How Does Diamond Testing Equipment work?

How Does Diamond Testing Equipment work?

Diamonds have the highest thermal conductivity among precious and semi-precious stones, after synthetic moissanites. A diamond tester comprising a fine-tipped probe helps to determine the level of thermal conductivity. Diamond testers help differentiate diamonds from other simulants, which include CZ (Cubic Zirconia), YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) and GGG (Gadolinium Gallium Garnet).

However, this thermal conductivity testing device has certain limitations, as it fails to detect thermal inertia in some rare diamonds. This includes the Type IIb diamonds, which are semiconductors and blue diamonds (containing boron), such as the famous Hope Diamond. This results in the device registering these natural diamonds as fake diamonds. Moreover, since diamonds and moissanites have similar thermal conductivity, the device registers moissanites as real diamonds. Hence, using a thermal conductivity device alone could yield inaccurate results.

Hence, it is advisable to use other testing equipment to supplement the thermal conductivity test. This could include tests that measure the optical properties or electrical conductivity of stones.