MMD wedding band from...a mall jeweler!?

[evergreen]

So I wandered into Helzberg Diamonds in the mall -- which ordinarily I'd never do, since I am a total snob about mall jewelers just like most on this board -- because they had a sign advertising MMD! And indeed, a small case of mostly solitaires by ALTR, but also a rose gold half-eternity wedding band that I ended up buying. (Post-baby hands and nothing fits; I was missing my sparkle!)

They're H/SI, 0.5cttw, who knows what the cut quality is, but the band is solid and I couldn't see any inclusions. We compared to a 0.5cttw with Earth-mined diamonds and it was twice the price for H/I1 -- and I could definitely see those inclusions impacting light return. Mostly, I was surprised that the cutting costs wouldn't totally eclipse the cost of rough and that there was such a big differential between the MMD and natural diamond band prices.

Anybody else found sources for MMD wedding bands as a cheaper alternative to natural?

 

[OoohShiny]

There's a thread somewhere in this section of the forum listing MMD vendors - I'm not sure how many / which sell wedding bands, but it could be worth a look.

MMD rough is pretty cheap, although I don't know how that compares to Mined rough in this size - presumably well, seeing it was half the price! lol

 

[evergreen]

Yup, I guess more of the cost is in the rough than I'd appreciated! The MMDs were clearly "better" diamonds, too. I have to say, though, that if one can pop into a Helzberg and peruse MMDs right next to their selection of moissanite, DeBeers' strategy of, kinda, devaluing them as a commodity seems to be working. Fine with me because I'm happy with my 1/2cttw for a 0.15cttw price. Lends some support to the oft-repeated advice on here that one should be careful not to assume MMDs will retain value like mined diamonds... if they are so discounted with respect to natural at the original retail sale.

 

[Marriedbuteloped]

Your combo looks very pretty! Very classy and clean. I love it! Good job on the MMD ring!

 

[tyty333]

It looks great with your ering too!

 

[Ally T]

Yup, I guess more of the cost is in the rough than I'd appreciated! The MMDs were clearly "better" diamonds, too. I have to say, though, that if one can pop into a Helzberg and peruse MMDs right next to their selection of moissanite, DeBeers' strategy of, kinda, devaluing them as a commodity seems to be working. Fine with me because I'm happy with my 1/2cttw for a 0.15cttw price. Lends some support to the oft-repeated advice on here that one should be careful not to assume MMDs will retain value like mined diamonds... if they are so discounted with respect to natural at the original retail sale.

Love this combo & adore your emerald cut