Temporary Alternatives to Diamond in Engagement Ring?

[indigo]

My fiance and I are shopping for an engagement ring. I''ve found two that I really like, but both are too pricey to afford WITH a diamond. I''d rather get the ring that I want now and wait for the diamond than settle for a ring that I don''t really love.
The question is... What do I use until then? Is CZ the best alternative? What are the drawbacks to using CZ?
The rings are platinum with saphires on either side of the diamond. Will it be difficult or pricey to have the temp stone replaced later? I will either be purchasing from sndgems online or a local shop. Is that who would put the temp stone in for me? How much should they charge for approx. 1ct?

THANKS for all the help!

 

[indigo]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I really don't like pearls. I've also been looking at wedding gowns and have ruled out anything with pearls. I want a stone. I guess I could get the rings with diamonds on the sides and a saphire in the center, but how much is a 1ct saphire? Where can you look for those online?
I was just trying to get the price down so I could afford the ring I want

 

[mike04456]

Ah, Dave, we're in agreement on CZ/moissanite/white sapphires, but I must part company with you on the pearls. Yes, pearls are very nice gems, but there hasn't been a pearl made that can stand up to more than a few years of everyday wear. Especially the Japanese akoyas these days, which can have very thin nacre layers that will wear off quite rapidly in a ring. Chinese freshwater might work better, since they're solid nacre for the most part, but they'll still get scratched up. White South Seas and black Tahitians might work, but one of those can set you back as much as the average mall diamond.

Bottom line, Indigo, I'd go with CZ (by far the cheapest) if you think you'll get a diamond within 1-3 years, moissanite if you're thinking longer than that, or white sapphires if you want to be different (note: none of these will fool a trained eye, though moissanite comes the closest).




White sapphires are about the cheapest color of sapphire available, after black. Try www.multicolour.com for starters. I've bought from them in the past, and they're a pleasure to do business with.

 

[ChooChoo]

Personally, I would prefer a pretty deep blue sapphire to a "fake" diamond - you're not hiding anything and they're beautiful! They don't seem very expensive either - on Ebay there are lots of loose sapphires for under $500. You could pick one and post stats here to see if it's a good deal.

 

[diamondlil]

Indigo,


I agree with Furthermore. Moissanite is a nice alternative. I think it looks more like the real thing than a CZ and will definitely hold up to everyday wear (very durable). Moissanite is pricier than a sim but significantly less than a diamond for sure. Also, this depends on how long you mean by "temporary" -- months, years, a decade? If it's months, I would wait altogether until you can get the real thing. My impression is that you mean "temporary" to be a few years, am I right? In this case, check out Moissanite. A 1 ct stone can be purchased for about $400-ish.




I'm not generally a sim fan. I don't know anything about the differences between one brand CZ and another. They all look fake to my eye -- even from far away. I have seen Moissanite, and I would lean toward that any day over a CZ. I think it looks decent, and it is significantly harder than a CZ so it wont chip or scratch like CZ. White saphire is a dead stone in my opinion -- no fire or brilliance.




Switching to a blue saphire center and diamond sides is a nice alternative. A friend of mine did that 14 years ago and just got a 2 carat diamond to replace it. It worked for her!

Diamondlil

 

[valeria101]

Hi!
I am a sapphire fan, somuch so that I would (and have) forgo the side diamonds. Sapphires are not necessarily less expensive than diamonds, but sapphires of very low quality are quite common while comparably low quality diamonds do not reach the market (those would probably be quite bad, without the color to mask inclusions and so on). Anyway, you can get a reasonable sapphire at less than a diamond. Three are a quite few online sellers where you can find nice sapphires, such as: multicolour.com (wide range of prices and qualities), israel-diamonds.com (good pricing, quite wide range), ajsgems.com (some less expensive, good quality and smaller size stones here), awesomegems.com (a few collection pieces...) and cherrypiched.com (great stuff for what one would expect to pay for it!) and palagems.com (good presentation of mid-range to great pieces, but also perhaps the best place to browse reports and get an idea about what buying colored gems and sapphires is all about). There are no strict 4-Cs for colored gems: color is key, and a subtle difference in shade DOES double the price just like the mostly invisible difference between D and F diamonds works. How three stone rings look with good sapphires in the center? take a look at jewelryexpert.com and diamondsbylauren.com.
Hope this helps!

Good luck!

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 9/27/2003 3:38:50 PM LawGem wrote:


Ah, Yes, pearls are very nice gems, but there hasn't been a pearl made that can stand up to more than a few years of everyday wear.----------------

How about natural salt-water pearls (akoya keshi, pipi and Bahraini pearls included, I guess)? I guess they are also easy to scratch, but they otherwise endure well enough. Maybe it takes a little exageration to go hunt for a reasonably round natural pearl instead of a bunch of cultured ones, but I am still amazed at how seldom I find a peer admirer of natural pearls... Do you happen to know a source of natural saltwater pearls online? I did find one (aside antiqie stores...) but not really satisfactory.

No coment on price though.

 

[valeria101]

------------I`d be happier with a moissanite. ----------------

Isn't Moissanite suposed to be greeninsh in larger sizes (above 1 ct, if even) and bi-refringent (like natural zircons are)? The pieces above 1ct I have seen surely looked both... However, this was about 3 years ago and I am not aware wether this material was improved

 

[mike04456]

----------------
On 9/27/2003 10:17:47 PM valeria101 wrote:





How about natural salt-water pearls (akoya keshi, pipi and Bahraini pearls included, I guess)? I guess they are also easy to scratch, but they otherwise endure well enough. Maybe it takes a little exageration to go hunt for a reasonably round natural pearl instead of a bunch of cultured ones, but I am still amazed at how seldom I find a peer admirer of natural pearls... Do you happen to know a source of natural saltwater pearls online? I did find one (aside antiqie stores...) but not really satisfactory.

No coment on price though.

----------------

Natural pearls, now there's a connoisseur’s stone. If you think finding nice sapphires is tricky ...

. I know of only one place you can find them online: the American Pearl Company (http://www.americanpearlcompany.com). They have a big collection of unusual pearls, including naturals, both salt and freshwater. Is that the place you looked? There are pearl dealers who specialize in naturals, but they are few and very far in between--I don't know any personally, though I know they exist.

 

[indigo]

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess the problem is that I apparently have expensive taste. I actually wouldn't mind a smaller diamond. It's the ring that's important to me, and the ones I like just happen to be made for larger stones.
I guess I'll have to do some research and compare prices of
a)side saphires with a center moissanite
b)side diamonds with a center saphire

Here are the two rings that I like. The first one is Tacori, but I'd have it altered so that the diamonds on the outside of the ring would only go halfway around. I don't know the maker of the second one, but I found it on sndgems.com. As you can see, they both have larger stones. I'd use smaller ones, but don't think I could get below 1ct for the center stone.

I'll look at the links suggested, but now I'm a little worried about trying to pick out a saphires on my own.

 

[indigo]

I was just looking at some saphires and found a description on the israel-diamonds website that says "Thermally Enhanced-This type of enhancement is customery with Sapphire and Rubies ".
1. Don't they have spell check?
2. Don't I want a stone that hasn't been "enhanced"?

 

[ChooChoo]

I LOOOOVE your choices, but I think it's a little silly to pay that much for a setting! Check out this one:

http://www.platinummfg.com/htm/product/design/SF3001-R100.htm

This is the one I want for myself, and I think it's as pretty as your choices.

It's less than a $1000 for the platinum one, and should leave you with money for a diamond, or at least a beautiful sapphire to put in the middle until you can replace it!

 

[valeria101]

------------
On 9/28/2003 3:33:14 AM indigo wrote:

I found a description on the israel-diamonds website that says 'Thermally Enhanced'

I have no idea about the typos, but their gems and service left me quite happy. Thermal enhancement is used on above 90% of sapphires sold. The reading on palagems or ruby-sapphire.com (the book is good too!) explains what this is. I do not have much to say against this 'heating' practice, and unheated stones are not oly hard to find, but, especially if they are already high range, the differenec in price between them and heated good does rise dramatically (as does the price itself). It is really a matter of personal choice. Cherrypicked.com and walterarnstein.com offer a ready-made selection of great looking saphires. I would keep those webpages opened while browsing through multicolour. I know that multicolour has some very inexpensive goods and the other sites go up to 10k/ct, but benchmarks are useful! After all, you can post your choices here and we'll try to help! Right? Seing comments on one stone may help...

My choice at multicolour: XBS1967a and perhaps BS2058b . Best of luck!

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 9/27/2003 11:18:03 PM LawGem wrote:


On 9/27/2003 10:17:47 PM valeria101 wrote:


Natural pearls, now there's a connoisseur’s stone. Is that the place you looked? ----------------

Fortunately not! I have not seen that site before! Where I looked was http://www.jyotishgem.com/jyotishpearlsmac.html. Natural pearls are used in the kind of jewelry this source sells, and there is a serious market for them in the respective area. Working with lots of Indian colleagues helped too... It was quite hard to find ONE natural pearl with great luster, and I was trully amazed at the premium for matched pairs and strands, but cultured pearls would always mean MOP beads painted with pearl for me! I know that this is an exageration, but the more you go eatwards, the more normal this consideration gets!

 

[indigo]

That's good to know about the thermal enhancement. I didn't find a saphire that would work on that site, but maybe I was being too strict with the search. Round, blue saphire between 1 and 2ct. Most aren't round.

Valeria, I like all of the Tacori rings, but I did try on the one you like on Friday. There's just no comparison with the other. If I have to go with a cheaper ring then that's what I'd have to choose, but I really prefer the other one. Spending more for the added details doesn't seem silly to me since the ring is what's important to me. Spending a lot on a nice diamond for a second choice ring seems a little silly.
I really appreciate the links. This is a big purchase with a lot to consider so I really need the help.

 

[valeria101]

Have I said that your seting is too expensive? I would not ever save on craftmanship for the stone. About round sapphires: they are not really usual because the standards for the cut's precision are not as high for colored stones. It is more likely to find 'roval' sapphires (=roundish ovals, quite elegant if you like the idea). Such is http://www.preciousgemstones.com/1.83busapfs.html and then item 591 at http://www.gemcal.com. And at Africagems: especially
http://africagems.com/inventory/sapphire/101.html I guess I could come up with more, and you can also ask a cutter to turn out a perfect brilliant cut sapphire (maybe not Harts and Arrows, but close!). Custon cuts are feasible and afordable for colored stones even if almost unthinkable for diamonds, and the result can be unusually exiciting... As, for example: www.customgemstones.com (send a message, you will probably get what you want and I have seen precission cut sapphires of unexpected quality at this source). Also, if you have an average color sapphire artisically cut, this would result in an impressive gem for a bargain, since the quality of the cut does not make the price of a sapphire nearly as much as it influences the price of a diamond...
Hope this helps!

By the way: I love the second setting! And maybe you would like the antique-style ones by faycullen? Have you tried? Their french calibre-cut mountings are really special...Some of the best round sapphires I know online in your size range are: Item 5622 (very clear), and 6507 (great saturation, for a 800/ct bargain) and 6738 (a little dark) at Palagems! There are a couple dozen more there between 800 and 1500/ct.

 

[indigo]

Well, I checked your links and might've come up with something. I emailed platinummfg.com and received this reply concerning the second ring I'm considering:

"based on the picture, sapphire side stones are at least 1/2ct each. on the shank, there are approx. 30 stones each side, total about 0.70CT pave set around it.
with everything included:
Hand engraved Ring made in Platinum 950
1ct total Sapphire on the sides,
0.70ct pave set on the shank
1ct center made to fit your stone exactly.
the quote came out to be $1299"

That's great! I could afford a diamond too at that price. What do I need to do to check out this company and ensure that I will get what I expect? At that price, it seems like they must be skimping on SOMETHING. If it seems too good to be true...

 

[indigo]

So... other than checking with the BBB, is there anything else to do? Of course I'd have some questions first.
I'd like to know what metal they use for the other 5% in the rings. I didn't see it on their site, and I prefer iridium.
I also want to get nice saphires, but is there some sort of uniform grading standard? What sort of specifications would I ask for?
What about the small diamonds? I know that they are small, but I'd want them to be colorless.
What kind of guarantee do most places offer? For instance, if the small diamonds start falling out... do I have any recourse?
They don't offer refunds on special orders (even though I'm sure they could sell it to someone else) so how do I handle the purchase? I'm not really comfortable paying for something I haven't seen and can't return.

 

[tobeengaged]

I have the same problem as the first person you responded to. My only question is if we are getting something in the 1.7 area does the Moissanite look real to the naked eye? We plan to replace with the real thing in a couiple of years will that be a problem if it's in a platinum setting?
Thanks for the help!

 

[Nicrez]

It's not a problem to replace a synthetic or anyother gem-quality stone from a platinum setting. Actually platinum may be a bit easier without damage to the ring, and of course if done right it's super simple! For some round diamond simulants, try CZ that has been hand cut, or Moissantite, or colorless sapphire or white Zircon.

Note that Moissantite is usally a bit yellow tinged (slightly), and may exhibit a G color. All in all this isn't an issue, but when getting a shaped stone, I would suggest CZ over Moisannite. A wonderful jeweler who sells simulants and can set it for you, is Wink Jones in Idaho. He posts frequently on the Diamond Boards, including this one, so you can PM him to see what he can offer, or go to his website: http://www.freecz.com.

He has all types of fancy cuts in CZ that are very realistic and make wonderful pieces in precious metals! Good luck!!!

 

[moremoremore]

actually, it's a heck of a lot more tinged than a G color. G is near colorless, and most mois stones are in the J range with a green cast. Don't I wish they looked like a G...

I skimmed these posts, but I think the best bet is to get an interlap...and a smaller round than you would otherwise get. Smaller b/c it will be easier to explain when you get your permanent stone...and round b/c it is the most realistic shape for czs (emerald cuts too I think)

 

[moremoremore]

the good thing about moisanite is that it has refractive properties similar to a diamond...but the bad thing is the low color grade...

 

[moremoremore]

thought this was interesting...

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:eQnqvwM4FqsJ:mineral.galleries.com/minerals/elements/moissani/moissani.htm+moissanite+color&hl=en


Also, again, I skimmed, but I'd do a synthetic sapphire with maybe small side real diamonds...that would look beautful and you'd not be passing something off as real when it's not (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

 

[Nicrez]

Actually more, I have to say that the CZ version of the Jubilee I got from Wink is down right eerie as it looks frighteningly realistic. They cut shaped stones SO WELL at Wink's site, that the rounds look impressive, but the shaped stones are absolutely nothing to sneeze at. I think you have more options.

As with the interlaps, I am not sure who does the coating, or who sells them, but you can always talk to Winyan, who owns interlaps, or at least HAD, and she could tell you who does that. By the way, the interlap is a strengthening coating on a CZ that allows it's strength to be closer to a diamond, for wear and tear purposes, but not sure what cost effectiveness is, and HOW MUCH stronger it could be over a CZ...

Good luck! Also, Wink sells diamonds as well, so see if he can give you some low down on possibly upgrading the CZ to a diamond...

 

[moremoremore]

I agree with Nicrez- go to freecz.com...that's wink's site...and his interlaps are awesome....you also might want to consider Michael E (I think there is more info about him on Diamond talk)...He can custom make you a cz....and he has the cashmere color cz (you can ask for a pale G if you like for the sake of reality)...he can make you exactly what you want!!!

 

[moremoremore]

ohhh, I'd love to see wink's jubilee!!!! you gotta post a pic!

 

[moremoremore]

we posted at the same time...wink sells interlaps!

 

[moremoremore]

an interlap is a cz silly!

 

[moremoremore]

dahling Winkers is a fixture over at diamondtalk where you can see tons and tons of pictures of the awesome stones he sells!!!! And I have to say that as far as a princess cz goes, his come as close as a cz can to the real deal!!!

 

[Nicrez]

Sure enough More! Interlaps are actually the Synthetic Cubic Zirconias that are cut to look as realistic as can be. They have a hardness of about 8.7 or so, I believe... I wonder if it's a brand name or generic name for the material used...?

I was thinking of the Diamond Dispersion coating that winyan had done on her Interlap stones that made it as hard as 9.2 or so...

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-circe-hearts.14130/

As for the Jubilee, I can't stop staring at it...Honestly. The boy already knows i want the real thing in a few years or so. I am thinking after the wedding, we will start saving for my Jubilee...