the-BA : Gemstones

A man in Chicago recently lost a £7,000 engagement ring in the back of a taxi while he was on his way to propose to his girlfriend. The ring had a platinum band and a round-cut diamond. In the end he bought a cubic zirconia ring as a replacement – it cost just £20. Do you think you’d be able to tell the difference just by looking?

Have you ever wondered how to test the authenticity of jewellery?

You might like to …

Find out about physical testing methods used to identify metals and gemstones (for example, hardness and density). Try using the tests to identify a selection of metals and gemstones
Find out about chemical tests used to identify metals and gemstones – these are destructive tests, so if you carry out your own tests, make sure you don’t use expensive jewellery!
Use a microscope to look at the structure of crystals (for example, salt crystals or quartz) and explain how this technique could help identify gemstones
Find out what makes a diamond ‘sparkle’ (you could use ‘cut glass’ as a model)
Find out why gemstones are coloured, and what makes them valuable.

Further links:
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/gemstone/class.htm

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