HOW CAN A DIAMOND BE FAKE?

Grandmother Anna…

A Family Brought in an Old Jewelry Box that they say belonged to their Grandmother Anna, who had recently Passed Away at the Tender Age of 98.

They Brought her Items in to get an Estate Appraisal done on them.

No Problem!

The Lady pulls out one Item, a Diamond Engagement Ring, from the Old, but Original Box.

“This was her Most Cherished Piece” she says “My Grandpa Howard bought it for her in 1928, and she Wore it Every Single Day of her Life”.

She went on to say that Howard Passed Away 6 Years ago and that they had an Appraisal from the Original Jeweler who Sold it to them Dated 1928.

She pulls out the Appraisal that Reads the Diamond is .95/100 Carat, VVS1, G Color.

We take one look at the Diamond and Quickly Point out one Heart Breaking Reality…

“This Diamond is Fake!”

Stunned, the Family just looked at us, but it was all too True.

The Stone was Synthetic (a Diamond Look-alike).

The Stone was Clean (As Most Fake Diamonds Are), but it had Noticeable Signs of Wear and Tear around the Edges, and the Top of the Table was Dull and Scratched (a Sure Sign). The Stone also Emitted More Sparkles of Colored Light than a Diamond does. Another Sure Sign that the Stone is Not Real!

We get out the Diamond Tester just to Confirm our Beliefs, and to Show the Customers that their Beloved Grandmother’s Ring was Not a Real Diamond after all.

“How can this be?”

The lady says “He bought her a real Diamond, even the paperwork proves that!”

But the truth is, there are so many things that could have happened to that Diamond. It could have been fake to begin with. The original Jeweler could have been dishonest and sold him a

Synthetic Stone from the Get-Go

Anna could have Taken the Ring in to get it Sized, Re-Sized, Polished, Cleaned, Re-Tipped, Re-Set…

Any Number of Things, and some Unscrupulous Person could have Easily Swapped it out and Stolen the Diamond.

In Fact, at any Time Over the Course of that 82 Year Old Ring, could it have been Switched!

Figuring out WHEN and WHAT Exactly Happened could be Futile!

3 Days Later…

3 Days later we finally found out what happened to the Stone.

The Lady called us and said that she asked around with her other Relatives to see if anyone knew about Grandma’s Ring. And it was finally Uncle Henry that Spoke up… He was Howard’s Best Friend, and his Ultimate Confidant.

It seems that During the Great Depression (Around 1933), things got really, really Tough for their Grandparents. So Tough, that Howard had to take her Genuine Diamond and Sell the Stone to Pay the Rent (as many People did back then).

The Jeweler put in a Fake Stone so his Wife would still have something to Wear. Little did she know that he Swapped out the Stone when she was Sleeping, and she never knew the Difference.

She Wore it for the Rest of her Life, and all the Time thought it was her Real Engagement Ring Diamond!

It seems like Grandpa was too Embarrassed to Admit the Truth, and he always Planned one day on Replacing the Stone, and in fact, Upgrading it to a Bigger Diamond… Someday…

That Someday just never came!

This Circumstance was Pretty Common during The Great Depression (1929-1941). Times were Tough and if you had to Eat and Pay the Rent, something had to Give. It was usually the Luxury Items that were the first to go.

So if your Grandma ever says “When I Pass on, you’ll get my Rings“, just know that the Diamonds may not be Real…

But, at least they are Real Sentimental! :)