Moissanite on Shop @ Home and Pricing!

[Mara]

I was lazing around on the couch yesterday and came across this Shop @ Home channel where they were having a show on Moissanite. Not super familiar with this though I have seen it discussed a time or two on here so I figured I'd watch it. Eye candy anyway.

Anyhow a few things were interesting. First off I was drooling uncontrollably over the 4c stone they had. It was a MONSTER of course.




The most interesting thing is that they had a diamond to compare to the moissanite stones and they looked very similar. It was hard to pick out the diamond. The moissanite looked sparklier but then again the diamond they had could have not been the best cut. They just called it a '21k certified diamond'...coulda been anything!

But what really made me giggle was their 'real diamond' pricing. First off a 1.5c moissanite ring was on special for $599. A 2c moissanite ring was something like $1200. Their 4c was $2999. They were comparing these prices to 'real diamonds'. They had some sort of chart.




They compared the 1.5c stone to a 1.5c I VS1 'certified' diamond. This is the calculation they had.




$4800/ct (Rap?)


1.5c=$7200


+labor, gold, retail markup


=Retail price of ring: $15000




I almost fell off my seat! First off, a 1.5c I VS1 stone here through an Inet vendor, H&A even would be something like $10000. So do retail stores really carry that $5k markup? Or was this just made-for-tv-buy-our-moissanite selling? Either way the amounts they were pitching if you bought the real thing was laughable. Their $21k certified diamond that they were comparing to moissanite was a 1.5c.




Now their 4c stone. This is something similar to the calc they had:


$7100/ct I VS1 (again assuming Rap)


x 4c=$28000


+labor, gold, retail markup


=retail price for ring: $58000!




Again almost fell off my seat. Now mind you these rings were basically 14k gold solitaires. Nothing fancy and no diamonds! I was thinking of Solange's well-cut 4c ring which I think was I SI2 with no visible inclusions and she noted a stellar deal on it so I assume it was MUCH MUCH less than almost $60k!




Anyway, I got a kick out of watching the show, their comparisons next to real diamonds in terms of cost and physical beauty. They also did this 'diamond test' where they showed the moissanite tested like a real diamond.

 

[pearcrazy]

Somewhere in a thread about insurance Solange remarks that she has $31,000 worth of insurance, so since I'm assuming that she wouldn't insure for less than she paid she must have paid $31,000 or less for her diamond.

I've watched the shop at home channel when they feature the moissanite jewelry and I'm with you Mara, I love the eye candy factor. They must have some killer lighting in that studio is all I can say or the diamonds they compare with must be lower color than an I. My jeweler is a moissanite dealer and he had a 3 carat moissanite ring in his case. It looked somewhat greenish to me. The moissanite stones over a carat will look a bit greenish he informed me. I have a pair of 1 carat total weight round studs in moissanite that are advertised to be H to I in color (I got them off of a store on Ebay but they are all supposedly made by Charles and Colvard). My diamond is an I color and when I hold one of the studs up next to it there is a huge difference in color to my eyes. Still, they are pretty and were a good price at $175 so I took the plunge. I don't see myself ever spending $3000 for moissanite though, it's beautiful and looks like diamond but it just isn't one.

They also say that moissanite had twice the fire of a diamond but I beg to differ. I will say that they are very pretty earrings none the less and much more appealing than cubic zirconia since they won't get cloudy over time.

 

[Jennifer5973]

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On 7/18/2004 6:18:46 PM pearcrazy wrote:

...I don't see myself ever spending $3000 for moissanite though, it's beautiful and looks like diamond but it just isn't one.

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I have been doing battle with the Moissanite monster

for a while but every time i go to buy one (I had been thinking a 1.5-2 ct solitaire, with the heat treatment to whiten it), I just see the $$$ that it costs being put towards a diamond. I guess we are suckers for the marketing...a diamond is forever. Good idea about the earrings, though...maybe that's a good way to experiment.

 

[solange]

I wore a European cut ring with three large, very bright stones(pictured here on Show me the Ring.) I went to a wedding and felt my black suit looked kind of drab so I wore a very dramatic looking pin with huge pear shape and marquise shaped stones.
No one commented on my ring but my pin was the rage. Several people came over to see it and were really impressed. Someone asked if I had come with an armed guard. I guess since I was wearing a beautiful ring and eternity wedding band, people assumed that I had really great jewelry.

When I frankly told anyone who commented that this was an old Trifari rinestone pin, I got sarcastic remarks and people thought I was just being coy or that I was fearful of being robbed. The photographer made certain to get photos of me with my fabulous "diamond" pin and when I called the bride's mother, she said many people had commented about the woman with the diamond pin. I found the situation so uncomfortable that I never wore the pin again. It was the only piece of jewelry I had that really worked with the suit but I never thought anyone would think it was real because the stones were huge and it would have been worth a fortune.

My point is that even rhinestone4s can fool a lot of people but you have to feel comfortable standing there and knowing that you are passing off something that is not the real thing. Even if no one else knows, you do.
I feel the same way about zircons, Moissanite and man made diamonds. However it is really no one's business but yours.

My husband bought me my new ring for a very special occasion and I find something special about natural diamonds even if you can get the same look with a less costly item.

 

[valeria101]

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On 7/19/2004 10:13:25 AM solange wrote:



When I frankly told anyone who commented that this was an old Trifari rinestone pin, I got sarcastic remarks

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Why did I miss this thread! Your story is right close to my hart Solange... There is almost no way to find 'correct' jewelry - looking to get pleasant feedback seems pointless to me

It helps a bit that almost no one is able to put a price on my odd jewelry, but wearing pieces that would get noticed and commented on seems completely daunting

...

 

[hoorray]

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On 7/19/2004 10:13:25 AM solange wrote:


My husband bought me my new ring for a very special occasion and I find something special about natural diamonds even if you can get the same look with a less costly item.
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I agree 100% with you Solange. I don't think it's just the marketing. It is the tradition and the natural factor. Nothing matches the real thing -- even if it's just knowing the history and facts that make it more special.


On the earring front, I have a good friend with 2 cttw moissanite earrings. Most of the time they look dingy brownish-yellow to me. Unfortunately, I don't think they look anything like the real thing. Based on what I have seen in my limited experience, I'd rather wear CZs.