This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

I think that’s the point we’re trying to make. Diamonds are not even close to being rare. It’s an artificially created market.

People have said it many times here … Go buy any diamond and then go sell it the next day and you’ll be lucky if you can even recovery 50%.

The only way I was able to rationalize the purchase was how happy it made my wife. That point alone made the transaction easy Peezy.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

If I put a handful of “diamonds” on a table, some real some costume, could you or your wife tell the difference? When you buy a diamond at a jewelry store do you test it before walking out the door? The only reason you know it’s real is because the person behind the counter told you.

I shared this topic with my wife and she just started laughing..

She asked me how I would feel with her getting me a fake gun..’nuff said.

quote:

Originally posted by irreverent:
Bigger question: will she ask/would it matter to her?

This is the important question.

No question... Moissanite all the way.

We aren't talking about Walmart grade CZ..
Charles & Colvard Forever One or Brilliant Earth look amazing.

Quality Moissanite isn't cheap... I have purchased $1000 Moissanite Stud Earrings.. But for the same 4-C's they would have been $8,000 for a diamond.. And you literally cannot tell the difference.


Being that moissonite is nearly like a diamond in all ways.. To say that one is "real" and the other is "fake" is not part of the conversation... Moissonite is so close to a diamond that it passed jewelers Diamond Testers, as a diamond, back in the day... They are so common now, that everyone has Moissonite Testers as well.

It is more like someone saying that if you aren't running a COLT AR platform, that you are just a poser, with your Bushmaster/Rock River/etc.

My understanding is that natural diamonds have “occlusions” or flaws. A good stone may have none or barely detectable flaws.

A lab diamond is near perfect.

Seems to me like the lab version is better.

Women feel differently. They seem to equate money spent and personal value.

My scant research leads me to believe that diamonds are not a good investment. Their value is not based on rarity but availability.

Debeers controls the market and carefully limits availability. Supposedly they have gobs of diamonds stockpiled in storage. If they were ever released, the value would drop significantly.

Their advertising program has convinced the world that the gift of a diamond equates to human value and love. It has worked.

Dont cheap out, always real.

Its your wife, she lets you do things to her, she carried your child.

Go without something on your side to make up the difference if needed.

HK Ag

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

For some, or even many, women, having a natural diamond matters, but not for all.

And again, a lab made diamond is a real diamond - it is the same carbon crystal as a natural diamond. It just wasn't made in the earth, but is a diamond. In fact, the lab diamonds are of better quality than all but a few natural diamonds and are still far cheaper. This may or may not matter.

CZ is a different mineral. Mosinite (or whatever) is a different mineral.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jhe888,

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

For some, or even many, women, but not for all.

And again, a lab made diamond is a real diamond - it is the same carbon crystal as a natural diamond. It just wasn't made in the earth, but is a diamond. In fact, the lab diamonds This may or may not matter.

CZ is a different mineral. Mosinite (or whatever) is a different mineral.

What he said^^

CVD Diamonds are literally Diamonds. They just weren't dug out of the ground.

The tumbled and polished diamond jewelry might make more sense for the natural.

But, it’s all “costume” jewelry - if you want inherently valuable, use ruthenium, or something.

I think people would be amazed how many women go out and test their diamonds to see if they got scammed. Don’t underestimate these Wiley creatures…

You can hire an independent gemologist if you wish

You can buy your own tester… They are everywhere. It’s easier just to go borrow one.

Identifying a real diamond is not rocket science…buy a good loop and educate yourself.

Plus, that’s why there’s a whole certification industry.

Just let her know what you want to do, take her to pick out what she wants, give her the budget and bob's yer uncle...

or have a magazine article or utoob video, face book whatever about the CVD product and ask her what she thinks about it.

Giving someone something and claiming it's something else or, not saying what it really is would be wrong...

“Buy In” … it’s a real thing

I mean why wouldn’t you want to collaborate on such an important symbol of your love?

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
This is not a question of chemistry. There is a certain pride in owning something rare and natural and beautiful. There is a mystique around natural diamonds. If the wife wants costume jewelry then a lab diamond is fine. If she wants a diamond then natural is a must.

If I put a handful of “diamonds” on a table, some real some costume, could you or your wife tell the difference? When you buy a diamond at a jewelry store do you test it before walking out the door? The only reason you know it’s real is because the person behind the counter told you.

I need to clarify my post. This isn’t about material or actual rarity. It’s about the mental state of the female of our species. Perception is reality in this case.

A lab diamond is still a diamond. It has the same physical characteristics... hardness, inclusions, etc. It cannot be compared to CZ or moisinite or Swarovski crystals or anything like that.

Symbolically, I probably wouldn't get a lab diamond for an engagement ring, but I did for my wife's recent studs. Ive never mentioned it but I'm pretty sure she knows. But she absolutely loves them and has hardly taken them out of her ears since March when she got them.

Unless your wife possesses a thermal inertia tester and a knowledge of nitrogen content, I wouldn’t worry too much about a lab created diamond.

Say, btw, congrats on your 2nd child! Also, chances are these would be handed down to this child the same way my mother has handed down jewelry to us that was gifted to her when we were born. It really is about how your wife “feels”. This is truly a sentimental thing. Let us know what you/she decide. And again, congrats. It’s really about the little one, right?

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
I could put a $5,000 diamond next to a $50,000 sapphire, and most people would choose the diamond as the most valuable.

I’m not in a position to offer any meaningful advice about choosing in this situation, but I have given thought to why people spend money on things that have no utilitarian value. I find such discussions interesting for that reason alone.

Discounting investments which have been discussed here, why would anyone want a rock that cost a lot of money to purchase? There are two primary reasons and one or both can be why someone wants something like diamond jewelry: pride of ownership and to impress (influence) other people.

The pride that comes from ownership can be based on many different things, but things like rarity and “genuineness” (however that’s defined) can be major factors. The person who understands the difference between a $5K diamond and a $50K sapphire will probably prefer to own the latter if pride of ownership is the only motivator for owning one or the other.

Impressing others is another major reason why we do things like spend large sums on pretty rocks and countless other things. That is a less clear-cut reason, though, because it’s so variable. Evolution theory, for example, teaches that the reason women do many things like fuss over their clothes and makeup is to make themselves more attractive to potential mates who would be best suited to ensuring that their genes get passed on successfully to and then through their offspring. In modern times, though, it’s also clear that much of what women do is intended to impress other women, and the reasons for that are less clear, except to enhance their position within the group.

And impressing (or trying to impress) others through displays of wealth can be a double-edged sword. Few people would ever be crass enough to challenge someone by asking directly whether a large diamond is natural or was produced in a lab. If, however, they know that either is a possibility, they may think to themselves, “Those people could never afford a natural diamond that size; she’s just trying to impress the ignorant.”

True belief or not, it can actually have a negative influence. The son of a friend once remarked about the original Rolex Explorer model I was wearing. As far as I know it was never popular enough to be available as a quality fake, and since he knew enough about watches to recognize it as a Rolex, would he have been as impressed if it had been a Submariner that could have been a fake? When a friend asked about my Ckye Pod bipod and I intimated to him how much it cost, it was obvious he was impressed—impressed by my perceived foolishness. Another thing about impressing others is that many people have an exaggerated sense of what is impressive. I have had countless experiences in which someone approached me with great pride over a new acquisition and it took an effort to express polite interest in something that was meaningless, if not foolish, to me.

It’s of course true that people often spend money for nonutilitarian purposes for a combination of the two major motivations, but the factors pertaining to each still apply to some degree.

In any event, I agree that the best course would be to simply ask: “Which would you prefer?”

If it were me, I wouldn't even ask which she preferred as my opinion is that any woman worth having will try to save me money on the ring and say she wants the less expensive one.