Questioni was wondering do jewelry companies ever make gold plated or filled rings with actual real, natural diamonds? i've heard of cubic zirconiums with real gold bands, but was wondering if it was the other way, too. also, can a moissanite tester detect if a diamond is real? what are some other ways of identifying a real diamond and gold from fake or plated items? thanks so much!!
AnswerAllison, honestly the methods of identification of diamonds and precious metals are beyond simple guessing and a few quick looks. To explain all that is needed is beyond the scope of this answer.
Diamonds can be identified in most cases with magnified examination but this takes practice and know how which is impossible to provide in an answer here. If you have a jewelers loupe(eyepiece magnifier), look at a stone closely and look at the little facets(faces cut on to the stone). This is one method of telling a stone is probably NOT a diamond: Look at the edges of the facets where those come together. The joining line should be quite sharp an not rounded off at all. If rounded off you can pretty well be sure the stone is not a diamond. Now, the opposite is not a valid test: To see sharp joining of facets does not mean a stone is a diamond. This is the easiest test I can give you with out lots of study of diamonds to learn the differences.
Gold plated items are not so easy to identify if new. Look for wear of the plated surface. Look for glued in stone and other signs of costume jewelry.
Real diamonds in plated or costume jewelry? I have seen this but only very rarely and the stones were very, very tiny and very poor quality, worth perhaps a $1 or so each and not much more. You will see small diamonds set into sterling silver, mostly in bracelets and similar items using lots of metal and only a few diamonds as accents in the design. Normally, a plated or costume item will have fake stones or very inexpensive ones and not diamonds.
The tester will tell you if a stone is moissanite, that is the reason for the tester. These are not designed to identify diamonds, at not the few of these testers I have seen. There are a few electronic testers which will identify both diamonds and moissanite but the identification of diamonds is generally in a separate instrument. Moissanite may be viewed with magnification for double refraction which diamonds do not have. Double refraction eliminates diamonds but does not prove moissanite.
The best rule is not to expect to find a real diamond or a diamond or any worth at all in costume plated jewelry.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas.
