What Do You Do When A Diamond Is WAY Too Much?

The problem many people encounter when considering asking that special someone for a life commitment, is how to deal with the high cost of those little sparkly gems called diamonds. Though there are certainly positive attributes attached to this particular gem, they are still far over the budget of many... especially if you want quality as well as size. So what, you may ask, are the alternatives? Before we go into what your alternatives are it is a good idea you get some good information about Diamonds themselves, as well as their price point and how they are priced.

Of course you know that Diamonds are gorgeous, durable and tough. Most people go into the process of buying a diamond knowing full well that a good one will not be cheap. He's what most people don't know.... most jewelry stores do not make a lot of money on diamonds. Contrary to popular belief, most jewelers sell diamonds close to or at wholesale prices, and those prices are fixed mostly by DeBeers Corporation, which still controls most of the diamond mines and mining in the world. Diamonds you buy in the retail market are priced according to the Rappaport Diamond Report (Rap Report) which gives jewelers a comprehensive list of current wholesale diamond prices. Jewlers rarely, if ever, add on more than 10% to the price listed in the Rap Report. If you are at a jewelry store buying a diamond, ask to see the report while you are dealing with the store... most honest family run jewelers will be happy to show the report to you and go over how it's used.

Also contrary to popular belief, diamonds are not necessarily forever. Diamonds can be cracked, chipped and even burned under the right conditions. However, compared to other gemstones, they are still the toughest and most durable of them all. For the purposes of the article, since my philosophy on gems is the bigger the better, lets talk about and compare 2.75-3.5 carat diamonds and the alternatives.

Diamonds:

Pros: They are tough and durable and under normal wear are unlikely to get damaged, they have a great deal of brilliance and fire (brilliance being the white flashes of light you see from a stone and fire being the prismatic colored flashes), their price is not affected by the prices of other commodities but is fixed by the diamond cartels and so remain fairly stable, they come in a wide variety of colors (though be prepared to really fork out some dough if you want a fancy color diamond), they are easy to care for.

Cons: They can still be damaged in some ways (if you hit a diamond just right it can crack or chip), price (yep, very pricey even without a markup added by retailers)

For example's sake, a 3ct round, J color, VS2 Clarity, diamond with a GIA Cert will run you roughly 43,470.00. The color and clarity would be around the average most consumers would be looking for but wow, who has 44k in their pocket??

OK... so what are the alternatives you may ask?? Well, here are a few, though certainly not all.

Moissanite:

Pros: Still very tough and durable (though not quite as tough and durable as a diamond), gorgeous fire and brilliance, not easily distinguished from diamonds by most people, it comes in a good range of colors, clarity (moissanite has a higher clarity as a standard than the average diamond), price (fancy colored and white moissanite will be roughly the same price, unlike colored diamonds).

Cons: It's not a diamond, slightly lower hardness, easily distinguished from diamonds by a trained jeweler, it's color will nearly always range toward the I/J/K color range when using a diamond color range comparison-- it has never been produced in a totally colorless state.

A 3ct, round brilliant cut stone will run you roughly $1000.00

Note: Moissanite is a lab grown gemstone of a similar chemical composition to diamonds. Though there is natural moissanite in nature, there are no natural crystals large enough to be used in jewelry. The major difference between moissanite and diamond, other than it's chemical make up is it refractive index, the change of direction in which light travels as it passes from one substance to another (as from air into a gemstone) and type of refraction. A moissanite's refractive index is 2.65-2.69 where as a diamond is 2.42 so it will appear to have more fire and brilliance than a diamond. Moissanite is also doubly refractive where as diamond is singly refractive. Put simply, the wavelengths of light entering a doubly refractive stone will split and travel in two separate directions rather than in just one. Over all, moissanite is probably the best substitute for a diamond as it's physical and chemical properties are very similar (they even test as diamonds on most diamond testers that rely on only thermo-conductivity to distinguish gem materials)

White Sapphire

Though white sapphire has a much lower toughness, durability, fire and brilliance than diamonds it is still a very good alternative. Sapphire has a hardness of 9 on the Moh's scale and will look absolutely beautiful if properly cared for. Sapphires do have a much lower refractive index than diamonds (1.759-1.778) and are doubly refractive. Anyone who owns a colored sapphire can tell you that it is a beautiful gem but will be easily distinguishable from a diamond, even by many untrained people.

Pros: Price, wide variety of colors, still very durable and tough, much less rare on the retail market, usually good clarity.

Cons: Easily distinguished from diamonds, not as tough or durable as a diamond, some treatments are not totally stable, good gem quality colorless sapphire may be difficult to find.

A caution here, many jewelry stores sell a lot of lab created sapphire (especially the chain stores). If you want to make sure the stone you are buying is a natural, mined sapphire, ask your salesperson and get it in writing. If you find later that the stone is lab created (and therefore much less valuable) you will have recourse to go after the store that sold you a lab created gem instead of a natural one.

A 3.59 ct, Radiant Cut Sapphire will run roughly $3,769.50

Cubic Zirconium

Of course most everyone has probably heard of this one. CZs are used constantly in costume jewelry and most jewelry stores use them in place of diamonds in the settings in their display cases. Cubic zirconia is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium oxide and is usually very hard, optically flawless and almost always completely colorless but can also be made in almost any color. It should not be confused with natural zircon, which is a zirconium silicate rather than a zirconium oxide. This gem is usually difficult to distinguish at a glance from diamond but closer inspection usually tips people off.... no diamond is ever as perfect as a CZ.

Pros: It has a fairly high refractive index (2.176) so will have plenty of fire and brilliance, can be made in a number of colors, the gem is heavy and will feel to most people like a diamond would feel as far as heaviness goes, price.

Cons: Easily distinguishable from diamond by trained jewelry professional and by many laypersons as well, much less durable and tough at a Moh's hardness of just 8, many CZ will cloud and become dull over time.

A 3.0 carat round brilliant cut CZ will run you roughly $84.00

Note: there are some types of new CZ that no longer cloud but retain their incredible fire and brilliance over time. There are also some gems that are thought to be improved forms of CZ that are harder than the CZs of the past (even some up to 9.25). The gem known as Lannyte may be one of these but the production of lannyte at this time is a closely guarded secret and no one is sure exactly what the gem material is... however, lannyte does retain it's fire and brilliance even with constant daily wear and is tough enough to be treated as a diamond. it is an excellent alternative gem.

Diamond Hybrid

These are very new and popular diamond alternatives for a number of reasons... the best being that the gem material that they are made of is actually lab grown diamond fused to a core of non-precious material. The material used for the core is currently a proprietary secret, however, the diamond material used around the core material is actual carbon bond diamond. This process gives these gems very nearly the look, toughness and durability of a solid diamond but at a much lower price point.

Pros: The gems are tough and durable, they have the same fire and brilliance of a solid diamond but tend to have much better color and clarity than most average diamonds, not easily (or really at all) distinguishable by laypersons from a solid diamond, price.

Cons: You know what? I can't think of any other than that the material is not quite as tough as a solid diamond and that they are easily distinguishable by a trained jeweler.

A 3.0 carat round (hearts and arrows cut) will run roughly $800.00-$1000.00

Cultured Diamonds

Just as cultured pearls are real pearls grown under controlled conditions on farms by man, cultured diamonds are real diamonds grown in labs by man. These stones are in every way the same as a diamond born in nature and mined from the earth. They have the same physical, chemical and optical properties as their natural counterparts. Their main drawback is that it's very difficult to grow colorless/white diamonds in labs without the impurities or crystal deformations that give colored diamonds their color. Until recently, colorless cultured diamonds above .25 carat were very rare. Most lab grown diamonds fall into the fancy yellow and orange color ranges with a few pinks, blues, greens and reds thrown in. One company specializing in lab diamonds has recently found a way to grow larger colorless stones but they have not gone to market yet and what carat weights the stones will be available in is yet to be seen. However, many like the idea of a fancy colored diamond and if this is your bag and you want a fancy colored diamond without the incredible (dare I say obnoxious) price of a natural fancy colored diamond, cultured diamonds are definitely the way to go.

Pros: They are REAL diamonds (not simulants, not substitutes, not fakes), their price point is lower than their natural counterparts (keep in mind we are talking about colored diamonds here, not colorless), they are guaranteed to be conflict free, they come in a good range of colors (though the yellow and orange are most common and it may be difficult to find the other colors).

Cons: Colorless cultured diamonds in any significant size are not available yet, they are still more pricey than some other alternatives, they can be hard to find (most jewelers still do not carry them).

A 3.0 carat round fancy vivid yellow or orange (and anything in this color range) will run roughly $18,000.00

Note: The Kimberly Process is supposed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the retail market but most jewelers have no idea what the sources of the diamonds they sell are. There is no way to know, when you are in a jewelry store, under what conditions and in what situation the diamond you are considering buying is mined. This is why some prefer the cultured diamonds... it's still very much a real diamond but no ambiguity about where it came from. Most cultured diamonds are grown in the USA by reputable labs such as Gemesis, Apollo and Chatham.

Natural Zircon

OK... most people hear zircon and immediately think cubic zirconium. A common mistake but as stated above, zircon is a natural gem and is not CZ. Zircon has a fairly high refractive index (1.81-2.024) and is doubly refractive so it has a lot of fire and brilliance. The downside to this gem is that it is not very durable. The gem only has a Moh's hardness of 7-7.5 and will show signs of wear after a time, especially at the facet edges and points. However, the gem is available in many colors as well as colorless and is a very beautiful gem that will last as long as set properly and taken care of.

Pros: Plenty of fire and brilliance, comes in a variety of colors, price.

Cons: Not as tough or durable, not always easy to find (many jewelers don't carry it as it is not a gem commonly in demand)

A 3.0 carat colorless zircon will run you $50.00 to $150.00 depending on quality and treatment.

Note: When looking at zircons at your local jeweler keep in mind that nearly all zircons are treated (usually with heat) and the treatment may or may not be totally stable.