topic Re: Man made diamonds. in Jewelry

Man made diamonds.

Remar — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 06:41:58 GMT

I was looking through the jewelry here on QVC and saw that they're selling man made diamonds that are very expensive. Some of the pieces costs thousands. I don't inderstand what the difference is between these, CZ's or Moissanites. They're all man made stones.

Can anyone tell me the difference? And have any of you girl bought any of these pieces? Personally, I couldn't see myself spending a couple grand on a ring with man made stones.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Desertdi — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 10:01:46 GMT

JTV has loads of inexpensive CZs.......as low as 25 bucks set in silver.

Re: Man made diamonds.

SilleeMee — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 12:28:14 GMT

Diamond (natural and man-made) is 100% carbon.

Moissanite (natural and man-made) is carbon + silicon.

CZ (all man-made, not found in nature) is zirconium + oxygen.

If you took 1-carat round stones from each category, the CZ would look smaller than the diamond or the Moissanite. The diamond and Moissanite would be about equal in their size.

Sparkle factor is highest for Moissanite, then diamond and lastly CZ (all things being equal).

I own all three types of these stones and Moissanite out shines and out sparkles any other stone in my entire collection. The only other stone that comes close is my strontium titanate stud earrings.

Re: Man made diamonds.

SilleeMee — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 12:46:06 GMT

Can someone post a link or an item number for QVC's man-made diamonds? I can't seem to find them. Thanks.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Lavenderjunkie — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 14:54:09 GMT

To really understand the difference we need to distinguish between marketing terms and real labeling, industry terminology, and even legal requirements.

One thing to know is the difference between a simulated stone and a synethetic stone.

A simulated stone is created to look like the original. It will most likely be made of different materials and have different chemical and optical properties. CZ's are simulated stones, made to look like diamonds, in that they are colorless and sparkle and are cut and polished to look like a diamond.

A synthetic stone is created by man to have chemical and optical properies that are as close to the original as possible. A man made diamond is created (in a lab) to have the same chemical and optical properties as a diamond that is mined from the earth. Of course there is quite a range in quality among both the original mined stones and those that are created.

Very often the cost of creating synthetic gemstones is high. This makes people question why they would pay that $$$$ for a synthetic when a real stone might be the same or less. Over time, as manufacturing techniques improved, the costs generally come down.

When deciding whether to purchase a synthetic gemstone, cost is only one factor. You need to evaluate quality details as well. Also, the question of why certain mined gemstones cost as much as they do and whether it's worth the $ to you and do you consider man made synthetic gems to be just as good as those that are nature made? Where does the logic balance with the marketing ahd story lines we have grown up hearing?

And what criteria should we use when compaing different made made stones.... simulants and synthetics? If the objective is to have a pretty and sparkly stone, then is a synthetic diamond ($$$$) better than a Moissantie (which made to simulate the look of a diamond while being chemically the same as a 'real Moissanite)? And are the synthetic diamond or the simulants of Moissanite or CZ good enough to give us the look and performance we want from the stone?

Cost, color, sparkle, hardness, scratch resistance, etc are among the factors to consider. Hope this helps. There is no right or perfect answer.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Shanus — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 16:10:53 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
Diamond (natural and man-made) is 100% carbon.
Moissanite (natural and man-made) is carbon + silicon.
CZ (all man-made, not found in nature) is zirconium + oxygen.

If you took 1-carat round stones from each category, the CZ would look smaller than the diamond or the Moissanite. The diamond and Moissanite would be about equal in their size.

Sparkle factor is highest for Moissanite, then diamond and lastly CZ (all things being equal).

I own all three types of these stones and Moissanite out shines and out sparkles any other stone in my entire collection. The only other stone that comes close is my strontium titanate stud earrings.

Great info @SilleeMee.

Re: Man made diamonds.

VegasBusinessWoman — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 16:34:51 GMT

I noticed the lab grown diamonds oin HSN. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not I'd buy these--I'm not a diamond fan anyway. But I might feel differently about a stone that was conflict-free and made me feel I wasn't being ripped off by the DeBeers cartel.

@SilleeMeeEveryone is talking about those strontium titanate stones--I'm thinking of getting a pair of those studs just to see if the talk has any merit. I noticed that jtv has them in a few colors, which is appealing.

As with anything, only the individual can decide if something is worth the money to them. As @Lavenderjunkie pointed out the price will undoubtedly come down over time, and for the reasons she mentioned.

Re: Man made diamonds.

SilleeMee — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 16:55:32 GMT

@VegasBusinessWoman,

The strontium titanate studs I bought came from JTV. The fire that comes off the stones is really brilliant. There's more sparks of color, like rainbows sort of, more than Moissanite has. If you are a fan of Moissanite, I think you would enjoy strontium. They are spectacularly beautiful.

I also bought these JTV strontium hoops...MMH163...with Asscher cuts. Small but wow so sparkly! You can even see the rainbow colors in the pics online there.

Strontium is a very soft stone (Mohs 5.5). I would not recommend it in a ring or bracelet. Earrings and pendants, yes.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Kachina624 — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 03:44:06 GMT

I'd give 5 stars out of 5 to Moissanite. I'd prefer it to a diamond as it has more sparkle.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Kachina624 — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 03:46:51 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
Can someone post a link or an item number for QVC's man-made diamonds? I can't seem to find them. Thanks.

@SilleeMee

https://www.qvc.com/jewelry/_/N-1z12ox4Z1z12v5iZmflu/c.html?redirectTerm=Moissanite

Re: Man made diamonds.

SilleeMee — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 11:17:44 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@SilleeMee wrote:
Can someone post a link or an item number for QVC's man-made diamonds? I can't seem to find them. Thanks.
@SilleeMee

https://www.qvc.com/jewelry/_/N-1z12ox4Z1z12v5iZmflu/c.html?redirectTerm=Moissanite

Thank you @Kachina624. But all I see there is Moissanite , no man-made diamonds. Maybe those are sold out...?

Re: Man made diamonds.

CalminHeart — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:35:47 GMT

I would take a moissanite over a diamond any day of the week. I have a few pieces, some going back 15+ years and they all look like new.

Some people say there is a yellowish or greenish tint to moissanite. This may be only the lowest grade. None of mine do but I have heard about it with the lowest grade (usually sold on JTV and other lesser shopping networks). However, the originals we purchased 15+ years ago don't have any tint to them.

I'm not fond of rough diamonds....at least those I've seen to date. To me, they look like dirty rocks.

I can spot CZ a mile away. There is a huge difference between CZ and moissanite and between CZ and diamond.

Re: Man made diamonds.

VegasBusinessWoman — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 03:13:04 GMT

@SilleeMee

Wow, thanks for the information! I'm gonna give a pair of earrings a try. If I like it, maybe a pendant. I'm not a ring person, and I have never considered purchasing Moissanite, but I understand that strontium titanate is a naturally occuring mineral. I've read glowing reviews of the stuff, so I'm gonna give it a shot.

Thanks for your helpful reply!

Re: Man made diamonds.

SilleeMee — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 11:38:07 GMT

@VegasBusinessWoman,

There's a 'Try Me Price' pair of colorless strontium titanate one-carat each ear studs set in sterling right now on JTV. They also come in the gold-over, too. I saw them yesterday on their strontium show. The item number for these stud earrings is ILH069 . Customer top-rated. You will love them!

eta - If you buy JTV 'Try Me Price' items today only, you can return or exchange for free using their return label. That's a good deal!

Re: Man made diamonds.

mare54 — Sat, 06 Oct 2018 21:24:36 GMT

Love love love Moissanite.

Re: Man made diamonds.

FrostyBabe1 — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 13:25:29 GMT

I have a pair of 2.2 TCW, 14k yellow gold Moissanite studs that I purchased on sale from JTV and I absolutely LOVE them. They're beautiful and just large enough to grab your attention, but not so large that they're not believable. I often put them in and leave them for days. They're much, much prettier than my "real" diamond earrings.

Over the weekend, I order a pair of asscher cut strontium titanate earrings and halo pendant, both in 10k yellow gold from JTV. I'm planning on adding them to my travel jewelry collection.

Re: Man made diamonds.

FuzzyFace — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:10:57 GMT

@Remar wrote:
I was looking through the jewelry here on QVC and saw that they're selling man made diamonds that are very expensive. Some of the pieces costs thousands. I don't inderstand what the difference is between these, CZ's or Moissanites. They're all man made stones.
Can anyone tell me the difference? And have any of you girl bought any of these pieces? Personally, I couldn't see myself spending a couple grand on a ring with man made stones.

Me neither.

Re: Man made diamonds.

FuzzyFace — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:18:39 GMT

I can spot CZ a mile away. There is a huge difference between CZ and moissanite and between CZ and diamond.

This is interesting; can you describe th differences?

Since I know Diamonique is just fake diamonds, I'm astonished at the prices QVC charges, and even more astonished that anyone is willing to pay. THEY ARE FAKE DIAMONDS, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!!!

Re: Man made diamonds.

Sooner — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:27:00 GMT

Fake flowers are often bigger, brighter and last longer than real ones. But they are different. You can tell which is which usually. Sometimes it is hard, but in the end they aren't the same.

Re: Man made diamonds.

Alison Wonderland — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:29:48 GMT

@FuzzyFace wrote:

I can spot CZ a mile away. There is a huge difference between CZ and moissanite and between CZ and diamond.

This is interesting; can you describe th differences?

Since I know Diamonique is just fake diamonds, I'm astonished at the prices QVC charges, and even more astonished that anyone is willing to pay. THEY ARE FAKE DIAMONDS, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!!!

Because you're still paying for the metal (silver or gold) and the hand-cutting. If you buy a cheap silver CZ ring at the drugstore, it's probably only silver-plated instead of silver and machine cut instead of hand-cut.