Common diamond simulants include cubic zirconia white zircon white topaz white sapphire moissanite white spinel quartz rock crystal and glass however these gems all have different physical chemical and optical properties.
What does a real black diamond look like.
Diamonds and fake diamonds.
However there are several types of black diamonds.
All are real but there is a vast difference between the different types of black diamonds and if you plan on buying one you should know that there is also a huge difference in value.
Separating a diamond look alike from the real thing is one of the biggest challenges a new gemologist faces.
It is made of silicon carbide and is almost as hard as real diamond moissanite s hardness is 9 5 on the mohs scale whereas diamond s is 10.
However two properties specific gravity and birefringence hold the key to distinguishing diamonds.
There are man made black diamonds there are natural black diamonds and there are treated black diamonds.
There are however genuine black diamonds that occur naturally.
Black spots can look like small dark flakes or they can congregate together and look like a massive eye sore.
Natural fancy black diamonds on the other hand are found in the rough with the same black color they display when they are bought.
A loupe is a special magnifying glass that jewelers use.
Click here to see a selection of popular black diamond jewelry.
Diamond has a specific gravity of 3 5 and will concentrate with black sands in a gold pan.
So when you are panning and you see a transparent to white crystal or even better a pink or blue crystal in your pan in the middle of the black sands with distinct greasy luster.
It is possible that these diamonds actually formed during meteor impacts.
Cubic diamonds on the other hand will have parallelograms or rotated squares.
These 13 procedures will test the properties of your gem to help you.
A number of white gems can have a diamond like appearance.
It should be noted though that there are diamonds whose color has been artificially changed to black.
Put the diamond under the loupe or microscope and look for rounded edges that have tiny indented triangles.
Moissanite is also reasonably colorless and looks much like the real thing.
Other noticeable flaws in a diamond include.
In the chart below you ll find common diamond look alike stones and real diamonds arranged by specific.
What gives away its non diamond origin however is its sparkle it is more colorful than that of a real diamond.
Black diamonds are as real as white diamonds but are not as common.
It is the result of heating treatments.
Diamonds and their simulants can share some optical and physical properties.
Are black diamonds opaque or translucent.
However the black color in the first group is not achieved naturally.
Cloudy areas cracks lines pinpoints chips take a look at the image below and the official diamond plot terminology.
What do black diamonds look like.