Fake diamonds have grown in popularity so much that De Beers, the king of real diamonds, recently announced it would start selling synthetic diamond gemstones for the first time in its 130-year history. The company now believes that technology is efficient enough to produce large quantities of synthetic diamonds with the quality of the best gemstones. By creating lab-grown diamonds De Beers hopes to offer customers increased choice and retain their control over the $80 billion dollar gem industry.
Gone are the days where your only options are low-quality affordable diamonds or expensive high-quality diamonds. Now you can buy diamond simulants and have the jewelry pieces you’ve always desired.
But you don’t want anyone else to know that you are wearing faux diamonds. Follow our guide and no one will ever know that beautiful ring you’re wearing isn’t the real McCoy.
Testing for Fake Diamonds
Before we get into how do buy diamonds, lets talk about some of the common ways to spot a fake diamonds. You don’t have to worry about most tests, no one is going to ask for your ring to do the water or heat test on it.
Mount and Setting
They will look at the setting and mount. Real diamonds are going to have high-quality settings. Usually, yellow gold, white gold, or platinum are used for the setting.
An easy way to tell the quality of the ring is to look at the inside of the band. This is where the metal used will be indicated. For gold, stamps such as 10k, 14k, or 18k are used. If it’s platinum, you’ll see PT.
If there’s no metal stamp, the ring is likely to be a fake. Equally, if the metal is gold plated or silver, chances are it’s not a diamond. Few jewellers would mount a precious gemstone in cheaper metal.
The Sparkle Factor
This is another easy test that doesn’t require special equipment. All you need to do is hold the diamond under a bright light.
The way that diamonds reflect light is unique: Inside the stone, the diamond will sparkle gray and white (known as “brilliance”) while outside of the gem, it will reflect rainbow colors onto other surfaces (this dispersed light is known as “fire”).
A fake diamond will have rainbow colors that you can see inside the diamond.
People have a misconception that real diamond sparkles like a rainbow. They don’t. They do sparkle, but it’s more of a gray color. If you see a stone emitting rainbow colors [inside the stone], it could be a sign that it’s not a diamond. Rainbow colors are often associated with moissanite which has a a higher dispersion of light than diamond.
The Scratch Test
This is probably the one test that you have heard of when it comes to testing if a diamond is real or not. Don’t bother with it as it is not accurate.
The test is to simply scratch the loose stone against a mirror. The idea is that if the stone is hard enough to scratch the mirror, it’s probably a diamond.
The problem is, the fake diamonds, particularly high quality cubic zirconia are quite durable, being 8 – 8.5 on the Mohs scale. These fake diamonds are actually harder than most semi-precious gemstones and certainly harder than glass and thus they can easily scratch the mirror.
Spot an Imposter
There are a few different types of stones that will masquerade as a diamond. We are going to go over some of the common diamond look-alikes and the chance of someone identifying yours as a fake.
Synthetic Diamond
These are often called “lab created” diamonds. They have the same look and chemical makeup as real diamonds.
To the naked eye, you won’t be able to tell the difference. Gem-quality diamonds grown in a lab can be chemically, physically and optically identical to naturally occurring ones. The only way someone is going to be able to point it out as man made is with professional testing.
Cubic Zirconia
CZ has the look of natural diamonds, but contain zero diamond and are non-precious. Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, CZ is widely considered as one of the best fake diamonds.
Because CZ stones are often colorless and flawless in clarity, their perfection is the most common giveaway that cubic zirconia is not a real diamond.
VIDEO: What are the best fake diamonds? The simple answer is those that closely resemble natural diamond in appearance. Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, CZ is widely considered as one of the best faux diamonds. Video from Luxuria® Diamonds
White Sapphire
When you say sapphire, most people think deep blue. However, Sapphire is available in a wide range of colors, including white. The white color actually looks clear to the naked eye.
Diamonds will have distinct areas of light and dark. A white sapphire will look more blended together in shading. Sapphires are prone to more damage than diamonds and do not have the same fire and brilliance of a true diamond.
Moissanite
This is another stone that is virtually undetectable is a diamond imposter to the naked eye. The main difference is that moissanites have a different brilliance than a diamond where you can see rainbow colors within the stone, giving it a disco ball effect.
The key test that will give the moissanite away is the electrical conductivity test.
White Topaz
At a quick glance, white topaz will look like a diamond. However, it becomes obvious that it does not retain the same high qualities as diamonds.
First, they scratch easily. Your rings will go through a beating just by wearing them in everyday life. You’ll end up with a stone that has a bunch of scratches and dings in it.
Fake Diamonds – Buying Your Ring
Now that we know how to spot a fake, and what the differences are between the fakes and diamonds, let’s get shopping! There are a few features about your ring you need to consider to ensure you buy a stunning ring that doesn’t look obviously fake. Check out our video below on how to choose a ring with fake diamonds.
Video: In this video we cover Five tips on how to choose fake diamonds that no one will question. [SOURCE: Luxuria Diamonds]
The Setting
Look for a ring that has a setting that would be similar to what would be done with a genuine diamond. You want a setting that will enhance the beauty of the stone you do buy without making it obvious that it is a fake.
Most jewelers will tell you to stick with prongs, channel, or pave settings. These settings will allow your stone to catch the light and sparkle while still protecting the stone.
Settings like the tension will provide the most light to your diamond simulant. This can expose your stone to more damage. So be aware that tension settings can more readily lead to lost or scratched stones.
Pair Fake Diamonds with Real Gemstones
Consider pairing your faux diamonds with real semi-precious gemstones. This will give your ring a feel of authenticity to the diamonds.
PHOTO ABOVE: Fake diamonds such as cubic zirconia can feel more authentic when paired with real gemstones. Seen above is the Luxuria Topázi, a natural sky blue topaz birthstone engagement ring. This 4 carat blue topaz gemstone ring with halo features a natural blue topaz gemstone. The gemstone is encircled by a scintillating halo of sparkling round cut white diamond simulants which are also shoulder set.
You could pair a large Brazilian purple amethyst gemstone with a halo of diamond simulants. Or you could select a brilliant sky blue topaz gemstone that is encircled in diamond simulants and shoulder clusters.
What you’ll notice about both of these rings is that they use the standard prong, halo, and pave settings. This gives your jewelry piece a look of authenticity.
The Size of Your Stone
It may be tempting to go as large as possible. After all, isn’t the point of buying a fake diamonds – so that you can buy a larger stone than what you could if you went real?
PHOTO ABOVE: Resist the urge for very large fake diamonds. Smaller diamond simulants look more realistic than larger ones. Seen above is the Luxuria LUMIERE 2.04 ct. solitaire engagement ring. This fake solitaire ring uses a very high quality “Hearts & Arrows” cubic zirconia central stone imitates diamond convincingly.
The trick to fooling people though is to not go too large. Too large will look costumey and obviously fake.
It will also become obvious because the surface area will be larger. The differences in brilliance and sparkle will become more noticeable in the larger surface area.
You also can’t forget that some of the diamond alternatives we talked about scratch easily. So the larger the stone, the more surface to get scratched. This means that the scratches will be more obvious to the casual glance.
The Metal
Most jewelers will tell you that you shouldn’t go with the most expensive metal for your ring if you plan to buy faux diamonds. Instead, you should select a gold or sterling silver.
When choosing a gold, the higher the rating the more expensive the ring. Just keep in mind that the higher gold content means that the metal is softer and will get scratched more easily.
For a beautiful and durable option consider rhodium plated sterling silver. Rhodium plated 925 silver is not only beautiful, but it looks like white gold and will also be durable for your daily wear.
Fake Diamonds – Choosing Your Ring
When buying fake diamonds you need to think about what type of stone you want to select. Then choose a ring that has a quality setting that mirrors those of jewelry with real diamonds.
Don’t be afraid to pair your diamonds with a brilliant hued colored gemstone. With the right selections, you’ll have a statement piece that no one will be able to tell is fake.
Start shopping for your next jewelry piece today. You are also welcome to leave us comments below.
Want to learn more?
View our 5-Step Guide to selecting Cubic Zirconia Rings the right way
View our most popular Fake Engagement Rings
Dale Reno
I would like to have faux diamonds set in a ring I already have. Do you offer that service ?
Ralph Ede
Hello Dale. We don’t offer that service and suggest you take the ring to a trusted local jeweler for the job. If the stones you are replacing are round cut, we recommend you replace them with hearts and arrows (star cut) cubic zirconia. We use H&A CZ in many of our rings because of their excellent optical symmetry and their enhanced ability to imitate real diamond.