Raman spectroscopy, a definitive tool for eliminating Diamond simulants in jewellery supply chains

Due to the high price of diamonds, often they are switched with similar looking, cheaper gemstones to make a quick profit. This malpractice hurts the interests of the end customer of the Jewellery industry. To stop this malpractice and to ensure customer confidence, an assurance tool is needed for eliminating simulant gemstones and authentication of Diamonds. We compare common simulants as Quartz, Moissanite and cubic Zirconia with single crystal Diamond. The diffuse reflection spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements, suggest that the simulants and diamonds cannot be separated by mere visual inspection. We show that by measuring and comparing the gemstone Raman mode signatures, all the simulants can be conclusively separated from the diamonds.