Diamonds are an expensive investment. For most people shopping for a diamond, they want to find quality at a great price. Therefore, many people will turn to online auctions on the internet, estate sales, and online companies. Typically, these options are legitimate and offer an excellent means for buying a great diamond at a great price. However, that nagging question, "How do I know the diamond is real?" seems to always be lingering overhead.

Now that so many manufactured diamonds are available, this really is a good question. Most people have a hard time picking the real diamond from the phony one. When they're made of glass, crystals, or colorless stones, they aren't too hard to scope out. When manufacturers use cubic zirconium or Moissanite, the job gets tougher.

If you find a diamond you want to purchase, have a jeweler or diamond cutter take a close look at it. This is harder to manage when you're shopping at an online auction, but you should figure out a way to have the stone checked. Paying a lot of money for something that turns out to be an imitation could cause you a lot of grief and frustration. If you think someone is offering to sell you a cubic zirconium, there are a few ways to check it out.

The first test is to breathe on it and see how long the fog from your breath lasts. If it's gone in an instant, the stone is a diamond, but if it stays for a minute, you know you're being duped. Next, write on the stone with an ink pen. If it forms a ball, it's a cubic zirconium. If it's a diamond, you'll be able to draw a line. The third test is to turn the stone over and try to read some newsprint. If you can make out the words and they look pretty clear, then you more than likely are holding a fake. Keep in mind though, that some real diamonds are of a shallow cut. In that case you could probably also be able to read the paper through it.

Another test is to check the weight. A cubic zirconia stone will weigh 55% more on average than a real diamond. If you have a similar size and shape diamond or have a gram or carat scale, the stone's weight can be compared to help you determine - real or fake. Many real diamonds have fluorescence blue when placed under a black light but 99% of the manmade diamonds do not. Therefore, try holding the stone under the black light, looking for a medium to strong appearance of blue. If you see this, then the stone is real. While this will tell you if the diamond is real, keep in mind that the bluer the color, the lower quality the diamond.

Other options include using a magnifying glass. Start by looking carefully at the facets from the top of the stone to see how well they are joined. Facets for real diamonds would be sharp, not a rolled appearance. Then, the girdles will need to be checked to see if they are faceted or frosty in appearance, which represents real. However, if the girdles are waxy and slick, the stone is a fake. You have a number of ways to make sure you get what you are paying for, but these are insiders secret tips that work.

Copyright 2006, Joy McDougle, All Rights Reserved. This article may be published on web sites or in newsletters provided this notice and the resource box is included without ammendment.