Try scratching the surface of the stone with a key or coin. If you’re sapphire shows scratches or nicks, the chances of it being fake are high. To put that into perspective, glass is only 5.5, spinel is 7.5-8 and cubic zirconia is 8. Ste This means that any substance with an equal or lower hardness rating cannot scratch a sapphire. It has a hardness rating of 9 on the Mohs scale. Sapphire is one of the most durable gemstones used for jewelry, second to only diamonds. In order to identify whether your sapphire is natural, synthetic or imitation, here are some ways to test your stone.

While there’s nothing wrong with buying any of the above three options, what’s essential is that you’re not being ripped off on the price and quality of the stone. The resulting gemstone looks exactly like a sapphire but has very poor durability. Glass is used to fill up the cracks and spaces and hold the entire structure together.

The low-grade corundum is poor quality sapphires that cannot be sold for use in jewelry. Something else to watch out for are composite sapphires also called lead glass filled sapphires, which are created by combining low grade corundum with glass. Tanzanite, which is a valuable and rare gemstone, has also been used as imitation sapphire. Some common substances used in place of sapphires are blue colored glass, cubic zirconia and blue spinel. These are often less durable and much less valuable. See them here.Īn imitation sapphire is a stone that looks like a sapphire but is different in every other way. Cubic zirconia sapphire earrings by JC Bridal Jewelry.

Real sapphire ring