Have you ever seen small spots or black dots set in a diamond while looking at a diamond? Does this make you doubt the authenticity of the diamond?
Do you want to know what these black spots are and how they got there? Don’t worry anymore, this article will tell you what black dots are and how they get into diamonds. Read to the end to learn how to check if these spots are real or fake.
First of All, What Are the Black Spots of a Real Diamond?
The black spots in real diamonds are simply carbon deposits left behind during the diamond’s formation. Diamonds are made of carbon, and we can see traces of pure carbon or graphite in real diamonds.
They may appear as lines or black dots on a flat surface, which is a very undesirable feature for real diamonds, especially non-colored diamonds.
Why Do Real Diamonds Have Black Spots?
During the formation of diamonds, heat and pressure are applied to carbon deposits, which change to form diamonds. During this process, some carbon may be missed or not completely converted into its form of crystalline carbon, known as diamond.
The carbon trail itself appears as black spots in the diamond. You can see the presence of carbon in the diamond through the thin black or gray lines.
During formation, diamonds may fall off due to the pressure around them, creating tiny cracks throughout the rock. Some carbon deposits get into those tiny cracks and don’t change form.
If the carbon turns into graphite, the result is a black deposit with a gray surface. This type of carbon deposition is easy to handle when working diamonds because polishing removes the surface.
Black deposits, on the other hand, are not easy to remove because they are found deep in the rock, so it is difficult to remove them all during the cutting process, which is why you will find missing spots on real diamonds.
So, Do Fake Diamonds Have Black Spots? Why?
Fake diamonds do not have black spots because they are artificially made using different materials that are undesirable diamond characteristics.
People love diamonds that are clear, sparkling, and free of any impurities. However, manufacturers found black spots to convince people that diamonds are real.
They came up with ways to add black spots to fake diamonds, just to trick untrained people into believing that fake diamonds are real. Nowadays, you can find high-quality fake diamonds with black spots that look very real.
Be careful when buying diamonds, as black dots alone won’t tell you whether a diamond is real or fake. There are other methods you can use to check the authenticity of the gemstone you want to buy
What About Lab-Grown Diamonds? Are There Black Spots Inside? Why?
Lab-grown diamonds, also known as CVD-grown diamonds, are man-made diamonds created in the laboratory that attempt to mimic the conditions under which natural diamonds form. They grow in molten metal to provide high-temperature conditions and apply very high pressure to convert carbon into crystalline form.
Because carbon is used in the growing process, diamonds necessarily contain some traces of uncrystallized carbon and other imperfections such as inclusions and metal impurities. Carbon appears as black spots on diamonds. These spots are very small and sometimes need to be enlarged because they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
This is because within the laboratory, conditions are controlled and monitored to form very pure crystals, with the result that the diamond has few or no black spots.
Conclusion
Most clear diamonds will have black spots, even if they are invisible to the naked eye. This is a natural defect in the formation process and cannot be avoided.
Diamond cutters and jewelers go to great lengths to remove and avoid the spots that appear when cutting in order to obtain a cut diamond free of impurities.
With the advancement of manufacturers’ production technology, fake diamonds now also carry black spots. This means that you have to be very careful when buying diamonds, because the quality of fakes is shocking.
I recommend buying diamonds from a reputable dealer who will provide you with a certificate of authenticity. If you’re not sure if a diamond is real or not, I suggest you use other methods to verify that the diamond is genuine, as black spots may not give you conclusive results. You can use a glass water test, a UV test, a fog test, or a jeweler’s ring to test the quality and authenticity of your diamond.