Hi Aurora, welcome!

Two notes on your plan for the replica ring: I believe the original has a ruby, rather than a pink sapphire. Also, CZ will look more like diamond than colorless sapphire (RI of diamond: 2.4, dispersion 0.044; CZ: 2.2, 0.066; sapphire: 1.77, 0.018). If you like sapphire best, it's a perfectly legitimate choice, but CZ will sparkle more.

Welcome to the forum!  So sorry about the pretty ring that was stolen.

One negative to CZ would be that they have a tendency to cloud over and chip pretty bad after a few years.  I speak from experience

Sounds like you got a great del on your current ring.  It's amazing what you can find 2nd hand!

Thank you everyone for the replies. I was definitely able to tell i was in the right place!


I think we have a small confusion I mean her very first set from Nick Lachey, The pear shaped with the full diamond band. I think her one now is absolutely ugly, tacky, and yeah.. haha.


Yes craigslist is a very, I guess you could say, iffy..I got lucky and met the person at a Jeweler and he explained his girl he gave this ring to, cheated on him while he was serving over seas, he looked so sad. I think i got a steal because I'm sure retail this was atleast a grand or more, considering the center stone is a decent size, though i'm not sure it's exacts.


As for the CZ, you guys sure that won't look so tacky? I had a CZ ring from HSN for my first engagement ring, and my goodness, it got dirty so fast, and just looked so unbelievably cheap..

I'd also like to add i browsed DBL's site last night. I think i died a little inside and went to heaven LOL

If i won the lottery, I think my husband would most likely kill me lol. How's that song go "Some women are dripping in diamonds......" hahahaha

PS You avatar makes me all fuzzy inside

And perhaps not given by Nick Lachey (whoever he is)?   The ruby looks a nice stone btw.

I think CZ looks tacky if:

1. It's worn in such a way that makes it obvious it is fake AND the wearer has no sense of humour.
2. It's poor quality, porous and it gets dirty and opaque. Not all CZ is the same quality, just like diamonds...

Never heard of them. But finding someone that is willing to use quality CZ to make a replica should not be difficult. And while it's more expensive than the cheapest CZ, it's not at all expensive in gem terms - think a few dollars per carat, vs. less than $1 for the crap erm, lesser quality ones.

Welcome to the funny farm for diamond lovers...I'm learning a lot here too.  I'm learning amongst other things that my jewelry tastes keep changes, so window shopping the DBL webpages has helped a lot.  Good luck in getting the ER of your dreams...but the one you got for now from Craigslist was an amazing deal!            

Hi Aurora!

Mind if I throw in my two (or three) cents' worth on your CZ idea?  I *exhaustively* researched all options on my e-ring, since we are on a tight budget, before my fiance'-to-be reserved my ring just two days ago ::happy grin::  IMHO, if you want to go with a "normal"-sized diamond ring, aka don't-have-to-eat-ramen-every-day-forever-because-of-the-purchase, find something on DBL, because you just can't beat the quality, workmanship, and stellar customer service.  Trust me, I looked at THOUSANDS of rings before making my decision.

See, since I didn't really need a center stone that was bigger than .50-.75ct, because I wanted a halo setting anyhow, I thought I could find a setting I loved, stick a CZ inside, and flip it out for a diamond later one.  What I found out was that with the skyrocketing price of precious metals, the stone really wasn't the expensive part of the deal, the (admittedly labor-intensive) setting was.  We saved both time and money buying a pre-made Henri Daussi ring instead, all natural stones, for far less than it would have cost to have both components purchased separately, EVEN IF THE CENTER STONE HAD BEEN A CZ.  http://rockdiamond.c...d-lovely-color-r3623

Heh heh.  I do like to show her off already   Anyhow, I noticed that your dream re-make of Jessica's ring is all huge stones in a simple setting.  Obviously, those aren't the sort of rocks most of us could afford, so IMHO, go get a replica made in CZ.  I hope I am not breaking any forum rules here, but from my research, Wink Jones is widely-known and respected for his work in both diamonds and CZs.  Google him.  He's up-front and honest about how long a life you can expect on average from his CZs, he's got a great selection of colors and cuts, and his prices are low enough on even humongous stones that you can afford to replace them when they don't last as long as a diamond. 

I hope this helps!  See, then you can get your huge replica ring on the cheap, and come back and get some really cool diamond stuff at DBL to go with it

Also, don't disregard pawn shops as good sources for jewelry and great prices.


Ooooo Deb, that's a gorgeous Daussi! Very, very pretty. I eyeballed that one quite a few times before setting my heart on a different one. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Hubby let's me get the one I picked. We'll see.

Welcome Aurora!!
Thanks for joining.

Hi Aurora. Welcome! In my view, you did an awesome job snagging your ring for just $300! 

I agree with diamondsareforever: moissanite is an excellent diamond substitute, and it won't break the bank. Also, although there are differences in their overall durability, natural gems zircon (not the manmade cubic zirconia, or CZ), white corundum (sapphire), white topaz, and manmade stones gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) and yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), in addition to CZ, can all be considered as diamond look-alikes.