Diamond Identifier App
An estimate of colour, clarity, cut and carat from a single capture, with a range to begin from.
Lovenhall Diamond IdentifierRead a stone's quality, and what it is worth.
Photograph a diamond and the instrument estimates the four Cs — colour, clarity, cut and carat — then gives a value range to work from. A first look, whether the stone is loose or already set.
Loose stones & set rings
Three moves, and you have a figure
You photograph it. The instrument reads it. You know where you stand.
You photograph it
One photograph. Nothing to fill in, nothing to send away.
It reads what it sees
The reading happens there and then, on the phone.
You have a figure to work from
A range, in seconds — enough to know where you stand.
What a photograph can and cannot settle
Photograph a stone, loose or already set, and the Diamond Identifier estimates the four Cs and gives a market range for a stone of that description. It is the reading a dealer does in the first ten seconds — before the loupe, before the tester, before anybody has agreed a price — and it is free.
It is also, deliberately, not a grading report. A grade is a measurement made with instruments under controlled light by a person whose job is to disagree with you. What follows is what a photograph can honestly be asked, and the three things it cannot be asked at all.
| The question | How far a photograph gets | What settles it |
|---|---|---|
| What is this piece? | Reliable. Shape, cutting style, setting, metal colour and condition read clearly. | Nothing further needed. |
| What are the four Cs? | Indicative. A range, inferred from how the stone behaves in light. | A laboratory report — GIA or equivalent. |
| Is it actually a diamond? | No. Moissanite and cubic zirconia can look identical in an image. | A combined thermal and electrical tester, in hand. |
| Lab-grown or mined? | No. Nothing visible in a photograph separates them. | Laboratory equipment reading growth structure. |
| What is it worth? | A range for a stone of that description, in today's market. | An independent appraiser, for a figure anyone will act on. |
The first row is what an identifier is genuinely good at. The middle rows are why the house calls every figure an estimate.
Why the four Cs come back as a range
Colour is graded by comparing a stone face-down against masterstones in standardised light. Clarity is decided at ten times magnification by an examiner hunting for inclusions. Neither of those conditions exists in your kitchen, and no amount of processing invents them.
What a photograph does carry is behaviour: how light returns from the pavilion, where it leaks, whether the table looks glassy or alive. That supports an inference, and an inference is properly expressed as a range. A single grade would be a more confident answer and a less truthful one.
The setting warms the answer
A stone in yellow gold faces up warmer than the same stone in platinum, because it is sitting in a bowl of reflected yellow. Read a colour estimate on a gold-set stone as a floor rather than a verdict. Prongs and bezels hide the girdle and the pavilion, which is exactly where inclusions like to sit, so clarity on a set stone is the softest figure the instrument gives.
- Loose stone, plain background: the instrument's best case.
- Platinum or white gold: colour reads closer to true.
- Yellow gold or a closed setting: treat colour and clarity as provisional.
How to photograph a stone properly
Clean it first — skin oil flattens a diamond faster than a poor cut. Then shoot in indirect daylight near a window, never in direct sun and never with the flash, which blows out the table and hides everything useful.
- Wipe the stone with a lint-free cloth and handle it by the edges.
- Set it on plain mid-grey or white. Patterned surfaces confuse the reading.
- One capture straight down on the table, filling the frame.
- A second from the side, so the depth and the girdle are visible.
- Hold still and let the camera focus. A soft image gives a soft answer.
Where the instrument ends
It ends at the point money changes hands. If you are insuring a stone, buying one, or selling something you inherited, the sequence is: read it here for free to know roughly where you stand, confirm the stone is a diamond with a tester, then get a laboratory report or an independent appraisal for the figure anyone else will rely on.
The house examines nothing, grades nothing, authenticates nothing and issues no certificates. It makes the instrument and publishes the reasoning beside it.
Frequently asked
Is there an app that can identify a diamond?
Yes — the Lovenhall Diamond Identifier reads a photograph and estimates the four Cs with a value range, for loose stones and set rings. It identifies what a piece appears to be; it cannot confirm that the stone is a diamond rather than moissanite or cubic zirconia, which needs a thermal and electrical tester in hand.
Can an app tell if a diamond is real?
No, and any app that claims to is overselling. Moissanite and cubic zirconia can be visually indistinguishable in a photograph. A combined thermal-and-electrical tester is the cheap, conclusive answer; a loupe check for doubled facet edges catches most moissanite.
Can an app tell a lab-grown diamond from a natural one?
No. Lab-grown and mined diamonds are the same material and look identical, including under a loupe. Separating them requires laboratory equipment that reads growth structure and fluorescence patterns.
How accurate is a diamond identifier app?
Dependable on what a piece is — shape, cutting style, setting and metal. Indicative on the four Cs and on value, which come back as ranges rather than grades. A yellow-gold setting warms the apparent colour, and carat weight is inferred from spread rather than weighed.
Is the Diamond Identifier free?
It is free to try on iPhone and iPad. Every figure it returns is an estimate rather than an appraisal, and the house issues no certificates.
The free tools and notes that go with it
A Lovenhall instrument reads a photograph and returns an estimate. Nobody at the Registry examines the piece, and no professional opinion is given. It is not a certificate of authenticity, an appraisal, a gemmological report, or a guarantee of value; any figure is indicative only, and independent verification is always advised before a purchase or sale.
№ I · DiamondRead the piece itself
A page takes you as far as words can. Photograph the piece with the instrument and start from a figure — an estimate, which is where you begin and never where you finish.