How Can You Tell If a Marquise Diamond is Real?

The marquise diamond is a unique yet classic diamond that had its origins in France. The name is derived from the Marquise of Pompadour, for whom King Louis XIV of France had wanted the diamond made to resemble her mouth.

Upon first glance, the marquise diamond resembles many objects and thus is called boat-shaped, football-shaped, or smile-shaped diamond. Another popular nickname for the diamond is “navette”, as the stone resembles a little boat.

Due to its unique look, the marquise diamond is rarely seen as the center stone in engagement rings, however, if you are a non-traditional bride or a person who goes for unique looks and styles, the marquise diamond cut is perfect for you.

If you admire the marquise diamond cut but have little experience with all things diamond and want to know if you are getting what you paid for, do you know how to recognize a real marquise diamond? Here’s how from Shira Diamonds.

What Does a Marquise Diamond Look Like?

The marquise diamond looks like a football with its oval cut and pointed ends.

Related: Why are Oval Diamonds Cheaper Compared to Other Diamonds?

It has a standard of 58 facets. The marquise diamond also has one of the largest diamond crown surface areas, so it looks bigger than others even with the same carat weight.

It typically has 33 facets on the crown and 25 facets on the pavilion.

Marquise diamonds can possess some degree of a bow-tie effect, in some cases from invisible to a severe bow-tie effect.

Are Marquise Diamonds Rare?

Marquise diamonds are exquisite with soft curves and elegant shine, however, these diamonds are in fact, quite rare.

Out of all diamonds that are GIA certified, only 1.5% are available for sale. The Gemological Institute Of America (GIA) is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts gem research, educates gem professionals, and sets international standards for diamond quality.

To understand how rare they are, out of all the GIA-certified diamonds available for sale in the world, only 18,191 diamonds out of 1,178,007 total diamonds are marquise diamonds.

Due to its rarity, many celebrities are known to be wearers of the marquise diamond, celebrities such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ashlee Simpson, Victoria Beckham, Portia de Rossi and even Jennifer Lopez, have either worn it as an engagement ring or a statement piece.

What are Ways to Tell if Marquise Diamond is Real?

If you are not an expert with a diamond’s structure and components, you may be led to think that the stone you have is a diamond even though it is a fake diamond or a different stone—like cubic zirconia or moissanite.

For your peace of mind, here are 3 ways to tell if a marquise diamond is real.

• Fog test

  The fog test is fairly easy, simply hold the loose diamond or the diamond on the ring between two fingers and breathe on it.
  When you breathe directly on the diamond’s surface, a fog will form on the diamond because of the moisture and heat from your breath.
  If the diamond is real, the fog will immediately disappear and will always remain clear even if you keep blowing onto it. If it is a fake diamond, the fog will remain longer.

• Water test

  For the water test you will need a loose diamond, a diamond that is out of its setting. Get a tall glass and fill it with water nearly to the top. Put the diamond on the water, if the diamond sinks and settles at the bottom of the glass, it is a real diamond.

  If the diamond floats or settles just under the surface, it’s a fake. Fake diamonds are less dense than water and should float.

• The read-through test

For this test, you will need a loose diamond as well. Have a book ready and open with where there are texts. Have the diamond lay flat on the page, if you can’t read the text underneath then it is a real diamond.
If you can read through, it is a fake diamond, because a fake diamond can’t refract light as strongly as a real diamond.

How Can You Tell a Fake Marquise Diamond?

How can you tell a fake marquise diamond? You can have 4 options when it comes to determining fake diamonds from real diamonds.

If you don’t want to do the tests at home, you can always enlist the help of a professional who will do the test on the diamond to determine its authenticity.

However, if you are keen on knowing, you can do these 4 tests at home.

• Heating the diamond

  To know if a diamond is fake is to simply heat the stone and see if it shatters. To do the heat test method, obtain a drinking glass and fill it with cold water. Use a set of plyers or fireproof gloves to hold the stone.
  Heat the stone with a lighter or hold it under fire for approximately 40 seconds, then drop the stone directly into the cold water. If the stone shatters, it is not a real diamond.

  Real diamonds are extremely resilient and made up of strong material so holding it under high heat will have no effect. Other fake diamonds such as glass, or cubic zirconia will break due to the heat.

• Sandpaper test

  For this test you will need sandpaper and a diamond. Rub the rough side of the sandpaper against the diamond. A real diamond is harder than sandpaper so it won’t be affected and will remain the same.

  However, if the diamond is fake, it will scratch and will leave traces on the sandpaper.

• UV light test

  To test if the marquise diamond is fake, place the diamond under a UV light and check out for a reaction. If the diamond glows then it is a real diamond, however, there are instances where a real diamond does not glow and does not necessarily mean that it is a fake diamond.

• Sparkle test

  To differentiate fake diamonds from real ones is a method called the sparkle test.

  The way the diamond reflects and refracts light is an indication to know if it is authentic or not. The sparkle test will check the diamond’s behavior in the light.

  If the diamond is real, the natural light refraction won’t change so if there is no light refraction from the diamond, chances are that it is a synthetic or fake diamond that has less sparkle than real mined diamonds.

  Contact us to get your own marquise diamond today!

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