There are many reasons to buy artificial diamonds instead of the mined variety. The prices charged for mined diamonds are, in the very best verbiage, an illusion. To put it more bluntly, Cecil Adams, in his award-winning newspaper column "The right Dope" says: "Diamonds are a con, pure and simple." diamond prices are largely controlled by the DeBeers diamond cartel, and they are not a fair reflection of diamond scarcity. Additionally, studies show that one out of three diamonds sold in the Us today has been altered to artificially increase its value. Additional studies have shown that on median a consolidate pays 40% too much for their diamond engagement ring.
Beyond deceptive pricing, there are the issues of "blood diamonds", forced child labor, and a myriad of other disturbing diamond facts.
man-made Diamonds; A Buyer's Guide
Recently, socially conscious celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Minnie Driver, and Angelina Jolie have made a vocal issue of wearing only artificial diamonds to the many gala events they attend.
Good artificial diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from the mined variety, but without the baggage, and additionally, they cost thousands of dollars less. But, which artificial diamond is the best choice?
There are many types of manufactured or artificial diamonds available. The choices are numerous, but unbiased facts is scarce. Here is an summary and comparison of the artificial diamonds currently unavailable on the market:
Cubic Zirconia
The grandfather of simulated diamonds, Zircons are ready widely. In their best examples, Cz's are indubitably a fairly decent diamond replica. Unfortunately, the commodity-like availability and vast differences in potential have made the stone synonymous with low-cost fashion jewelry. possibly a good choice for cheap bling, but not for fine jewelry. Many sources are available, a decent one is: http://www.czfantasy.com
Russian Diamonds
Including Russian Brilliants, Russian Stars and others, they are in fact nothing but high potential cubic zirconias. This is not mentioned prominently on their web sites and they will only cop to it when pressed, but that is the fact. Russian diamond simulates are priced colse to 0 per carat.
Russian Diamonds are a fine jewelry choice and are commonly mounted in potential high-priced metal settings.
Russian Brilliants are one of the best and oldest sellers of "Russian Diamonds" ready at: http://www.russianbrilliants.net
Moissanite
Moissanite is a lab-created mineral that is a very good diamond simulant. Moissanite has been on the store as a fine jewelry choice since the early 90s and has picked up quite a few fans. Moissanite is a hard mineral that, like diamond, will cut glass. There are a consolidate of minor downsides to moissanite however. First, it is quite expensive, (though still cheap compared to diamonds) commonly priced about 0 per carat for good samples.
Secondly, moissanite does not have the same optic qualities as diamond and there are several indicators that make them easy to spot with the naked eye for an experienced practitioner. It is difficult to produce a pure white moissanite and they often appear slightly green when viewed in natural light. Also, moissanite has significantly higher glow and brilliance factors then natural diamond, causing them to appear "too sparkly" to some. Allinclusive though, moissanite is a beautiful artificial diamond choice.
"Moissanite From the Sky" at http://www.fromthesky.com is a good source of fine moissanite jewelry.
Diamond Nexus
Diamond Nexus gemstones are the supervene of a fairly new scientific advancement in processing technique, and have only recently been ready in the United States.
Diamond Nexus gemstones are exquisite diamond simulants and come very close to matching the properties of mined diamonds at many distinct comparison points. They cut glass, being virtually same to diamond on the Mohs (hardness) scale. They refract exquisite "hearts and arrows" and have glow and brilliance readings extremely close to flawless diamond.
Best of all, they are currently first priced for the U.S. Market, and are a steal at per caret. diamond Nexus gemstones are only ready in high-priced metal, solid-gold settings.
Diamond Nexus is only ready from diamond Nexus Labs at: http://www.DiamondNexusLabs.com
White Sapphire
Sapphire is the second hardest natural mineral on the Mohs scale, surpassed only by diamond. They are, unlike the others in this review, a natural stone. Their glow and brilliance are not up to the standards of diamond however. Nevertheless, potential white sapphires priced at colse to 0 per carat are a good diamond alternative.
A potential source is: http://www.TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com
Gemisis Cultured Diamond
Gemisis diamonds are beautiful and practically exquisite diamond replicas. Unfortunately, they are not ready in a clear, white color, so they are not a good choice for original diamond settings. However, if a yellow, orange or pink diamond is what you crave, Gemisis offers stunning choices in beautiful high-priced metal, fine-jewelry settings.
Gemisis Cultured Diamonds are only ready at: http://www.gemisis.com
Recap:
Synthetic diamonds offer many advantages over the mined variety. You can buy with confidence, knowing that you are getting exactly what you paid for, and have not been the victim of diamond pricing chicanery. If you are concerned with the world colse to you, you can have a clear conscience, knowing that your money has not contributed to the retain of an unethical and abusive industry.
However, there are many choices of artificial diamonds, with varying degrees of quality. Take a limited time to delineate the seller's facts to get a clear idea of what the science is behind the gemstones you are buying.
For my money, I believe the best choices are potential Moissanite stones or the new diamond simulant gemstones ready from diamond Nexus Labs.
man-made Diamonds; A Buyer's Guide
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