QUICKIE DIAMOND TEST

The jewelry industry standards for a diamond’s quality are the 4 Cs: cut, clarity, carat and …??? Oh, color too.  Well, let me tell you about my mother’s standard  to test a diamond for beauty, it’s real simple to remember.

Mom’s Diamond Test

This procedure requires 2 people.  One person, you, will model the jewelry; the other person will observe the intensity of the diamond’s fire, if any.

1. Clean your diamond ring or diamond earrings and put on the cleaned jewelry.

2. Now both of you go into a dimly lit room (with candles or low-watt incandescent light bulbs.)  The room should be  about the light level for a romantic dinner, at most.

3. Have the person doing the test with you, move across the room from you and stop.

4. At this point, you can model your jewelry.

Sashay

If you are wearing diamond earrings, slightly move your head a little from side to side and then up and down as if nodding agreement to something said.  If you are wearing a cocktail ring, or better yet, a solitaire, move your hand as if you are reaching out to weakly shake hands or do a slight wave.

Pass or Fail?

If the person across the room from you can see flash and sparkle, your jewelry passes Mom’s test.  But if he or she can’t see any fire… well, the diamond fails. 

According to my mother, you can see good diamonds sparkle and flash from across a room, indoors at night, even if the diamonds are small with relatively few cuts and not the best clarity or color.

Of course, where you and the other person are located in the room in relationship to the light source will have some bearing on the sparkle or flash observed.

A Diamond that Passed Big Time

Now let me tell you about a diamond that fabulously passed Mom’s test with an unearthly intensity of sparkle, flash and fire. 

I was sitting in a large auditorium of several thousand people, perhaps 5,000 or so, listening to a female guest pastor from South Africa.  The sermon was very engaging and I listened intently.

 But I became momentarily distracted by a diamond flashing on the pastor’s hand.  I continued to listen to the sermon.

Then I saw the sparkle again a few moments later. My first reaction was ‘how is that possible?’ Then, I wondered ‘how big is that diamond?’

I thought that maybe a theatrical spotlight caught the planes of the diamond’s cuts to reflect an almost laser-like light.

Then I realized I was sitting AT THE BACK of a fairly dim auditorium and I could still see that diamond.

I looked at other people near the stage but I did not see any other person’s jewelry sparkling.

Nooo… I didn’t go up to the guest pastor after the sermon to surreptitiously glance at her hand.

But I did remember my mother’s gold standard for diamonds: Their sparkle and flash should be visible from across a dim room.

Test Your Diamond Purchases

When buying diamond jewelry online or in a store, find out the cut, color, clarity, and carat and  use my Mom's standard to also quickly evaluate or test a diamond  for beauty at home. 

Pat Thomas for Jewelrystash