diamonds. real or fake?

Question

I got some jewellry given me some is set with diamond like stones how can i tell if they are real or not

Grateful I am,but also broke and I was given the items so that I could use them to raise cash and give my kids a holiday,however I remember some of the pieces from my grandmother wearing them and others from my great grandmother so now I dont want to sell them, however if I knew which was worth just enough for a holiday I could part with just that one,jewellers usually charge for the service.

Answer 1

Without destroying the jewelry it is almost impossible to say if the diamonds are real or not by yourself - and you really don't want that. You need to take it to a reputable jeweler for appraisal - most will do that free, check the yellow pages for your city, or the city nearest you that has more than one jeweler. (This is if you are in the States - if you are in Europe, there definitely will be a fee!)

If the jewelry is old, like the early 1900's you can check the glass scratch test to see if it's costume jewelry. There are today LOTS of manmade stones which will scratch glass. Back then there were no alternatives that had the same properties as diamonds (such as CZ). There were white sapphires, but those are still valuable - just not as much as diamonds.

The setting can give clues too - diamonds were generally not set in silver pieces, although they occasionally show up in really extravagent silver pieces. White gold, yellow gold, and more rarely platinum generally were the metals holding diamonds.

Read through this web site - not just this link - it should help you!
http://www.niceice.com/simulants.htm

This has good information about appraisals:
http://www.kaufmanandcompany.com/lecture.html#idnatanddyn

Information from eth American Society For Nondestructive testing:
http://www.asnt.org/publications/materialseval/solution/oct00solution/oct00sol.htm

Good general information about gems:
http://www.gemsociety.org/

Answer 2

If the setting is a precious metal, look inside the band (if a ring), the clasp (if a necklace or bracelet) or the post (if earrings). The metal will be marked with the gold percent (10k, 14k, 18k) or silver (.925) and if it is a fake, it will say cz. It is possible, also, that they might not be diamonds at all, but white sapphires, in which case they won't be marked and you will need a jeweler to tell you what they are.

Answer 3

Take it to a store. Cubic Zirconium will also cut glass relatively well, and is almost impossible to discern from Diamond by the naked eye. There is a special device that does it that jewelers most likely own however.

Answer 4

The only way too be 100% is to take the jewellery to a professional and get it checked. Most jewellers will do it for free.

Answer 5

Take them to a Jewlery store to be tested and looked at. Some really good cubics can cut glass so that doesn't work anymore.
Hope there Real! Never take a fake one!

Answer 6

If the stone cuts glass then it's a real diamond.

Answer 7

A jeweller would give you your answer, but why not instead simply be grateful someone has thought enough of you to give you a gift?
~Because sometimes it is rocket science.~

Answer 8

diamond is the hardest substance known to man, so logically if you hit the jewellary with a hammer and the hammer breaks is genuine!

Answer 9

All kinna rubbish cuts glass, these days.

Answer 10

diamonds will cut glass