The appraiser holds the ring to the light and turns it carefully towards us: see, here, where one of the smaller stones fell out and was replaced by a cheaper one. Under the microscope he looks for flaws, stands the diamond in in a lineup of greater and lesser gems. For the final assay, he scratches the shank into a pane of smoky glass, white line etching the polished pane. He drops a clear bead onto the glass and with the tip of the bottle draws acid across the scratch. Whether metal dissolves tells you it’s worth. We wait: time and damage the only proof.
