How to spot a fake gemstone

Know your gems: How to Spot a Fake Gemstones

Have you ever wondered if a seemingly wholesale gemstones is real at all? I mean, as a layman, there is not much you can actually do except trust your jeweller’s word! In fact many people actually rely on their jewellery to get them through their toughest times and it can be quite a shock to discover one fine day that they never really were worth much! We were pretty much in this same boat a few years back when my mother had her jewellery appraised to know where we stand financially. Much to her shock and disbelief, they discovered that a beautiful silver family heirloom had no actual gems, but were semi-precious stones!

Well, Knowing whether a stone is fake or not can save one from a lot of embarrassment and heartburn. You definitely do not want to go through what we did! So here is how, you, me and absolutely ANYONE can do and know a few things to steer clear of suspiciously glittery stones!

1. Visual Inspection

Not all vividly colored shiny stones are precious, many fall into the semi precious category. Also Pearls aren’t classified as gems. It would be advisable to keep a gemstone chart at hand when dealing with gemstones. Charts endorsed by the Gemmological institute of America or the one provided by The Hiddenite Gems' gemstone identification chart can be used as a trustworthy reference. These charts are easily available online and are one of the easiest ways to spot a fake from a real stone.

2. BREATHE TEST

When buying gems a simple test to do is a simple Breath test. Breathe on a gem to fog it up. If the gem is real then the fog will clear up in under two seconds. Fake gems will take about five seconds to clear. Simple!

3. INCLUSIONS

Next, one can look for inclusions in the gems. Natural gems have tiny inclusions in them unlike lab grown varieties, which are made suspiciously perfect. This does not hold true for diamonds though. Next observe the pattern of the bubbles in the gemstones. In natural gemstones the bubbles will be small and placed in a random fashion. Conversely, artificial gems have larger bubbles and also at times appear to be in a pattern. Be sure to inspect the stones at different angles. It would be advisable to use a magnifying glass of at least 10x magnification while examining the gems.

4. Malleability Test

Well, your jeweler isn’t going to be too fond of this one! One can also check the malleability of the stone. True gemstones have crystals and they aren’t malleable. Be gentle while checking this because gemstones may shatter or develop cracks if you strike them too hard.

5. Texture

Getting a feel of the texture of the stone is a good way to ascertain if it’s a gem. Gemstones should have a smooth texture and not a sandy or a rough one.

6. Scratch Test

Try scratching the surface of a gem with a steel object. Real gem stones aren’t scratched that easily but glass is.

7. Gemologists

Image courtesy: 9gem.com

The most reliable way to ascertain the authenticity of the gem is to get it examined by a gemologist and obtain a certification for the gem. Many jewelers will provide you with such certificates at purchase and you can rest assured that you got what you paid for!

Shopping from reliable sources, such as Navneet Gems ensures that you receive nothing but the finest quality of gemstone, be it diamonds, sapphires, rubies or more. Our experienced gemmologists make sure that each stone undergoes a rigorous inspection process before it is ready to be sold to patrons all over the world. Log onto our websites to browse through our collections of precious and semi-precious stones today!

Image courtesy: WikiHow

Navneet Agarwal, a Gia Graduate Gemologist from Carlsbad Usa, and marketing manager at Navneet Gems.