Diamonds v Diamonique

I have taken delivery of a few diamond pieces recently, having never owned any before (apart from a small one set in my original wedding ring!) I am so disappointed in them. I truly believe that for the majority of pieces, you can't tell the difference between real and fake. Therefore, why spend the money on the real thing?! The only benefit, I can see, is being able to say "yes, they are real diamonds" But seen as I don't give two hoots about impressing anyone, or what they think, I can see no benefits to owning diamonds. Now, if it was a whopper then it may be different, I don't know!

I am keeping one ring as I adore the design (the Claudia Sylvester ring in Rose) but the diamonds are tiny with hardly any sparkle. I have a rose/diamonique ring that I wear as a wedding ring that is much more 'believable'.

Does anyone else feel this way? Am I missing the boat on owning real diamonds? It's not that I don't like parting with my money (I wish!) but I prefer to have something that is worth it, or will be used. I would rather spend the money on what one of the rings or pair of earrings cost on a Kitchenaid (which I have talked myself out of for years but am now slowly convincing myself into!)

Maybe I'm odd (I hope I am!) but I don't feel anything towards these pieces because they are diamond. I am in love with my ring, but that's more the design than the pin-prick diamonds!

Diamonds are certainly not this girl's best friends! :mysmilie_17:

Totally agree with you MK on all counts. I have a real diamond engagement ring and when I compare it to my eek one the stones look the same but the setting is different. I have no desire to buy any more real diamonds, a bit of eek is fine by me.

Jewellery is my big weakness but I am a real trollop in that I buy things that takes my fancy be it a few pounds or thousands.

Despite what anyone tells you jewellery is NOT an investment at the end of the day it is worth the metal/stone value which is only a fraction of the retail price.

Diamonds are only worthwhile if they are of really good quality and size, which unfortunately Q do not stock, sweepings off the factory floor is what makes up most of their stock.

Personally I dislike claw settings so Q's offerings dont interest me at all as it ends up as a load of claws soldered together being passed off as stones.

If you dont like EEK I say go for a coloured stone (not all are in the price range of emeralds etc) although Q rarely do this type of thing in gold anymore.

There is only 1 rule - do you like it enough to spend the money on it at this minute in time because it wont be worth a diddly squat once you have handed over the cash.

It is the setting and design which determines whether or not I buy not the cost/worth. I see items of high value which I wouldnt take as a gift so it has to be a something which you really like.

I tend to agree, BUT I do have a few 'good' pieces of real diamonds, and I have found that whereas the eek gives off the same (if not better ) sparkle, it does need to be kept clean in order to retain the bright glitter, whereas the real stuff will continue to twinkle even if a bit grubby.

Q have never sold quality diamonds - even in their hey day. Whatever happened to the Cognac, and black diamonds and the chocolate gold ??? I wonder - two 'fads' that never got off the ground.

I have just noticed this on the back of the despatch note:

"If your item has a value of £200 or more, please request a 'signed for' service and ensure your item is covered by insurance"

So, it's ok for QVC to send them out to me in a flimsy card envelope, 2nd class Royal Mail is it?! Double standards....:mysmilie_10:

I agree with MK and others who have said Diamonds are not their best friend. I find diamonds disappointing unless they are large stones which I cannot afford. I have a few Diamonique and CZ. Jewellery both Gold and Silver and I love the pieces I have. I also have several Gold and Diamond set rings and earrings but like someone else said I do not like claw set stones but would never part with the ones I have.

I have a couple of diamond rings that I have inherited and luckily I like them. However I rarely wear them because they are valuable.
I try not to buy too much EK because I am aware that it has no value and is money lost unlike my real stuff which will retain a value.
EK is not cheap and the amount soon adds up to the price of something like a gold chain (to which I am also partial).
I agree that the QVC diamonds are poor value. My local jeweller refers to them as sugar diamonds.

I have lots of real Diamond jewellery but I certainly have not bought any myself,I'm lucky that it has all been gifts.
Lynn

Q`s diamonds aren`t worth buying IMO. Good diamonds of a reasonable size are expensive, always have been and always will be because the price is kept deliberately inflated by the likes of De Beers and it boils down to whether people are prepared to pay the price or not. If not, then eek is a good enough substitute if all a person wants is the sparkle factor. On the other hand I wouldn`t knock a person who saved hard and wanted to purchase a beautiful diamond or diamonds. To each their own.
I`m lucky to own some good diamond jewellery, mainly bought from America years ago and set into my own designs. The diamond for my engagement ring came from Israel and was a once in a lifetime purchase but those days are gone now I`ve retired and can no longer afford them. Nowadays I`d rather have a nicely set piece of eek than diamond sweepings illusion set into wafer thin gold.
The good stuff will never be sold so the current value is unimportant to me and they will be passed on to my grand daughters who will hopefully treasure them in years to come.

I can tell diamonds from Eek, moissanite and other CZs without a loupe. The old EeK was much better quality - I've had a few stones lately that have arrived dull to start with. I've also found they scratch quickly which causes them to look dull, even after a dip in an ultrasonic bath and jewellery cleaner.

I've been lucky enough to own diamonds, EeK, other CZ and moissanite. My favourites are diamonds as I've bought nice ones and gone quality over quantity. However, I'd rather buy EeK if I'm looking at something with small-to-tiny stones or easily lost items like pendants or earrings.

I looked everywhere for my engagement ring, an old-cut (transitional) stone. I got it (due to it's cut) for less than half the price of a modern cut. The quality of the stone is superb, if I say so myself. I am fascinated by it's chameleon qualities. It looks different in all sorts of light and the cut itself catches everyone's eye. I was in the dreaded High Street a few weeks ago and had a look in some well-known jewellers. I was shocked at the stones they were selling - cloudy, highly included, low colour stones - for top whack prices! One, half the size of mine, with inclusions I could see through the display case was almost twice the price I paid for mine. They should be ashamed of themselves!

My advice to anyone wanting a diamond is to go second-hand. Look in auction houses and independents at their second-hand section. Buy a loupe (I have two - one 10x and one 30x with a UV and LED light). Ask to see the stone under a loupe and take it to the window to see it in daylight. Get used to the many types of cuts - I would now never buy a modern cut. I have an "old mine" cut that was left to me and love the huge flashes of fire it throws out. Eek and even double-refracted moissy pale beside it.

Also, NEVER pay the ticket price. I'm notorious for haggling. If you find any "flaws" under loupe that you are prepared to live with point them out and use them to get the price down. High Street jewellers sell a lot of fluoresced stones, but never mention it and their lighting will negate the effect. That's where a UV light comes in handy. Fluoresced stones will show blue, yellow, orange red or green under UV. I think it's a cool phenomenon and there's a seller in the US who makes a living from his range (Brian Gavin Blue), as they show whiter face-up and in sunlight than their true colour grade. Although BG puts a premium on his stones, most places consider fluro as an unwanted effect that will lower the price - but would never point that out to their customers!

There was a guy on This Morning a while back, showing off stupidly priced pieces. He stated that you can't break a diamond. Bullsh!t. They may be the hardest known substance, but they can still break. I've seen many a chipped stone in my searches - my old miner has quite a few chips around the girdle, but as a fairly large stone that's over a hundred years old, it's forgiven.

ILS - please wear your lovely old rings. If you can afford to insure them, great. But even if you don't, take a risk from time to time and give them an airing. Even if, like Charlotte in SATC you just wear them around the house (not to clean, obvs!). Take them to a good local jeweller and have them cleaned up and checked - mine cleans mine every time I pass (not often, admittedly), and even though I clean them at home regularly and don't wear them around the house, they always come out so much sparklier. If you decide to insure them you'll need them valued anyway, and most insurances ask for an annual check to make sure there are no loose stones. Be careful with rings worn on your dominant hand if you're not used to wearing them. I wore my old miner on my right hand and was horrified at the amount of times I caught it on table edges etc. If your antiques have any nicks or chips, banging them could make them worse - but still, they need to be enjoyed. When I think about the work that went into these stones, from mining to cutting and setting, and to the love they've had by their owners over the years (yep, I'm sentimental!)... go on, wear them :nod:

My OH has a Loupe but I haven't a clue what to look for he uses it for tinkering with watches and tiny components he uses for his hobby. I would never buy Diamonds from Q if I want to spend that sort of money I would go to a reputable jeweller.

I don't actually like diamonds, boring. I love colour simple so pinks,blues,purples,reds and greens. Most of the time I don't see the reason to add diamonds in the shoulders. Then of course there is the whole ethics of sourcing and blood diamonds.

I have a few diamonique pieces in 14ct white gold with very small stones, an eternity and a swiss set. They sparkle and are easy to wear, think I actually bought because of the white gold.

Maybe I should rename this thread 'QVC diamonds v Diamonique! Like I say, I can't really compare to real diamonds, only to other people's jewellery that I have seen and to these Q pieces. I have never really been impressed with other people's items either. I think it's definitely fair to say I am not a diamond girl! I am even having second thoughts about the Claudia ring now, even though it's lovely, it's a lot of money to pay for something that could pass for costume/faux jewellery

MinxyKitten said:

Maybe I should rename this thread 'QVC diamonds v Diamonique! Like I say, I can't really compare to real diamonds, only to other people's jewellery that I have seen and to these Q pieces. I have never really been impressed with other people's items either. I think it's definitely fair to say I am not a diamond girl! I am even having second thoughts about the Claudia ring now, even though it's lovely, it's a lot of money to pay for something that could pass for costume/faux jewellery

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Some people simply don`t go for diamonds or most jewellery. When my son proposed to his now wife, he took her ring shopping and gave her a very healthy budget. She looked at him in horror and told him no way did she intend to choose a ring anywhere near that price and would rather have a holiday instead. She picked a teeny tiny solitaire and got her holiday. She doesn`t even wear her ER nowadays and has a secondhand old Welsh gold plain wedding band which they bought from a pawn shop because she`s Welsh and wanted true Welsh gold. That`s all the jewellery she ever wears, oh and a watch she`s had for years.

The thing is, real diamonds are like living things - they are unique. That's what I love about mine (they are my guilty pleasure). But you should never, ever buy a diamond without seeing it with your own eyes, and in daylight too - get an assistant to accompany you outside the store.

To me, there is something thrilling about wearing something natural that was in the earth for millions of years, and sparkles like a star. Magical.

But like everything - it's about quality, not quantity.

At the end of the day you have to like it and wear it. Then no matter what the price it is good value.

I was going to upload a video on utube about this.

I own 4 'pwhoar' rings, a few moissanite and many 'eek' rings, and the one I was going to compare on utube was an eek ring I bought which is the identical look to a real cushion diamond which is a 3ct halo solitaire
(so I can wear the eek and keep real locked up) - then I backed out from uploading, being afraid a video watcher might seek me out in my home by gunpoint LOL
Anyway, I do have more rings than Geri Halliwell has engagement rings, it has to be said, and IMVHO, the only main difference to me, is 'depth' of stone. In a diamond, it seems to be endless in depth, when looking head-on, whereas the eek, quite shallow and too whitey-white. But then again the best grades I own are VVS-1/E and QVCs boast FL/D .. so until I own a FL/D (which is the 12th of never) I couldn't really comment on a true comparison, but I will stick with the depth, or just the "je ne sais quoi" the diamonds have over anything synthetic.

Of course the major drawback of diamond is the ongoing insurance cost, and I am convinced if I did claim, they would find a loophole not to pay up anyway!

The funny thing is though, on the rare occasion I wear the 3ct outdoors, most tend to say 'oh thats a nice diamonique ring you have there' - QVC Presenters always say 'people will assume its a diamond' but never consider diamond wearers getting the insult of people assuming its a CZ

:mysmilie_10: LOLOL

Vienna said:

She doesn`t even wear her ER nowadays and has a secondhand old Welsh gold plain wedding band which they bought from a pawn shop because she`s Welsh and wanted true Welsh gold. That`s all the jewellery she ever wears, oh and a watch she`s had for years.

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That welsh gold ER probably has a hell of a lot more true welsh from the mines than the 'touch' that Clogau does (about 1 grain of sands worth from them) Unless you're royal. :mysmilie_50:

Im with loveallthingsitalian - wear what you like and what you can afford. Im a magpie when it comes to shiny sparkly things - if i can afford real then i will otherwise pretend will do just fine! I treat them all equally but i have to say real diamonds give me great pleasure that just cant be met with imitation!