Decaflon Thread: Nice Diamond, Is It Real Or Just Kinda Real?

Nice Diamond, Is It Real Or Just Kinda Real?

shadowsun7 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:01:30

I'm a guy, so I don't really care if it's man-made or real. But I must wonder about the economic side of this - what does it mean now that good diamonds can be made? I'd expect the value of diamonds overall to drop.

That ... would be weird. Imagine saying 'cash/iPhones/crystals are a woman's best friend'.

Nice Diamond, Is It Real Or Just Kinda Real?

cooper — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:09:23

Because it's hard to tell which diamonds are funding conflicts I'd go with man made set in a good metal like platinum.
I have a few of my grandmother's diamonds and I'll alway appreciate them, but have no real lust for diamonds.

Nice Diamond, Is It Real Or Just Kinda Real?

dreamweaver — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:58:03

I have exactly one natural diamond of any size to my name, and that's my engagement ring. We bought the best quality to size ratio that we could afford at the time, and 19 years ago, there were fewer options around for CZ jewelry that was set in real gold, so real diamonds was it.

I have purchased many other rings and pieces of jewelry that are CZ since then, simply because I don't really care. If I like the way it looks, I buy it if I can afford it. There IS a beautiful ring that I'd love to have that is only made in natural diamonds (and sapphires), but it's not in the budget right now. If it was made in a CZ version, I'd have had one a year ago when I first saw it.

As for your questions:

I'd hope that my man would know me well enough to choose the man-made or CZ version of a diamond these days if what I wanted was available that way, and save the few thousand for something else we wanted to spend money on.
Of course you tell the spouse, because if you don't, you're not being honest, which is a hell of a way to start a lifetime relationship.
If you buy the cheaper one and the spouse gets pissed off and you weren't expecting it, do you really know the spouse? See question 1.

All in all, it's the thought that counts, and as long as it's not butt ugly and turning my finger green, what's to complain about anyway?

Nice Diamond, Is It Real Or Just Kinda Real?

Mike — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:52:19

I remember reading a great article about this topic a few years ago saying that the technology is "coming up fast". Lo and behold in 2008, it's here. Lab-made diamonds are now virtually indistinguishable from natural diamonds. Boy, does this bring up a lot of questions.

If a 1-ct natural diamond costs a few thousand dollars, and a man-made one costs a few hundred, which does a man/woman choose when buying for his or her spouse?
If you choose the man-made one, do you tell the spouse?
Would the spouse get pissed off that you "cheaped out" and got a man-made diamond even though the quality is the same?

I'm using the sexually-indeterminate forms of pronouns here but we all know how this will go over with the ladies. Diamond engagement rings might go out of style faster than the dodo died off, so now what would be the most precious thing to put on your beloved's finger? Depleted uranium?