What is diamonique??

[dearmissie]

I was flipping through channels last night and fell on QVC and saw they had really cute diamonique studs. I went online to ask them if they were CZ or diamond stimulant when I read on a thread here that,

"The sim diamond is chemically/molecularly the same as a "natural" (mined) diamond, minus the years and years spent in compression within a mountain (and much cheaper since the diamonds aren't mined). A CZ is a different stone altogether - chemically/molecularly."

I asked an associte of QVC if diamonique was CZ or diamond stimulant, and she said CZ. Then today I read the description of the some of their diamonique and it said "diamond stimulant" so I contacted another worker and she seriously had no idea what to say.


Barbara W: it is a simulated diamonique
missie: what is a stimulated diamonique??
Barbara W: man made
missie: but isnt both CZ and stimulated diamonds man made?
Barbara W: yes they are
missie: so does diamonique fall under stimulated diamonds or CZ?
Barbara W: no it is a simulated it has nothing to do with a diamond the whole diamonique is a man made stone
missie: im not sure if you understand what i am saying ma'am
missie: i should clarify. i'm asking if it is a stimulated diamond. do you know what the difference between a stimulated diamond and a CZ is?
Barbara W: I am sorry no I do not
missie: both CZs and stimulated diamonds are both man made. they are just made differently. 'The sim diamond is chemically/molecularly the same as a "natural" (mined) diamond, minus the years and years spent in compression within a mountain (and much cheaper since the diamonds aren't mined). A CZ is a different stone altogether'. i was wondering what catagory diamonique fell under.

Barbara W: I am sorry I can not tell you how they are made I can just tell you that they are man made
missy: okay thank you very much for all your help."






Does anyone know what they are?!!?

[_bella_]

According to Wikipedia and any other Google links I followed, it is trademark brand name QVC uses for cubic zirconia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonique

[rainrowan]

Diamonique is the trademark name for cubic zirconia (cz).

Diamonique/cubic zirconia falls under the group of simulated diamonds. They are not considered lab grown (I think).

The other group of diamonds is synthetic diamonds (Moissanite). Synthetic diamonds are lab grown and are same as diamonds in molecular structure etc. Lab grown starts with an actual diamond seed, and these are as close to the real diamond you are going to get without paying a real diamond price. You are buying a diamond that is not mined. Synthetic diamonds may still contain inclusions etc, because it is grown like real diamonds, just not mined.

Many sellers confuse the words simulated and synthetic in their descriptions and many buyers don't know the difference.

A synthetic diamond (moissanite, asha?, etc) is pricier than the simulated diamond (cz)

[chaz]

Simulated just means bears a resemblance to diamond,synthetic means its the same except the nature of its production,ie in a lab as opposed to Mother Nature.

Cz is produced by a method called skull crucible where a piece of zircon is put in to start the chemical process off,bit like a chemical 'soup'.
(hence cubic zirconia),the grown stuff has a cubic crystal system,whereas zircon is tetragonal,but only kicks off the chain so the two names were welded together as cubic zirconia.

Lab diamonds however have to follow the same heat and pressure rules that old Ma Nature put in place,so they are still like their natural counterparts in strength and harness etc,just formed in a lab and not deep in the Earth.

There has been loads of other things over the years that have been used to simulate diamonds,white zircon and white sapphire,but you can't beat the real deal!!! Lab or natural!!

[Kitsunegrl]

It is just QVC's brand of cz. It is pretty nice; I have bought a few pieces when I wanted to try a certain style before committing to the real deal.

[ilzabet]

Originally Posted by rainrowan

Diamonique is the trademark name for cubic zirconia (cz). Diamonique/cubic zirconia falls under the group of simulated diamonds. They are not considered lab grown (I think). The other group of diamonds is synthetic diamonds (Moissanite). Synthetic diamonds are lab grown and are same as diamonds in molecular structure etc. Lab grown starts with an actual diamond seed, and these are as close to the real diamond you are going to get without paying a real diamond price. You are buying a diamond that is not mined. Synthetic diamonds may still contain inclusions etc, because it is grown like real diamonds, just not mined. Many sellers confuse the words simulated and synthetic in their descriptions and many buyers don't know the difference. A synthetic diamond (moissanite, asha?, etc) is pricier than the simulated diamond (cz)

actually moissanite is an altogether different gem than CZ or lab created diamonds. still lab created, but again different completely molecularly/chemically....even visually (more refractive properties). just about the only thing they have in common is they're both clear and sparkley. :) ascha is a brand of CZ with diamond coating on the outside. true lab created diamonds cost nearly as much as a real diamond and are pretty rare.

wow, i never realized how confusing this is.

to answer the OP's question.....diamonique is QVC's branded CZ. they are very nice, but definitely cz. they offer a lot of gold settings though, which is hard to find in the traditional marketplace in CZ for a good price. i love that.

[chaz]

ooo,I forgot to mention,moissanite is a simulant.Its also doubly refractive where diamond is singly refractive.You can see it when you examine moiss with a 10x loupe.

I agree with ilazabet,that QVC do have some really nice settings that you don't normally find on cz's and the prices are a lovely feature too,so as a try before you commit to the real and more expensive thing I think its brilliant!!!

[sdkitty]

From what I've been able to surmise if you want something close to a real diamond for a better price, synthetic would give you that. But I don't know where to find a reputable dealer of such stones. I believe
"fine jewelers" would turn their noses up at them. And it seems they are not exactly cheap either? Better to just stick with conventional diamonds or CZs?

[chaz]

It does seem they are very expensive for synthetic material,so yeh,I think the real deal or cz is the best two options really. I have been wearing a cz solitaire pendant for a while now,never really worn pendants before.I really wanted to like the idea as it would go with my earrings and eng/ring,but after wearing it a couple of months I decided it really isn't for me.I have eventually gone for a Heidi Klum pave set pendant,much cheaper than a solitaire so wearing a cz has saved me about 4k!!!

[risingsun]

This company claims to offer heat-treated natural diamonds. I have no personal knowledge of their stones, but you could take a look.
http://www.bellatairediamonds.com/

[dearmissie]

wow, my brain hurts just thinking of this. how much are synthetic stones compared to CZs?? that big of a difference? thanks everyone for all the great responses!

[chaz]

Originally Posted by oo0ehxtahcee0oo

wow, my brain hurts just thinking of this. how much are synthetic stones compared to CZs?? that big of a difference? thanks everyone for all the great responses!

They are pretty expensive,the production costs are high,so if your doing a try before you buy I would go with cz's in all honesty. That way if its something you find you can live without your not going to break the bank while your at it!!!

[dearmissie]

thanks chaz!!

[girlsgottoshop]

I love Diamonique. It's fun to try out different settings, styles, etc. Tacori has a nice line of diamonique settings on there now.

[ArmCandyLuvr]

Has anyone else here had trouble with their Diamonique pieces turning cloudy over time? QVC used to always claim that Diamonique wouldn't turn all cloudy like other CZs. My mom bought me a pair of heart-shaped Diamonique studs when I was a teen (very cute for a teen, I might add). I still have them, and they are cloudy. Pretty disappointing considering my mom paid $40 for them at the time which was and still is a lot for CZs set in sterling. I could have gotten the same quality at a store like Target for less than $20.