A diamond ring is often the most important piece of jewelry a woman owns in her life. Whether for an engagement or as a gift to herself.

Rings with real diamonds are usually not a small investment. So it's understandable if you want to be absolutely sure that your stone is a real, natural diamond.

Here you'll find out:

• What exactly is a real diamond
• Which stones are diamond´s lookalikes
• How you can be sure that your diamond is real

"Real" or "natural" diamonds consist of a single element, namely carbon. After thousands of years, carbon placed under enormous pressure and heat in the earth's interior transforms into rough diamonds. Through movements in the earth's surface, diamonds finally reach the surface.

Rough diamonds are then cut by professional diamond cutters that give them their unique shape and sparkle!

Their uniqueness and rarity make diamonds the most valuable gemstones in the world. A real diamond cannot be compared with any other gemstone. And yet there are often fakes, imitations, and copies of the "King of Gemstones" on the market.

• Lab diamonds

Lab-created diamonds are exactly the same as natural diamonds in terms of their chemical composition. The only difference is that lab-created diamonds are created in a lab instead of being mined from the ground. Some say that lab diamonds are actually more eco-friendly than natural diamonds but this is highly debatable.

MORE: Lab diamonds vs natural diamonds - which one is better?

• Moissanite

Moissanites are also lab-created stones that give the illusion of diamonds. But the two gems are actually quite distinct even to the naked eye. Moissanites display a way more colorful, "disco-ball"-like sparkle than diamonds. Even when "colorless", moissanites can still project a yellowish or grayish tint in certain lights, which colorless diamonds don´t do.

• Swarovski Zirconia

This stone does not occur in nature and is entirely man-created. It is known as optically flawless and is quite a good imitation of real diamonds.

• Cubic Zirconia
  

Cubic Zirconia is yet another lab-grown stone that is visually similar to diamonds. They are however quite easy to scratch or chip.

• White Sapphire

You can quite easily tell white sapphires from diamonds because of their characteristic bluish hues. But unlike lab diamonds, Moissanites, Swarovski crystals, or Cubic Zirconia, white sapphires are natural stones.

• Topaz

Topaz are durable and natural stones that are incredibly inexpensive, offering a cool grey-white sparkle. They do look quite different than diamonds though because of their glassy or milky appearance.

It is often worthwhile to visit a trust worthy jeweler to confirm the authenticity of a diamond. However, there are some tricks you can use to test the authenticity of your diamond yourself:

• #1 Fluorescence in black light

Many diamonds glow medium to very strong blue under black light. If this effect shows on your stone, you can assume that it is a real diamond. If, on the other hand, the stone glows slightly green, yellow, or grey, it is probably a different or fake gemstone.

NOTE: Not every real diamond shows fluorescence in black light. Fluorescence is actually an "undesirable" criterion for diamonds and will drag the price slightly down. The fluorescence grade is noted in diamond certificates issued by the GIA.

MORE: Read and understand a GIA certificate

• #2 Impurities under a magnifying glass or magnifying glass

If you can't see any "stains" - also called inclusions and visible as smaller or larger black dots - under a magnification of at least ten times, it is either a fake diamond or an extremely valuable, exceptionally pure specimen.

• #3 Diamond Certificate

The best way to know if you are holding a real diamond is to have a proper diamond certificate for your stone. Only then can you be absolutely sure that your diamond:

• is real
• was ethically sourced
• meets the specified quality characteristics

The best-known relevant institutes are the GIA, AGS, and IGI. The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is the world's most highly respected organization for the certification of diamonds and other gemstones and has developed, among other things, the scales used today to classify the value of diamonds.

MORE: Why do I need a diamond certificate?

At My Diamond Ring, you can configure your ring by choosing the center diamond. We offer more than 5000 diamonds in different qualities and price ranges, in order for you to find the diamond that meets your expectations and budget. Our diamonds are all GIA-certified natural stones and start as low as € 350.

LEARN MORE: How to configure your own engagement ring in 3 simple steps

LEARN MORE: All the diamond buying guides you need to select the right diamond!