Irvine. If by breathing on the diamond and the stone remains fogged for more than 2 seconds then you are looking at a false diamond – a real one will disperse the heat instantaneously so that it is clear in the time it takes to move from breathing on it to looking at it.

If the diamond is in a setting then look at the inside of the setting for any stamps. Any that read 10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750, 900, 950, PT, Plat will tell you that the setting is either a good quality gold or platinum and it is more likely that such a setting will have a good quality gem set into it. Gem cutter Irvine also suggests that you look for a stamp that says ‘C.Z.” as this will indicate that the centre stone in a setting is not a diamond but a cubic zirconia. This, the best known diamond fake, C.Z.'s will weigh approximately fifty five per cent more than real diamonds for the same shape and size. By using a carat or gram scale you can check to see if the stone weighs too much for its size.

Another give away is a test under ultra violet light. True diamonds will show a blue fluorescence if put under a UV light and as ninety nine per cent of all fakes do not, a medium to strong blue fluorescence would indicate a real diamond.

If you can look at the stone under a magnifying glass here are a few things to look out for to help establish if it’s genuine or not. The facets or cuts on top of the diamond should be sharp but not rolled at the points where they join. Look into the diamond for any flaws – this should show its real as it is extremely difficult to insert small cracks or inclusions in a fake says gem cutter, Irvine. As with all things it pays to do your homework when planning a large investment especially if it is an arena you do not know much about.