engagement ring advice

[markvee]

I'm looking to buy an engagement, but I have never bought any jewelry before.

I want to buy a man made diamond (also known as synthetic or cultured diamond).

I found this site for a place in Franklin, WI, USA:
http://diamondnexuslabs.com/

where I can order a ladies solitaire ring with 1.03 Carat round gemstone and solid 14k white gold ring for $194US.

I didn't expect to find a ring for so cheap. I was thinking that I would have to pay thousands of dollars.

Does anyone have experience/recommendations with purchasing rings with man made diamonds?

Recommendations for brick and mortar jewelers (that sell man made diamonds - I'm not interested in mined diamonds) in Toronto or Ottawa are also appreciated.

 

[KBear]

Was curious and read up on synthetic diamonds. Seems they are still very expensive to make, so, finding one for $194 of a decent size is unlikely. Maybe cubic zirconia, which is not the same as diamond.

Will be interesting to see what happens to the diamond industry if they can produce diamonds cheap in large quantities.

 

[markvee]

Just to be clear, by man made diamond, I am not referring to cubic zirconia. I am referring to real diamond (a crystal form of carbon) made in a lab as opposed to mined from the ground.

Here are some articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P97816.asp
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8205/8205diamonds.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Man-Made-Diamonds---Save-Big-Money-And-Avoid-Mined-Diamond-Scams&id=66542

 

[tboy]

you better pray she doesnt find out

BIG TME...... My advice to you Mark is if you give her a fake diamond and she finds out? You are TOTALLY fucked.....seriously, I wouldn't put it past her to a) call off the engagement and b) never see you again. I can hear her words now: A FAKE? this isn't even a real Diamond? So is your LOVE for me FAKE too? believe me, at some point she will take it to be appraised for insurance purposes and the second she gets the report, you're TOAST.

My advice to you is buy a real diamond no matter what the quality or clarity or size.

 

[Never Compromised]

The only reason diamonds are so expensive is because of the near monopoly the South African company has on the market. When the USSR tried to dump a shit load to raise foreign currency, the industry was so afraid that they bought damn near every bit that the USSR was offering, just to keep the price artificially high.

A betrothal ring is a sign of ownership. Many feminists are challenging the idea of an engagement ring.

You want to do a right? Fine, but don't feel you need to do a diamond. But if you are doing the diamond, the other posters are spot on about the synthetic/man made variety.

 

[markvee]

Please read the post immediately above yours tboy. The man made diamond to which I am referring is chemically identical to mined diamond. There are numerous links on that post that offer further explanation.

 

[joebear]

Please read the post immediately above yours tboy. The man made diamond to which I am referring is chemically identical to mined diamond. There are numerous links on that post that offer further explanation.

The synthetic diamond may be chemically identically but according to your articles you linked they can be easily spotted with x-ray or infrared light sources.


From Wikipedia article:

The mined diamond industry is evaluating countermeasures to these cheaper alternatives. Gem-quality synthetic diamonds are visually identical to naturally occurring ones, but they can be distinguished by spectroscopy in infrared, ultraviolet, or X-ray wavelengths. The DiamondView tester from De Beers uses UV fluorescence to detect trace impurities of nickel or other metals in HPHT diamonds, or hydrogen in LP CVD diamonds. Furthermore, all three manufacturers laser-inscribe serial numbers on their gemstones. [16]

LifeGem is a company offering to synthesize diamonds from the carbonized remains of people or pets

 

[markvee]

Hello joebear.

I am not trying to hide the source of the diamond.

I will happily tell the recipient that it is man made as opposed to mined.

If you read all of the articles, you will notice that some of the companies laser inscribe the company logo or add nickel impurity so that the source of the diamond can easily be determined.

Many of these companies consider their man made diamonds to be superior to the mined variety and want the consumer to know the source.

 

[tboy]

Dude: I don't give a rat's ass how chemically better it is than a natural diamond, I don't care how much clearer it is or how fucking bigger it is.

You give your girl a fake diamond and she will bust your balls til the end of time.......

Now, saying all that, she MAY be of the rare sort that would appreciate the fact that it is man made if she is a naturialist and hates the idea of some people being forced to mine diamonds.

BUT imho this would be no different than you giving her seasons tickets to the leafs for your 25th wedding anniversary

 

[spatial_k]

Don't buy a thing, wait for her to ask YOU. Maybe she'll give you a nice watch.

 

[StuGatz]

Saying they are the same is not quite accurate though a high quality one is close. If it is only $194 USD then it is likely not a high quality one.

http://www.brajeshwar.com/business/jewellery/synthetic_diamonds.html

I believe you are referring to:

Methods of Producing Artificial Diamonds:

Making a faux diamond includes any of two methods. One method requires using high pressure and high temperature. If you would like to produce a man made diamond there should be a pressure of five GPA. Furthermore, the temperature should be around 1500 degree Celsius. A second method for producing artificial diamond is by using chemical vapors. This method was brought out in 1980 by using carbon plasma. Combining carbon plasma and different other gases, this would form the suitable environment for making a diamond.

If you are looking for an alternative to a mined diamond but still want to maintain the "white" stone then you may want to look into White Sapphires. They are far more rare than many other stones and very beautiful.

White Sapphire

Sapphire is the next hardest natural stone on the Mohs scale, excelled only by diamond. They are, different from others as a natural stone. Their glow and brightness are not up to the standards of diamond though. However, valuable white sapphires are priced at around $220 per carat and they are a good diamond choice.

Be wary of the artificial diamonds with a hardness rating of 5. They won't last as well as a real one will and you will most definately be caught out. Maybe you should simply enter into a discussion about diamonds and see how she feels. Take her to a mall. Stop at a jewelry store and browse the earing section. Get her take on the stones. You may find out she would rather have something completely unique and not a diamond as many women do now days.

As a final note. Many do not want minded diamonds because they are predominantly from areas where they end up being "blood diamonds" or are mined, or polished by children. Have you considered bring it home and going with a Canadian Diamond? http://www.polarbeardiamond.com/ I think this may be the solution you are searching for that will allow you to give her what she deserves.

 

[cancowboy2001]

I'm looking to buy an engagement, but I have never bought any jewelry before.

I want to buy a man made diamond (also known as synthetic or cultured diamond).

I found this site for a place in Franklin, WI, USA:
http://diamondnexuslabs.com/

where I can order a ladies solitaire ring with 1.03 Carat round gemstone and solid 14k white gold ring for $194US.

I didn't expect to find a ring for so cheap. I was thinking that I would have to pay thousands of dollars.

Does anyone have experience/recommendations with purchasing rings with man made diamonds?

Recommendations for brick and mortar jewelers (that sell man made diamonds - I'm not interested in mined diamonds) in Toronto or Ottawa are also appreciated.

If you dig around on the Diamond Nexus Labs site, you get to this page: http://diamondnexuslabs.com/jewelry/information/science2.htm which has a long discussion about zirconium so their stuff is cubic zirconium although they don't actually come out and say it.

Recently, I saw this article in the newspaper: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ax6nfaTs6FKg&refer=home which profiles two companies that grow cultured diamonds (via two different processes). Article says the cost for a cultured diamond versus a natural diamond is about 40 percent.

Websites:
http://www.apollodiamond.com/
http://www.gemesis.com/
There are no specific Canada contacts/retailers mentioned on either site but they are probable worth contacting to locate one if you are serious about getting a cultured diamond.

From a (limited) science viewpoint the Apollo process is pretty cool. The Gemesis process replicates nature (heat and pressure).

 

[djk]

After reading this thread, the advice I was going to give you before I read this thread remains the same -- don't get married.

 

[markvee]

Thanks everyone for the input, especially cancowboy2001.
The Diamond Nexus Labs site looked too good to be true.
I have sent an email to Apollo diamond, inc.

 

[tboy]

Mark:

Whatever you do, let us know what she says when you give her the fake diamond.......

 

[MarkII]

There are more than enough of us here who have bought diamond rings. Spending 194 USD...you get garbage..which is what you paid for.

If you truly like the lady..get her a DIAMOND! The real kind.

It's not a good sign that you're looking to spend 200 bucks on an engagement ring. She or one of her friends will spot it as false right away.

Women have a knack for knowing fake diamonds!

Do the right thing...buy her a ring that says you care.

 

[Moraff]

While your prospective fiancee might generally be happy to hear about what a great deal you got on something, IMO an engagement ring is most likely going to be an exception to that rule. <grin>

I am not a fan of diamonds, mainly because they're boring and their rareity is completely artificial. With the help of a very kind jewelry store clerk I bought my lady a engagement ring that had a tanzanite gemstone as the main stone, surrounded by a bunch of diamond bits (yeah, I know that's not the technical description). Fortunately I lucked out in my first major jewelry purchase 'cause my lady was ecstatic with it.

But of course, a large credit goes to the lady who helped me pick it out 'cause I walked into the store, she said "can I help you?", to which I replied "I sure hope so because I haven't got a clue what I'm doing." She spent a good bit of time finding out my likes and dislikes before we settled on the eventual purchase.

But if your heart is set on a manmade diamond as opposed to a natural one, I would suggest finding out (unless of course you already know) whether her feelings are in line with yours on this matter.

 

[onthebottom]

My advice is to spend 3-4 months income on a very high quality mined diamond.

OTB

 

[fuji]

And so does your fiancee.

....unless she's in on it. There are women out there who would rather have three months salary spent on the wedding, or the honeymoon, or a bigger house, or any number of things.

But she has to be in on it. In fact, it has to be her idea, or you're screwed.

An alternative, if you want to escape the diamond trap, is to buy a really beautiful, well made ring that does not have a diamond in it. Again, she has to be into it, but at least that way you can avoid getting so royally screwed on the inflated fake price for real diamonds.

 

[markvee]

I think tboy is on the right track.

Look Markvee, forget about issues of practicality, chemistry, durability or any other excuse you want to trot out etc.

The romance and ritual around marriage and the central role deBeers has created in it for the diamond is firmly established.

Diamonds are not rare. Never were. And there are billions of carats that have been mined and are sitting in reserve keeping the prices up. Diamonds are a hyped up representation of the value you place on the promise and commitment to your future wife.

Right or wrong, it has come to be considered normal to spend three months salary on her ring.

So, if you are even ASKING about about a $194 mail order fake diamond engagement ring on an ESCORT board where the cost of ONE HOUR for the cheapest girl out here... you have REALLY serious problems.

And so does your fiancee.

I had a hunch, but I called up deBeers just to be sure.

Apparently it is not considered normal under any circumstances to be on an ESCORT board.

You will be missed.

(no homo)