NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING

Ladies may have a fascination for most things shiny but blokes know that a gift of a diamond ring will soon lose its sparkle if it proves to be a fake. A bit like romance in fact.

So how can you tell if a diamond is real? A diamond’s composition is pure carbon and therefore indestructible. It is one of the hardest substances known. If you take one and cut a piece of glass with it and you can gouge the glass out from the incision you have made, it’s likely to be a diamond or a cubic zirconia.

Assessing the quality of a real stone is a lot more scientific, something best left to the experts. A gemologist would use simple criteria for assessing a good diamond called the four Cs, ie. carat weight, colour, clarity and cut.

Diamonds are weighed in carats (1 carat = 1/5th of a gram). Sounds pretty obvious but the larger the diamond the more expensive it is. In other words a one carat diamond can be five times more expensive than a 1/2 carat one. This is more to do with the rarity of the bigger stones than anything else.

For colour there is an internationally accepted grading systemwith the top colour grade at D down to M which is classed as tinted. Tinted stones can get progressively more yellow until they are assessed as a grade Z. Colour is assessed by the naked eye, albeit an expert naked eye.

Clarity is also assessed by applying a grading system. This runs from the top grade which is IF (internally flawless) through to P3 (pique 3) which is what is called heavily included. The black inclusions which are evident in pique stones are usually referred to as carbon spots, but they are often inclusions from other minerals.

Other internal features of imperfection are feathers and feather clouds which often appear as white inclusions. Clarity is assessed by magnifying the stone up to 10 times its original size.

The cut of a diamond is vitally important. The modern cut is called the ‘Brilliant cut’ and is cut to ideal proportions in order to create ‘total internal reflection’. This means that the maximum amount of light enters it to enable it to be reflected back out in the form of ‘fire’ ie. splitting white light into the spectrum of colours and brilliance.

Modern cutting techniques really ensure the maximum of light reflection and also the older stones tend to be foil backed, which obscures their brilliance to some extent. Diamonds are cut into other styles including oval, marquise, emerald and baguette to name but a few of the more common ones. A second hand diamond can be a really good investment, as you’ll get more carats for your money. For example we recently sold a two carat diamond ring for just over £2,000 and that’s a real gem of a deal in more ways than one.

Pearls are a little less popular these days as I guess they are associated with the more mature wearer. I personally think pearls are elegant and understated and I think anyone at any age can wear them and look fabulous.

The test I use to tell a real pearl from a fake is I simply place them between my front teeth. If they feel gritty and glassy hard they are real or cultured pearls. Imitations can come in all sorts of guises namely plastic, hollow glass beads filled with wax and solid glass.

With real or fake pearls you can also get a fusion of tastes such as talcum powder, perfume and even dead skin whilst checking them. Lovely!

Most real pearls today are cultured, in other words they are not manufactured as they are injected with grit and their growth is cultivated. Antique pearls tend to be bigger, more yellow in colour and not as even in shape and size, but they are stunning and often come with beautiful clasps. Second-hand pearls are not hugely expensive in today’s auction houses and there has certainly never been a better time to buy them