Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy a lab diamond. No one can tell the difference and they are 1/10 of the price.

I’m considering a lab diamond. Are there any negatives to them?

The only negative is that the prices for lab diamonds are being manipulated like mined diamonds.

Pricescope has a very informative forum about lab diamonds but, be warned, the whole purpose of that website is to push buying expensive jewelry and most posters push people asking questions to buy more than they can afford.

You can buy the diamond on line and return it if you don’t like it. I bought a diamond from Ritani and it was a great experience.

I spent a bit of time learning the characteristics of a better quality diamond and you can plug those into a search engine at pricescope.

I found a great diamond at a very reasonable price and ordered and kept it. It was bizarre that the diamond still showed up as available after I bought it yet the price was thousands more.

My diamond tests as a diamond and it takes a special piece of equipment to differentiate it from a mined diamond. The price between my lab and the equivalent mined is incredible.

Also a lot of local jewelers sell labs now but check out the on line sellers before you commit. One jeweler was quoting me $20k for 4 carat lab earrings when the on line diamond dealers quality labs can be had for 4-5k.

Indians culturally had a gold and black chain necklace instead of a ring but guess now ring is as popular.

I have an art deco ring from the 1920’s and I love it. I don’t wear it daily, just because the nature of my work doesn’t allow me to, but I would if I could. It’s the nicest piece of jewelry I own. Everything else is sterling sliver or just fake/decorative stuff.

Anonymous wrote:When are we going to end this consumer spending trap? Why only a diamond ring worth several months worth of salary can show commitment? Aren't there other ways?

Strange comment. You can do whatever you want. Vulgar materialistic people can demand big stones. The rest of us can get other signs. I got my wife a nice sapphire ring. 22 years later all still appears to be going well.

Perhaps your real diamond will be the one that doesn’t demand one?

Just don’t get one. I don’t have one and nobody has ever noticed or cared.

I don't have a diamond. I find them cheesy. It is possible to not participate. Been married for 18 years. Yes, could afford a diamond.

We used a hand me down ring. Don’t know why more people don’t do this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got a lab grown diamond and am glad no poor schlub had to risk life and limb to get it. I think it looks pretty.

If you don’t want one, don’t get one - fixed!

Unfortunately I'm just one man against a huge cartel of otherwise fine women who all demand it.

so you don't even have a specific woman in mind who you'd want to buy a ring for but you're complaining about needing to buy one? Yeah, sounds about right for DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:I specifically wanted a vintage ring. I think it was like $2k tops

I LOVE my vintage ring. It has a great story behind it and is a little different than the trendy rings of today. It is classic, beautiful, unique. Well, maybe not unique - was it mass produced in 1880? I don't know. But it is unique today!!

Anonymous wrote:I got a lab grown diamond and am glad no poor schlub had to risk life and limb to get it. I think it looks pretty.

If you don’t want one, don’t get one - fixed!

Unfortunately I'm just one man against a huge cartel of otherwise fine women who all demand it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't need to be several months salary. I really don't know why people buy into that. Very smart marketing I guess.

But I do think rings are a sweet tradition, and they are a gift. And when you give a gift, you shouldn't be cheap about it. Everyone has a different idea of what is a cheap engagement ring, but I've seen a lot of men who make above-medial salaries say 50 dollars is perfectly fine. They get up in arms about capitalism, for the first time ever, when their fiancees complain. Give me a break. (Mine cost 1K, I picked it out, I think it's lovely)

It’s great for the woman not the man and it is not a gift.

NP. "Not a gift"? So it's quid pro quo, you expect something in return? I get it. You're a man, you're pi**ed that you shelled out for a ring and didn't get exactly what you want (probably ideal sex, on demand, every time) from your wife. Well, the "it's not a gift" attitude and the view of marriage as a transaction is why you aren't getting what you wanted....

It's not a gift. It's demanded by the woman, in exchange for the marriage. It's not even about the quality of the ring, it's about the price (hence the opposition to higher quality lab diamonds or cost effective alternate gems).

90% Women aren't buying a "gift" like this for their fiance.

I got a lab grown diamond and am glad no poor schlub had to risk life and limb to get it. I think it looks pretty.

If you don’t want one, don’t get one - fixed!

I love sapphires and I have a sapphire engagement ring. I just don't think diamonds are all that special.

Anonymous wrote:I recently lost my eternity band that I’d had for almost 20 years and was a bit crestfallen. I was not up for buying a replacement and just went to Pandora this week and got a silver and cubic zirconia ring set (looks like band with engagement ring) for $127 total. Maybe diamond experts can tell that they’re fake (or maybe the average person can, too?), but they’re pretty and sparkly and I don’t need to worry about them getting lost or damaged.

Sorry about your band! I like your choice to replace it with something replaceable and wearable without worry, PP. I have my rings (garnet engagment ring, not a diamond) and love them, but issues with my knuckles mean it's now difficult to wear them. I like wearing a ring to show I'm married; that's meaningful to me; so, like you, I got an inexpensive set online. Two identical plain bands plus one ring with a green stone (a Swarovski crystal). Total around the same as yours, and I wear one plain band 24/7 which I never did with my original wedding band or engagement ring. I have a backup plain band that doesn't get the daily wear and tear, and wear that and the stone ring when I dress up.

I just got a 10 year anniversary "upgraded" set but went with lab diamond and my 2.02 G color diamond with pave band was $1400. Happy to recommend the jeweler- he's out of NY, but very easy to work with remotely and then overnights the ring. He also does estate jewelry so he can source earth mined stones from estates and then make them in to the ring you'd like fo much cheaper than walking into a big box store and purchasing a ring.