When many friends buy jewelry, they often hear the word "rhinestone", which probably means imitation diamonds. In fact, rhinestones are just a general term for imitation diamonds, and rhinestones have many distinctions. So what is the so-called "rhinestone"? How is it different from a real diamond?
1. Glass: Fake diamonds made of glass are easy to distinguish because of their low refractive index and no flickering colored light like real diamonds. Those with a little experience will know at a glance. And this "rhinestone" is often used in relatively cheap jewelry.
2. Synthetic spinel: It lacks the colored sparkle of diamonds, and when it is immersed in diiodomethane, its outline will be blurred. The outline of a real diamond is very clear.
3. Artificial sapphire: Colorless and transparent artificial sapphire can also be used as a substitute for diamonds after polishing. But it almost disappeared in the "diiodomethane", and the edge of the real diamond was dark and very clear.
4. Crystal and topaz: The transparent crystals of these two natural minerals are similar to diamonds after pondering, but they lack the brilliance of diamonds. And they are all "heterogeneous bodies", while diamonds are "homogeneous bodies", which are easier to distinguish with a polarizer.
5. Zircon: Before the advent of artificial cubic zirconia, zircon was the best substitute for diamonds. Zircon has strong birefringence, that is, it has two refractive indices, and the difference between the two refractive indices is large. As a result, a very special optical phenomenon is produced. When the polished zircon faceted gemstone is observed with a magnifying glass, it can be seen from the top face that there are obvious double shadows on the bottom face and ridgeline. And because diamond is a "homogeneous body", there is no double shadow phenomenon.
6. Cubic zirconia is a man-made compound without natural minerals. Because cubic zirconia is very close to natural diamonds in terms of refractive index and dispersion. However, its hardness is low (8.5), its specific gravity is 1.6-1.7 times that of diamonds, reaching 5.6-6, and its thermal conductivity is much lower than that of diamonds, so it can still be accurately distinguished from diamonds by instruments.
