I bought a real loose stone from Diamonds.com. They had better prices than Blue Nile. They are GIA certified and the quality was great. You can find a stone with very high ratings for clarity, color and cut when you look through the inventory.

I found a 1.5 carat with really high marks on all three. I found a similar stone at a jewler for about $12k, but the website had it for $7k I think. If you create an account they will routinely send you emails for 10-20% off any purchase. Plus I put it on a rewards card and got some cash back and saved several hundred on sales tax because it was an internet purchase. I think I paid around $5,200 when all was said and done.

It came set in a fake setting because I knew she was picky so I could give her the stone and we could pick out the rest according to her taste afterward. The cost for a good setting blew my mind, I figured $1k tops, be prepared to be shocked.

We had to take it for an independant appraisal for insurance and with no input from us, the jewler appraised the stone near the $12k retail price even though I did not pay half that. The moral of the story is that you should never pay retail, find a reputable online retailer or local broker. The markup on diamonds is about 1000%.

And we went to several jewlers and told them we had a loose stone and asked us if they would put it in a setting. Never once did any of the jewlers give us any trouble about bringing in our own stone. Its not a problem because they still will make a killing on the setting. But never buy a setting online, you can't see the quality and it can be poor.

Its not true with all women but most want real. They are goofy that way.

 

define fake....

if it was created with the same material using the same process.... then what is the difference?

you are buying a story (a boring and mostly politically incorrect one at that)

if you could follow your diamond back to the OG matrix it was found in, you would most likely be ashamed of yourself LOL

Lab stones have been proven to be of higher quality across the board and they produce more fire, flash and color.

at this point the question should be what cut looks the best for my carbon rock.

 

Fake, as in not real.

If it is Lab Created or mined in Africa, it is real in my opinion.

 

Thats not the problem usually. I don't buy the story, and think lab created can be superior to the natural ones.

Ask a WOMAN, and its a different story entirely. Logic and reason don't always come into play with someone who has been dreaming about a diamond for 20 years.

That would be like someone making a knockoff car company and selling you a car that performs great but is still a "Plorsche."

You don't always get a "yes" out of a proposal if you present a "diamonoid" in 24 karat "golp".


My wife asked me what kind of a ring I wanted and I said a bucket ot tin ones. I told her jewelry means nothing to me and I will probably lose them. She did not seem to have the same idea when it was her turn to talk about a ring.

 

For the last time people. It all come down to WHAT YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL VALUE!!! Pointless to debate on this because there is no right and wrong, but fun never the less. Whatever make you happy is the happy one, although one can be ignorant enough to think he/she really need it. If you really believe in general that diamond are rare then you're a sucker!

If a $10k diamond ring make you happy then go for it, but do your hw and research so you don't feel goof if you end up feeling stupid when someone else can get a lab made for significantly less. Like I said, If you're aware of and know as much on lab made diamond as the nature made one and feel comfortable by shelling out $10K then go for it.

 

Lab made stones are not that easy to tell a different by just simply looking at the obvious "Plorsche". Your comparison is irrelevant because your "Plorsche" can be tell a different by simply looking at the name. This is not the case for lab made stone.

The "Plorsche" where even the pros in the industry can't even tell apart from the real one isn't just some knockoff. Just as good or better in quality isn't just some knockoff.

 

Diamond industry is a huge scam. They have literally gazillions and gazillions of diamonds just sitting locked up in vaults. If all of them were released, they would be so much more common that they'd be worth $2-3 a pop.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond

"The diamond supply chain is controlled by a limited number of powerful businesses, and is also highly concentrated in a small number of locations around the world." Aka monopolizing?

Diamond is not as rare as most people lead to believe. All marketing!!!

 

I thought by law, lab created stones had to disclose they were lab created stones. I think they need to have a marker. Therefore the analogy holds up. The point I am making, and that you missed, is that some women want real stones only. Period. Nothing else will do. If you have to disclose, by law, that it is a synthetic, then its a Plorsche.

If you want a Porsche, period, end of story, then the analogy is the same.

Whether or not you agree with the woman who wants a real stone or not makes no difference. I can introduce you to one, and she wants nothing but nature made.

And lastly, this is from one maker of lab created stones:

HPHT created diamonds have metallic inclusions which are never present in natural diamonds. Inclusions, if any, could be visible with a loupe or microscope. So, by studying inclusions a trained gemologist could tell if this particular stone is created or natural. If there are no visible inclusions, one could opt for advanced analytical testing such as X-ray Fluorescence Analysis or Photo Luminescence or Cathodoluminescence Analysis. Those tests could show presence or absence of certain trace elements or reveal the growth history of a diamond.

 

You guys should jump in on the hot new trend. GRANITE.