No. 1 Jewellery Detective Agency

I remember a story my aunt told me of a friend of hers who bought several sets of diamond jewellery, with the hopes of pawning them off in harder times so imagine her utter shock when years later she took them to a pawn shop and was told that her precious diamond jewellery were in fact made of Cubic Zirconia! Ouch!

These days many of us buy jewellery from tradespeople who assure us of their quality. Below are a few tips to spotting the real from the fake.

DIAMONDS vs CUBIC ZIRCONIA (CZ) or MOISSANITE

Scratch Test: Diamonds have a harder surface (after all those years baking under the earth who wouldn’t!) and so don’t scratch easily but CZ scratch when they come in contact with sharp or hard objects.

Newspaper Test: If you place a diamond on a newspaper and try to read the words on the newspaper through it you won’t be able to see them. This is because it is highly reflective unlike Cubic Zirconia which lets you make out some words.

Breath Test: Breathe on your diamond piece, if it is real, it should become clear almost instantly (this is because diamonds don’t retain heat) but when breathed on,Cubic Zirconia will stay cloudy for longer.

Shine Test: CZ and Moissanite do not deliver the same fire and shine as a diamond. I guess that’s why Rihanna did not sing ‘Shine bright like a Cubic Zirconia…’

Weight: There are charts available on the internet which tell you what diamonds of certain sizes should weigh in different cuts (princess, round…)

The most conclusive test of all is to get a jeweller to use a specialist electronic device which reads the stone’s electrical and thermal conductivity which just means that it confirms the quality and material of your piece.

Hopefully these tips help and we can avoid the heartache my aunt’s friend went through!

For those fashionistas who don’t really care about the stone, whether plastic, glass or mirror, have fun and enjoy because at the end all that matters is that you love your piece!

XOXO