Fake Diamonds: Are Paris Hilton’s Pink Fancies The Real Thing?

It is always wise to deal with a reputable, trusted jeweller if you are looking to buy a diamond. Some of the ‘fakes’ and other gemstones which are passed off as diamonds are difficult, even for an expert, to spot.  So, if you are not a diamond expert, talk to a specialist and get someone independent to test and value what you buy.  Many a lady has walked around flashing a ‘diamond’ ring, only to discover at a later date that it is worth very little and is in effect a very good looking dress ring with a glitzy, clear stone. A diamond is never totally clear but a cubic zirconia is! Take care.

The Herkimer diamond is not is a real diamond. Despite its name it is not even made of the same material as a real diamond. This dolomite crystal, and that is what it really is, may be clear like a real diamond but it is not made of carbon.

This ‘fake diamond’ occurs naturally and is also called Little Falls Diamond or Middleville Diamond. According to science, these ‘fakes’ are very much newer in geological terms, and have been formed over the past five million years, as opposed to somewhere between 990,000,000 and 3,200,000,000 for real carbon based diamonds.

A Herkimer diamond is named after the place it comes from which is Herkimer, New York.  The same crystals are found in many other parts of the world but the only ones that can be called Herkimer diamonds are those from New York.

To the uninitiated, these ‘fakes’ look just like the real thing and have a clear and sparkling shine to them but the Herkimer diamond has no value to jewellers. It is sometimes difficult even for an expert to spot one of these if its colour is nice and clear.  However, price alone will give the game away because these crystals are set in cheaper settings and sold as dress jewellery. One of these crystals will not make a diamond engagement ring.

A Herkimer diamond is not a diamond. A real diamond needs to be faceted (cut) and polished but this crystal does not need to be cut; it naturally has eighteen facets and a hardness of seven point five on the MOH scale; a real diamond is at number 10.   A Herkimer diamond will easily cut glass, so beware because many people do actually believe that being able to cut glass is the test for a real diamond.