Diamonds have been fascinating humans for centuries.
Their beauty and sparkle have drawn people to them like moths to a flame. But what is it about diamonds that makes them so special?
It has everything to do with how they sparkle and reflect light!
We will take a look at why there has always been such a concerted effort to replicate and mimic diamonds in order to create something similar and that is much more affordable such as fake diamonds, that is, “diamonds” that are not found and mined in nature.
Before we move on to explaining the nature of real diamonds and how they get their sparkle and brilliance, we should point out that there are many different types of fake diamonds that can easily make you think that they are real…at least, at first glance.
Then moving on in this article, among other things, we will explore the science of light reflection in diamonds.
We will discuss how diamonds create rainbows of colors and why they are such a popular choice for engagement rings.
Let’s now talk about the reasons why real diamonds are a cut above the rest when compared to their counterpart fakes:
Table of Contents
How Diamonds Reflect Light
Diamonds can only reflect light because of how they are cut.
Reflection is the light that hits the surface of the stone, but it does not stop there.
Diamonds that are cut well and aren’t full of flaws will reflect this surface light more effectively because nothing will obstruct the light from then passing through the stone to the next stage of sparkle, which is Refraction.
Do Diamonds Reflect Light or Refract Light?
Diamonds will both reflect and refract light to create their mesmerizing fire dance.
Refracted light means that the light that has hit the outer surface of the diamond is now going to penetrate into the inside of the stone where it will bounce all around on each angle of the facets.
As this happens, the bouncing light will then find its way back up and out to the surface which is the third function of a well cut clean diamond.
Rinse, repeat.
If the surface or internal facets of a diamond have junk (inclusions) in them, the light will not be able to penetrate those areas and the sparkle and bounce will not be as dramatic.
This is why diamonds that have less inclusions inside them are rated as higher quality and are far more expensive than many others.
Can You See Light Through a Diamond?
Light rays do not pass through a diamond like they would through a drinking glass where you can see your hand on the other side.
Instead, light will be broken up and dispersed by each cut of the internal facets and will refract and travel back up through the surface.
Light that hits the surface of a diamond acts more like a pinball machine, in that it will bounce around hitting all surfaces it comes into contact with every time it is moved.
If you had a huge diamond that was loose and then set it on a newspaper, you would not be able to read that paper, regardless of how clean and clear the diamond is, because light will automatically follow and bounce around each facet.
This disruption caused by facets serves to stop the light from traveling straight through the stone.
Do Fake Diamonds Shine In Light?
Fake diamonds do shine light, but they also let light back through from one side of the stone to the other because they cannot bend light.
In many fake diamonds, you can actually see through them, and will be able to read through them too, even though they are faceted also.
This is because they have a low refractive index and cannot bend or disperse light the same way that a real diamond can.
Do Diamonds Reflect Like a Mirror?
If you stand in front of a mirror, you will see a clear image of yourself even when you move around.
There is nothing between you and the mirror reflection to stop this process, and the image you see stops at the glass.
A mirror has a solid material coating on the back of it to create a one way reflection which stops you from being able to see straight through it.
Diamonds reflect in a different way.
They use light to hit a clear surface, but because the surface is clear and has no coating on the back of it, that light keeps traveling and bounces along to hit even more surfaces. This is why you cannot look at a diamond and see through it.
How Diamonds Create Rainbows of Colors
A real diamond will only create rainbow colors on the outside of itself rather than on the inside.
If you are looking at what appears to be a diamond and can move it around and see rainbow colors inside of it, it is not real.
A diamond will not allow color to enter into the inside to create this rainbow, but rather, will reflect whatever colors are close to the outside of it.
The rainbow of color will bounce around the outer surface of the diamond, creating the drama known as “fire”, but it will never be present on the inside.
This is because it bends light due to the refractive index.
If you see a rainbow on the surface of a diamond, it is because it will not allow the color to penetrate the surface, but is bending it and bouncing it right back at you. The inside color of a real diamond will remain gray or white.
What Colors Do Diamonds Reflect in Light?
Depending on the light source, the colors that a diamond reflects will also change.
Under fluorescent light, a diamond may look blue, while under incandescent light it may have a yellow tinge.
Diamonds can even appear green when viewed in certain types of light.
The reason for this is due to what is known as “dispersion”. This is the breaking up of white light into all the colors of the rainbow.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet are all present in white light, but we do not see them because they are combined. A diamond will take this white light and disperse it so that we can see all the colors that are present.
Why Are Diamonds So Popular For Engagement Rings
The popularity of using diamonds for engagement rings over using other natural gemstones is mostly due to marketing.
Truth be told, diamonds are far more plentiful than other gemstones such as emeralds, ruby, sapphires and alexandrites are.
Additionally, 95% of modern colored gemstones have been treated to change or enhance their color and are also often fracture filled to hide inclusions, making good natural gemstones even more rare and costly.
Natural, clean and untreated gemstones have been sold short by modern marketing, but are actually more valuable when you consider the scarcity of them.
Diamonds are also popular for engagement rings because they are the hardest natural material on Earth.
This means that they will not scratch, chip or break as easily as other gemstones and can withstand wear and tear better, which can be a good representation of a marriage.
And finally, cultural norms in our society dictate that an engagement ring should be a diamond.
While this is slowly changing, many women will measure themselves and others against the size of the diamonds on their finger, and this has been engrained in our society for many years.
While all these reasons do make diamonds a good choice for an engagement ring, remember that at the end of the day, it is your decision and you should pick what is best for you and your fiancé!
How To Know If a Diamond Is Real or Not
Fake diamonds have been around for centuries, with early fakes being made out of materials such as glass, quartz, and even doublets and triplets (a thin layer of real diamond glued to a piece of cheaper material).
Here are the most common types of fake diamonds:
- Cubic Zirconia. No doubt that they seem to have all the sparkle as a real diamond, at least for a little while, like for perhaps 30 days of regular wear. These manufactured stones seem to have fallen from grace over the years because they have had to move over for newer fakes that don’t SCRATCH so easily and that sparkle more brilliantly. Their prices have now become so cheap that people let their kids play with them outside on the lawn.
- Natural Zircon, spinel, or white sapphires. These are going to cost you a lot more than a CZ will because they are actually real (unless they are created or fake too). However, they just don’t have the cut, sparkle and fire that one would hope to see, and will also become scratched almost as readily as a CZ.
- Moissanite. These are nearly as hard as real diamonds, can be quite expensive, and they keep their sparkle and shine longer than any other fake on the market. Be aware that stores will try to market them as being on par with real diamonds…but don’t get sucked into that deception because they are not real diamonds, and you won’t be getting your money back if you buy one. They are though, quite beautiful.
The truth is that there is always going to be imitations of the real thing, but there are ways that you can tell if a diamond is fake.
One way to tell is by the price.
If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Another way to tell is by looking at the stone itself.
Real diamonds usually have inclusions and imperfections, while fake diamonds are often flawless.
And lastly, real diamonds are one of the hardest natural substances on Earth and will register as 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, while fake diamonds will register as an eight or lower.
Final Thoughts
There is nothing quite like the sparkle and fire of a real diamond, which is why they have been so popular for centuries.
However, with the modern market being flooded with fake diamonds, it is important to be able to distinguish the real from the fake.
By keeping these things in mind, you can be sure that you are getting the real thing when you purchase your next diamond!