Many people wonder if lab grown diamonds can fool a diamond tester. A fact to note is that both natural and lab grown diamonds are real diamonds. This post will show you what makes them pass or fail a test.
Keep reading to learn more.
How Does a Diamond Tester Work?
A diamond tester checks if a gem is a real diamond. It measures thermal or electrical conductivity. Diamonds conduct heat well. Some testers check this. Others measure how well a stone conducts electricity. This helps tell diamonds from fake stones.
Can Lab Grown Diamonds Pass a Diamond Tester?
Moving from understanding how diamond testers work, we now explore if lab grown diamonds can pass these tests. Yes, lab grown diamonds can indeed pass a diamond tester. This is because both natural and synthetic diamonds have similar physical and chemical properties.
Diamond testers measure aspects like thermal conductivity or electrical conductivity. Since lab grown diamonds share these properties with mined ones, they respond in the same way during testing.
Lab grown diamonds are real diamonds with the same crystal structure as natural ones, making them indistinguishable to standard diamond testers. This leads many people to ask, do lab grown diamonds pass a diamond tester? The answer is yes, because they share the same thermal and electrical properties as mined diamonds, most conventional testers can’t tell them apart.
This fact raises important questions about identifying and valuing both types of diamonds accurately. As technology improves, the ability to create perfect synthetic versions challenges traditional methods of differentiation between mined and man-made gems.
Factors Affecting the Accuracy of Diamond Testers
The type of diamond tester and its limitations play a big role in how accurately it can identify lab-grown diamonds. Keep going to learn more!
Types of diamond testers (thermal vs. electrical conductivity)
Diamond testers come in two main types: thermal and electrical conductivity. Thermal testers measure how fast heat passes through a stone. Since diamonds conduct heat well, these testers can tell if a gem is a real diamond or not by checking its heat conduction.
Electrical conductivity testers work differently. They check how well a gem conducts electricity. This method is useful because certain diamond-like stones, such as Moissanite, conduct electricity in ways that real diamonds do not.
Each type of tester has its own use. For example, thermal testers are great for quickly identifying most fake diamonds. But they might not always catch Moissanite because it also conducts heat like a diamond.
On the other hand, electrical conductivity testers can spot Moissanite easily due to its unique electrical properties, but may fail with some lab-grown diamonds that mimic natural diamond properties closely.
Limitations of standard diamond testers
Standard diamond testers have some drawbacks. They often can’t tell lab grown diamonds from natural ones. This is because both types of diamonds have similar physical properties. Also, these testers might mistake other stones like Moissanite for diamonds. Moissanite is a common diamond simulant with close thermal conductivity to real diamonds.
Another issue is that standard testers only check thermal or electrical conductivity. Many diamond simulants can now pass these tests. So, it’s getting harder to use these tools alone for accurate identification. This makes it tricky for buyers and sellers to fully trust the results without further checks.
Common Misconceptions About Lab Grown Diamonds and Testers
Many people think lab grown diamonds always fail diamond tester checks, but that’s not true. Discover more about this topic!
Lab diamonds vs. natural diamonds on testers
Lab diamonds and natural diamonds look very similar, but they react the same way on diamond testers. These testers measure heat or electrical conductivity. Since lab-grown and mined diamonds are both real diamonds, they pass these tests. Some people think only natural diamonds will pass, but that’s not true.
Both types of diamonds have the same physical and chemical properties, so a standard diamond tester cannot tell them apart. Sometimes lab diamonds might test as Moissanite with certain devices. This happens because of how some testers are designed to identify materials. Moissanite is another gemstone entirely, but it can confuse basic diamond testers if they’re not set up right or used correctly.
Why some lab diamonds may test as Moissanite
Moving from the topic of how both lab-grown and natural diamonds respond to diamond testers, we now explore a curious case. Sometimes, lab diamonds might test as Moissanite. This happens because standard diamond testers are not always perfect. They look for thermal conductivity to identify diamonds. Moissanite has similar thermal properties to diamonds, which can confuse the tester.
To avoid this mix-up, more advanced testers measure electrical conductivity too. Moissanite conducts electricity differently than diamonds do. Still, not everyone uses these advanced testers yet. So, a lab-created diamond could wrongly show up as Moissanite with older or simpler tools.
Advanced Methods to Differentiate Lab Grown Diamonds
Advanced methods like spectroscopic analysis allow us to tell lab grown diamonds apart from their natural counterparts clearly. These high-tech tools can detect the tiny differences that show a diamond’s true origins.
Read more to see how these advanced technologies are changing the way we look at diamonds today.
Spectroscopic analysis
Spectroscopic analysis is a way to find out what makes up a diamond. Scientists use light to see the tiny details inside diamonds. This helps tell lab grown diamonds from natural ones. Each type has different marks that light can spot. Light shows us the secrets inside diamonds, making it easier to tell if they are from a lab or nature.
Specialized lab equipment
Moving on from spectroscopic analysis, labs use more tools to spot the difference between lab grown and natural diamonds. One such tool is a high-powered microscope. This lets experts see tiny details in diamonds that can’t be seen with the naked eye. These details can tell if a diamond was made in a lab or came from the ground.
Another important machine is called Raman spectroscopy. It uses light to look at the chemical structure of diamonds. This way, scientists can find specific signs that show if a diamond is lab-grown. Both these tools are key for professionals who check diamond quality and authenticity.
What the Industry Isn’t Telling You About Lab Diamonds
The industry often keeps quiet about the real benefits of lab diamonds, like their ethical sourcing and lower environmental impact. Discover more about what’s not often shared.
Ethical and sustainable benefits of lab diamonds
Lab diamonds offer big wins for the planet and people. They need less water and land than mined diamonds do. This means they are better for nature. Fewer greenhouse gases come from making a lab diamond, which helps fight climate change. Also, workers make them in safe labs, not dangerous mines.
People like that these diamonds don’t harm the Earth or people working to find them. Lab diamonds reduce the need for mining, which can hurt land and cause conflicts over resources. By choosing lab-created gems, buyers support a more ethical and sustainable way of enjoying beautiful jewelry.
Challenges with current diamond testing technologies
Current diamond testing technologies face several challenges. Most testers are designed to tell if a stone is a real diamond or a fake. But, they struggle with lab grown diamonds. These diamonds have the same physical and chemical properties as mined ones. So, testers often say that lab grown diamonds are real diamonds, which is true but does not tell the whole story.
Also, many testers only measure thermal conductivity. This works well to spot fakes like glass or quartz but not for all materials. Some newer gems, like Moissanite, can trick these machines because they conduct heat too. Without advanced tests, it’s hard to tell Moissanite from diamonds or lab grown from natural ones in some cases.
Conclusion
Lab grown diamonds can indeed pass diamond testers just like natural ones. This shows they are real diamonds too, not fakes. But the industry doesn’t always talk about how testers might not tell lab diamonds from natural ones or why some show up as Moissanite. People also don’t hear enough about the good things of lab diamonds, like being more kind to the earth and having fewer arguments over them. Understanding these points helps everyone know more about what they’re buying.
