That depends..... there are cricumstances where I would absolutely wear fakes rather than the real thing. My dad was a jewelry dealer so I do have some great pieces of real jewelry, but I also have some fab fakes that I do wear if the design of the piece fits the outfit (or mood).

The only problem I see is if someone is trying to convince you it is a genuine stone when it is not.

Also - consider the following link. They are absolutely man made, but if it is someone I love, then why not keep them with you constantly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lifegem

I would rather have CZ or man made than the real gem stones. there is no secondary market for the real thing, a jeweler agreed with me when i mentioned it to him. I have a lot of jewelry with no major cost. I have 2 pieces that my husband gave me which i treasure. man made are just as pretty and it takes a jeweler to tell the difference. my friend has a safe full of the real thing which she can't sell and is afraid to wear them.

I agree, there's no real issue unless someone is lying about it. My concern with mined diamonds is the people who are losing their lives to get them out for pennies on the dollar and then are being sold as clean to the American market.

I love jewerly, but I only own inexpensive stuff. I had a lot of my good stuff stolen in major robbery. I don't care about real stuff anyways as long as it looks cute on me. and I agree about people dying in those diamond mines. i'd rather wear cheap stuff than think that somebody die for my earings.

I would and here's why. I lost a diamond ring on the trolley when I was in my 20s. It was a ring my mom had made for me with the diamond from her engagement ring from my dad (who's gone). I never had the nerve to tell her to this day. Luckily I found someone who had a very similar, but unique setting and she let me borrow her ring to have mine re-made. I don't wear the ring mainly because it's gold (I now prefer silver or white gold) and the style isn't me.

I buy cubic Zs for my ears. I've just lost too much good stuff, so I don't buy it anymore.

Besides, if no one asks, their probably gonna assume it's real if the stone isn't gigantic.

Ahhhh... I didn't even think of losing it!!! I always seem to lose just one of my earrings. Luckily usually they've been on the floor of my bedroom, but there is one that I lost that was an heirloom that I will never be able to replace.

Thank you for validating my issue with the "blood" diamonds Finedreams. A lot of people look at me with the 'there she goes on her soapbox' look whenever I mention it, but to me it's a really big issue. Having a diamond just is not worth it to me. I have several from gifts, etc but would not buy one again.

I'm not a "material girl" lol,pun intended.So a fake diamond wouldnt upset me in the least.It is the thought behind it and the what it stands for that matters.And I would feel awful thinking of a miner dying for a diamond I owed too.

Me, too. A real diamond is a burden.

Well - all you who are "worried" about your real diamonds... well just send them to me! I promise to wear them on a regular basis, take great care of them and replace any thing that gets lost!

What a waste to have nice jewelry and not wear it! Not to brag, but I have a very cool Etruscan 18k gold and diamond pair of earrings - they are worth about $4500 - and I wear them with jeans and tee shirts to my kids swim meets, basketball games, t-ball games etc - why the heck shouldn't I enjoy them? If one were to get lost - well c'est la vie. At least I enjoyed them while I had them! Life is short - enjoy every aspect of it as often as possible!

Alexa

Hi Alexa,
What do you think about the conditions in which diamonds are mined?

I really don't have an opinion on them. All my jewelry is quite old (antique) with original stones. I don't care for new looking pieces, so new stones don't hold my interest.

Alexa

Silver -
Are you saying that all diamonds are blood diamonds?

My first was a fake and I didn't know it. So when i found out, ten years later, I took it off. Then I got a 'real' one that had no middleman - we knew it was real, had it appraised, marked,the whole thing. I put it on, and VOILA! There were no fireworks. No angel voices. Nothing changed, other than I knew it was real. So what? In fact, we now have 6 loose diamonds, one is a near flawless emerald, that we cannot GIVE away. originally estimated at worth 13K, the jeweler offered me 1K for it. There is no market, unless Blue Nile is involved, and thus there is no value.

Lots of people wearing fake stuff - and who really cares? If it looks pretty, and you like it, IMO it is the ring itself that symbolizes eternity so it could be just a band and still take you from point A to point B.

Amy, I'm not saying all diamonds are mined in inhumane conditions at all. But it is nearly impossible to be really sure that your diamond was not mined, polished or somehow connected to human suffering.

I'm not advocating throwing out old diamonds, I'm just curious what people think about "fake" or "man made" diamonds.

By the way, the reason your diamonds aren't worth anything is because the market is artifically controlled by De Beers and diamonds are neither rare nor valuable.

I personally have real diamonds and man-made diamonds. I can't tell the difference.

Here is a link that might be useful: Diamonds

Well, you know I guess we could worry about wearing clothes too...We know there are children in factories who are being utilized like slave labor sewing and sewing -no breaks-for hardly any money. Are we wearing "blood clothes too?" What can we do? Really-the money you hold in your hand has been passed around and around. It's probably paid for drugs, murder, and no telling what crimes...You can't toss it away and have money to feed your children. I think all we can do is try to right the injustices in our world one at a time and be the best we can be, but while I am at it-I'm going go wear my real diamond. It means a lot to me for sentimental reasons. If it wasn't real-it wouldn't mean any less, but it's nice to know that it will look beautiful for ever and ever.

Anyone shop at walmart? LOL

Hi Stray,
I agree with your statements completely. And I see nothing wrong with wearing your ring. I too have sentimental jewels. I'm just asking what people think about man-made diamonds and whether or not that will influence their future purchases.

The problem with diamonds versus clothes is that the product is obtained primarily through slave labor and there is no way to tell the difference. If someone were so inclined they could buy clothes from a reputable source, not buy from Walmart, etc. We don't have that ability with diamonds.

From a gem standpoint, lab created diamonds are every bit as good as natural stones, and are not fakes. These have the same chemistry, crystal structure, refractive index (RI), hardness, and dispersion as natural stones. Some are better - the ones without any flaws. Many natural stones have flaws. A flawless natural stone of any size is very pricey and has no advantage over the lab created stone. The cut and clarity of the stone is very important. It is still the 4-Cs that are important: Cut, Clarity, Color, and Caret.

Surprisingly, natural diamonds maybe cheaper to produce that lab generated stones. Most lab stones are not gem quality, and these are crushed and used for industrial purposes. A lab created gem quality diamond is as expensive to produce as a mined diamond.

There are a couple of materials that are used for diamond simulants, CZ (cubic zirconia) being one of the better ones. CZ is very hard, therefore wear and scratch resistant. It has a high RI and can be cut to make a very brilliant stone. Its dispersion is a little greater than diamond and this property is an aid in telling the difference between the two. However, it takes an expert to spot the difference. Personally, I think that a good CZ is an excellent stone. (I facet stones as a hobby and do not cut CZ because of its extreme hardness.)

Lately, I have seen ads for rings with 'Diamond Aura' stones. Since the sellers do not reveal the material, it is impossible to judge what these are or the quality by looking at the advertisement. It raises my curiousity.

Big Fake diamonds just look like Great Big fake diamonds to me!

There are several reasons why jewelry is worn. Jewelry can indeed be beautiful on several levels. Or the Big fake diamonds can be worn strictly to turn a head. Now that being said there have been times when I thought something was fake when it was truly the real deal. At that point I'd be afraid to lose something so valuable.

I can only speak for myself.. The big fake ones do nothing for me.

Ever seen Moissonite (sp)? Artificial diamonds that are brighter than real ones, and almost as hard.

Even jewelers can't tell them from real diamonds by looking--they have to use a machine to test them.

They cost about 1/10 as much as 'real' gems. Why, when nobody but you can tell the difference, would you buy and wear artificially priced diamonds?

That's exactly my question Paulm. Especially when you consider the toll on humans to get those stones.

The synthetic diamonds made from carbon in the process that mimics nature ought to be pretty convincing and they come in colours not found in nature as well.

If you buy Canadian diamonds, they ought to be ethically ok. I do know that some South African companies have gotten into the Canadian market, I'd avoid them. There should be

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Diamonds

The worst is when some rude person comments how lovely your ring is - then asks "Is it REAL?". Geez. And I am not talking about some huge gawdy cocktail ring.

The saying diamonds are a girls best friend,id like to know what idiot said that,you cant tell the difference.i hate materialistic people.diamonds do absolutly nothing for me.neither does any expensive jewelry.what is the point.i just dont get it.

I'd go for the man-made variety - they *are* real diamonds, just man-made rather than natural and mined (sometimes under dubious conditions), and are just as good and just as real - and generally less expensive.

Good article from Wired magazine below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Synthesized Diamonds

Interesting - I own about 6 loose diamonds, one is an emerald 1.75, almost perfect - would have been able to sell them years ago, but today I can't GIVE them away. Literally. I was offered $700 from the local pawn shop - where on blue nile the same stone goes for 11K. Probably because of all the successful fakes.

Glittery stones do nothing for me, either. I love pearls, opals, turquoises and other *opaque* polished colored stones. I did have my mother's diamond engagement ring reset in a plain gold band after she died and wear it seldom, but am happy to have it for the sentiment. Otherwise, give me cheaper natural materials. Well, this is just as well, since I don't even own any clothes that would look right with glittery jewelry!

I love opals!!!