I was dreaming of my wedding ring I would like to have some day and looking at other rings online when I came accross a site for lab created diamonds. When I started reading it things started to make sense. hen I found out that it only takes about $6 per carat to mine and cut it that $5000 1 1/2 carat (of medium quality ring) just made my dream ring seem less wonderful to me. I can get the same ring in 2 carats for $700.
My bf has let me pick out my ring asking me to keep around 1 to 2 carats. I always wanted a 2 carat ring. But i am a saver and cannot bare the thought of $5000 - $7000 credit card balance. And he wants to get me something realy special since this is the only time we would be spending this amount on jewelry.
I have been seriously considering a lab created diamond. I mean I own two lab created emeralds and I perfer the color and clearity of them better.
I have been reading articles and it says that 52% of women now want real diamonds and women of our generation are opting for lab created or even substituting an emerald or sapphire in the diamonds place with diamonds around it (my cousin had that and the ring is beautiful).
My bf said it would be ok if two things happen...
1. we keep it a secret
2. when we get a head in life (when I finish schooling and child care and child support arent issues anymore) we replace it with a real diamond.
How do you feel about real and lab created diamonds?
I mean I just see so much more me and him can do with $5000 instead of a diamond but we both want the look of a diamond. Is this weird? oh...and hes not being cheap this was my idea. he doesnt particularly like it that much but says its not for him its for me.
You like it so you should get it. It sounds like it's right up your alley. You stated lots of reasons why you should and have no problem with it so do it.
__________________
"Did you just say "the bee itch?" Or did you just call me a biiitch!? "
I've written about this before.. I should look for the post but anyway, bottom line is I was faced with the same choice. I chose the lab created. I still have my ring, have worn it proudly for 12 years now. NO ONE knows. I took it to a jeweler once and he had to use his loop thing (forget exactly what it's called) to see if it was real or not.
With the money we saved we took a European honeymoon. I've never regretted it since. Who wants to start a marriage off with debt. The ring is REAL to me. It has been for a long time now. No difference. And like I said no one knows.
It's gorgeous too. It's a marquis cut with a baguette on either side set in yellow gold.
If you're like me, and it sounds like you are (a saver) you WON'T regret it. Don't tell anyone and no one, I mean NO ONE will know. And you will have exactly what you want...even better I believe.
I think Touche's post a while ago really brought this issue to my attention, and I decided that a synthetic diamond is what I would want. To me there are certain times when spending a lot on something is worth it, a ring (especially when an EQUAL substiture is available) is not one of those situations.
I don't understand why your bf says that you would have to beep this a secret, I find that a little strange.
I think Touche's post a while ago really brought this issue to my attention, and I decided that a synthetic diamond is what I would want. To me there are certain times when spending a lot on something is worth it, a ring (especially when an EQUAL substiture is available) is not one of those situations.
I don't understand why your bf says that you would have to beep this a secret, I find that a little strange.
Wow, thanks Allina. It means so much to me that you remembered my post on this. Are you engaged? Are you holding out on us? You better spill girl!
And as for you, Hokey there's NO way in hell you can tell that mine isn't real. I had a friend who said the same thing and guessed that mine was real! Ha! Plus I've already mentioned that the jeweler I took it too one time couldn't tell without pulling out his jeweler's loupe (sp?).
The funny thing about your post was that after all that, you concluded by saying that you wear your "real" stones along with your synthetic stones and no one can even tell the difference.
For me, the ring is a symbol. It's not a matter of "real" versus "fake." It represents that period of time when my husband and I made a commitment to each other for life. It's not about the stone. The ring is merely a symbol of that commitment and of our love. Nothing more and nothing less. Again, it's not about the stone itself.
And a4a, you're right about your views. My H and I actually had an argument about this. He did NOT want me to go the synthetic route but later THANKED me for being such a sensible woman. Of course, he didn't thank me until AFTER we came back from our 2 week European honeymoon that we couldn't have taken had I gotten a comparable engagement ring that WASN'T lab created!
Wow, thanks Allina. It means so much to me that you remembered my post on this. Are you engaged? Are you holding out on us? You better spill girl!
Hah, nope I'm not engaged, not even close and nowhere near even thinking about it The post about rings just cought my attention because one, I have many friends starting to get engaged so I hear a lot of ring talk, and two I've always had sort of a problem with having to blow several thousand $ to start a life together. I would much prefer an awesome vacation, or something we can both USE for that amount.
And I could never hold out such juicy info from LS!
I think Touche's post a while ago really brought this issue to my attention, and I decided that a synthetic diamond is what I would want. To me there are certain times when spending a lot on something is worth it, a ring (especially when an EQUAL substiture is available) is not one of those situations.
I don't understand why your bf says that you would have to beep this a secret, I find that a little strange.
Same thing goes for me. And in fact it's something I'm trying to work out in my own head right now. My SO and I planned to go to Goa to buy a diamond for my engagement ring. Now while we'd get a bargin, it will put us in debt to do it.
Touche's post a while ago really made me think about what is more important, the marriage, or the ring.... I'm thinking it really ought to be the marriage! Unfortunately I want the holiday too! So I'm still a little torn right now on what to do.
But I'm pleased that it's made me think enough about what is actually important.
I have heard and read some hellish stories about diamond miners and such... this is probably a good way to go so one does not contribute to the problem?
I just found this forum and this thread was really of interest to me because I recently started doing lots of research on synthetic diamonds and diamond substitutes (simulants). After reading about simulants, or "sims," I have decided that I would much rather have a sim (I prefer CZ) than a diamond. (When the time comes, of course!) For the record, I am a consumer, not a marketer/jeweler/resaler plugging a certain brand of simulant.
I wanted to point out a couple things l have learned.
1) Synthetic (or man made, or lab created) genuine diamonds are only manufactured by a handful (I think 3) companies. These include Takara, Apollo Diamonds, and Gemesis. Gemesis and Takara currently produce colored diamonds, and Apollo hopes to enter the market with colorless diamonds late this year or early next year. Synthetic diamonds are 100% carbon, as are natural mined diamonds. Synthetic diamonds are physically, optically, and chemically identical to natural mined diamonds. They are still very expensive. Apollo is not yet selling to the public, but I had a chance to purchase through a private sale by invite only. The gems
2) Simulated diamonds are things that look like diamonds but are not. They are completely different minerals or gemstones. Examples include cubic zirconia, zircon, white sapphires, moissanite.
Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Diamond Nexus Labs sells regular old CZ. They have a bad reputation for being deceitful. They use the word "synthetic" on their website, which is incorrect. You have to really search the website for it, but if you look at the chemical composition of a DNL gemstone, you will see that it is clearly not 100% carbon. If you call them and press them about it, they will tell you the truth, that is is CZ.
I've also heard that the photographs on their website are of actual diamonds, and not their product. They do have a good return policy, so if you have already ordered from them and choose not to keep the items, they'll probably take it back without question.
CZ is a really great simulant when it is hand cut to ideal proportions and put in a high quality setting. The problem with most CZ is that it is hastily stamped out by machines, not properly polished, and put in crappy settings. CZ hit the market a little hard in the 70s and kind of has a bad rep as cheap and ugly.
The truth is, DNL's CZ is okay looking, but for that price, there are much better CZ simulants, like Asha CZ. There is one guy at simstalk.com that bought a DNL engagement ring, and he is happy with it.
Sorry, I don't really mean to rain on anyone's parade. It's fine to buy from DNL, I just hate to see people think they are getting something they are not (like a synthetic diamond). I personally think DNL and Asha are a little expensive and prefer interlap.
Last edited by LoveShack.org Moderator; 14th September 2006 at 4:28 PM..
Reason: removed comments regarding deleted posts; removed website name
So, DNL does sell CZ...not necessarily a problem, but yes, you can find it for less than their price at other places and should be aware of what you're buying. They don't come out and say they sell CZ, like most other sites do.
Last edited by LoveShack.org Moderator; 14th September 2006 at 4:26 PM..
Reason: removed comments addressing deleted posts
I just found this forum and this thread was really of interest to me because I recently started doing lots of research on synthetic diamonds and diamond substitutes (simulants). After reading about simulants, or "sims," I have decided that I would much rather have a sim (I prefer CZ) than a diamond. (When the time comes, of course!) For the record, I am a consumer, not a marketer/jeweler/resaler plugging a certain brand of simulant.
I wanted to point out a couple things l have learned.
1) Synthetic (or man made, or lab created) genuine diamonds are only manufactured by a handful (I think 3) companies. These include Takara, Apollo Diamonds, and Gemesis. Gemesis and Takara currently produce colored diamonds, and Apollo hopes to enter the market with colorless diamonds late this year or early next year. Synthetic diamonds are 100% carbon, as are natural mined diamonds. Synthetic diamonds are physically, optically, and chemically identical to natural mined diamonds. They are still very expensive. Apollo is not yet selling to the public, but I had a chance to purchase through a private sale by invite only. The gems
2) Simulated diamonds are things that look like diamonds but are not. They are completely different minerals or gemstones. Examples include cubic zirconia, zircon, white sapphires, moissanite.
Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Diamond Nexus Labs sells regular old CZ. They have a bad reputation for being deceitful. They use the word "synthetic" on their website, which is incorrect. You have to really search the website for it, but if you look at the chemical composition of a DNL gemstone, you will see that it is clearly not 100% carbon. If you call them and press them about it, they will tell you the truth, that is is CZ.
I've also heard that the photographs on their website are of actual diamonds, and not their product. They do have a good return policy, so if you have already ordered from them and choose not to keep the items, they'll probably take it back without question.
CZ is a really great simulant when it is hand cut to ideal proportions and put in a high quality setting. The problem with most CZ is that it is hastily stamped out by machines, not properly polished, and put in crappy settings. CZ hit the market a little hard in the 70s and kind of has a bad rep as cheap and ugly.
The truth is, DNL's CZ is okay looking, but for that price, there are much better CZ simulants, like Asha CZ. There is one guy at simstalk.com that bought a DNL engagement ring, and he is happy with it.
Sorry, I don't really mean to rain on anyone's parade. It's fine to buy from DNL, I just hate to see people think they are getting something they are not (like a synthetic diamond). I personally think DNL and Asha are a little expensive and prefer interlap.
I was planning on writing a response to this thread, but adnCat said what i wanted to say much better than i could jave said it. nice job adnCat. i was recently checking out takara lab diamonds and loved them. too bad they don't have white diamonds yet. and too bad i already plopped down the $$$$ on a regular out of the ground diamond (at least i got a good price on an ideal cut hearts and arrows though) and proposed with it before really looking into the lab grown diamonds otherwise i would have gone lab created.
a diamond is a diamond. just be sure to check out those diamondtalk and pricescope forums and learn as much as you can before you plop down a lot of moneys for the rock. would hate for you to get a big diamond that ends up being a sub par, poorly performing POS.
Thanks, doppelganger! Yes, Takara and Apollo are racing to get these colorless diamonds to the market. But don't believe the media hype that these things are produced at $5 a carat. It's simply not true. The initial capital and research is really huge, and I know they will be looking to recoup those costs. Apollo's colorless diamonds cost more than blue nile's diamonds right now. I don't think they'll be much cheaper than their mined counterparts until the market is saturated.
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Or did you just call me a biiitch!?
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