Moissonite or lab asscher?

[kilowhiskey111]

I am concerned about the relatively high prices of labs falling? Which should I get? Best source for a high quality asscher?

 

[DejaWiz]

Really depends on your goal.
Moissy will look like Moissy and diamond will look like diamond.
Whatever your eyes find more pleasing in an Asscher cut is the route you should take...don't buy either for future value, enjoy the massive savings now versus natural.

 

[dk168]

Personally, I would not spend big money on lab/MMD right now, e.g. on a near 1ct OEC or a step cut oval for example; however, smaller stones yes.

DK

 

[DejaWiz]

Personally, I would not spend big money on lab/MMD right now, e.g. on a near 1ct OEC or a step cut oval for example; however, smaller stones yes.

DK

Depends if the seller has a decent LGD trade-in program. More and more retailers are including them in buyer's perks.

 

[vintageinjune]

No one knows what the future holds, but I am fairly certain as time goes on we will see a decrease in the cost of lab grown diamonds. How much? No idea.

Here is how I look at it: let's say I purchase a lab grown diamond today for $5,000, and I adore it and wear it happily for a couple years, and in two years from now I could purchase a similar diamond for $4,000. Would not having a diamond I adored for two years be worth saving that $1,000? Not to me.

On a more philosophical note, life is short and no one is guaranteed to live to see tomorrow.

Your best source for a high quality asscher in lab diamonds would probably be to reach out to Jon at Distinctive Gems or Diamonds by Lauren and give them your desired diamond specs and budget and see if they can find one for you. Asscher's are a PITA, but gorgeous.

For a high quality asscher moissanite, this place comes to mind, mostly because I like the antique asscher style she has: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaBJew...name&listing_id=543332292&section_id=20915963

 

[EClove]

What @DejaWiz said - a Moissy will look like a Moissy and a lab diamond will look like a diamond. Depends on your goal and preference!

Personally I agree with @vintageinjune - I just purchased a 2.5+ lab emerald diamond. will the prices potentially fall? Sure. Is the amount I spent worth it for my current enjoyment between now and whenever it falls? For me, absolutely. I had a budget I stuck within and it currently brings me joy daily!

 

[_dracarys_]

I purchased my lab diamond almost one year ago and if anything, prices have gone up.

 

[OcnGypZ]

Your best bet for a quality cut lab asscher would be Distinctive Gem. It looks like he has two in stock... or you could have your own cut.

 

[Alybetter]

I don’t consider diamonds or moissanites an investment. You will likely always lose money in a resale scenario.
If you want a diamond, get diamond. If you want a Moissy, get that instead. They behave differently and it’s all about which you find the most pleasing to your eye. That said, if you have a specific jewelry goal and you need time to save up for it, you could always get a Moissy or small MMD to hold you over until you can get what you really want. I’ve been there.. several times
I agree with others, I’m not particularly concerned about whether prices drop on MMD in the future. I find them quite reasonable now as compared to their mined counterparts.

 

[StarshineSweet]

OMG so this!

What @DejaWiz said - a Moissy will look like a Moissy and a lab diamond will look like a diamond. Depends on your goal and preference!

Personally I agree with @vintageinjune - I just purchased a 2.5+ lab emerald diamond. will the prices potentially fall? Sure. Is the amount I spent worth it for my current enjoyment between now and whenever it falls? For me, absolutely. I had a budget I stuck within and it currently brings me joy daily!

THIS!!! Except I got a 2.56ct radiant instead of an EC. Whether it was mined or grown in a laboratory, a diamond is a diamond, and a moissanite is lab grown silicon carbide. It's just not the same material and has a different refractive index. When you think about it, moissanite is way over priced!

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

I would pay $$$ for specialty cut LGDs because the value is in the desirability of the cut, not in the LG material. I would wait a bit before going spendy on a run-of-the-mill cut LGD because prices for those are dropping and you might get more for your money in six months… but I would not wait very long for smaller price changes (and what constitutes a “small” price change is going to be different for all of us). One last thing is that we are now at the point where a few hundred dollars added to your budget can have a big impact on the size or quality of LGD you get. So even if prices don’t drop sharply in six months, if you add $600 to your budget by waiting that long, that extra $600 makes a bigger difference than if you were buying earth grown.

 

[kilowhiskey111]

OMG so this!


THIS!!! Except I got a 2.56ct radiant instead of an EC. Whether it was mined or grown in a laboratory, a diamond is a diamond, and a moissanite is lab grown silicon carbide. It's just not the same material and has a different refractive index. When you think about it, moissanite is way over priced!

I think I am set in a 2.5-3 ct bezel set in rose gold asscher. I do like the rainbow sparkly look so will the Moissonite satisfy my desires at a decent price? This would be a fun right hand ring as my e ring is a round brilliant diamond.

 

[molecule]

For a high quality asscher moissanite, this place comes to mind, mostly because I like the antique asscher style she has: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaBJew...name&listing_id=543332292&section_id=20915963

I bought seven 3mm moissanite from Julia a couple of years ago to have another vendor make a band. I adore them. I clean the band less frequently than I should, but I can still see lovely flashes of light and when clean, the rainbow flashes are beautiful.

 

[StarshineSweet]

I think I am set in a 2.5-3 ct bezel set in rose gold asscher. I do like the rainbow sparkly look so will the Moissonite satisfy my desires at a decent price? This would be a fun right hand ring as my e ring is a round brilliant diamond.

In your case, it makes sense, but only if the moissanite is less than half the price of the diamond. I actually like the sparkle of moissanite, especially in an eternity band, but it's a different animal than diamond.

 

[Friendly]

The difficulty in any question of this nature is that, while we can predict - no one can give assurance on pricing. How many people out there wish they woulf have bought a house 2 years ago, but deicded to 'wait out this COVID thing" it might destabilize interest rates, and are now completely priced out of buying a house at all? Same thing for cars. While we can assume technological and manufacturing advances will make LGD less expensive in the future, can we be assured shipping cost, raw material prices, the cost to make the equipment will be stable?

In general prices are what they are and will be what they will be, my advice is always to get want you WANT to get, at the market price you can get it today. It MAY be cheaper later, or not... but either way you'll have it.

In your mind is one method "settling" where you'll look at the item and always wish for more - or is either choice OK? No matter what you decide the market is what it is, and it will be what it will be. Carpe Diem

 

[kilowhiskey111]

Agreed! I buy what I like when I want it and that is usually now. I just didn’t rent to see a street downward trend and have s substantial price decrease in 2 months.

 

[monipod]

I bought my 1.56ct lab Asscher before step-cuts got very popular and I don't think I'd be able to source the same stone now for the same price. Asschers are tricky. It's fairly easy to find a good MRB but finding the perfect Asscher (and that definition differs between people too) is very hard and as such, I think a universally attractive Asscher will hold its value well, even if it's MMD.

If you see the perfect (for you) Asscher diamond, go for it, but if you aren't 100% you love the cut, get a Moissy. I think the two stones will perform differently as step-cuts though.

 

[Runningmama]

If you're going for moissanite as a diamond knock-off, you'll be extremely disappointed. Moissanite step cuts are very difficult to do well, and the lines stand out much more than with a diamond. That said, you get double refraction from moissy so if huge blinding chunks of fire is what you want, then you may opt for moissanite over diamond.

 

[kilowhiskey111]

If you're going for moissanite as a diamond knock-off, you'll be extremely disappointed. Moissanite step cuts are very difficult to do well, and the lines stand out much more than with a diamond. That said, you get double refraction from moissy so if huge blinding chunks of fire is what you want, then you may opt for moissanite over diamond.

I am concerned about that with the asscher. Sigh.

 

[luvmysparklies]

I am concerned about that with the asscher. Sigh.

With your concern, I would go with the LG and just enjoy it. To me, the thing with Asschers, emerald cuts, let's just say step cuts is that they have a certain elegance that is designed to show off high color and clarity. I like moissanite for what it is and have bought a very high quality moissanite in the recent past. But, to my eye there was a discernable difference in transparency. What I mean is that the moissanite had a sort of "haze" quality where the "crisp transparency" of a diamond does not. I am describing this as a haze to differentiate from the optical transparency that a high quality diamond exhibits. The haze was not like an overly fluorescent diamond with a milky appearance. It was just that I could see this difference, it is just the material that it is. At least with an Asscher, the steps are meant to throw off more bling, whereas an emerald is more "quiet bling" to me. Even considering the intended bling factor of the Asscher, there can be too much refraction in the moissanite material, but what would bother me more is that transparency difference. Look at "blingmeupscotty" avatar to see the crisp transparency I am talking about.

What ever direction you decide, just do it to enjoy the beauty