cz versus the real deal...

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#32
soshesaid said:
I am not trying to be incendiary, but in my opinion, and to my eyes, a diamond and a CZ look nothing alike. I have a couple of real diamonds, and have compared them side-by-side with CZs ... the light is reflected differently because it's a different substance. If you're looking at diamonds all day, you know the difference. With that said, both are a prism, and reflect the entire spectrum of light, so as a symbolic gesture they are similar. I would just be wary of those who try to sell you a CZ in place of a diamond, but it depends on what traditionally diamonds have symbolized to your community whether or not they will hold value.
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You say you would be wary of jeweler trying to sell a CZ....its not the jewelers choice its the customers choice...if a customer wants a CZ its not the jeweler trying to sell one. Its what the customer wants.

I live in a expensive area and ALOT of the people I have met or talked to have CZ's.

Its honestly all personal choice...I love diamonds i think they are pretty...but I personally wouldnt spend the money on them. But everyone is entiled to their own opinion.

Its almost ironic because I HATE HATE fake purses and bootleg clothing...but yet I will be the first to admit I wouldnt mind having a CZ! I guess its all realative!!!
 
#34
CZ and diamonds look NOTHING alike. LOL Whoever thinks they do needs their eyes checked. There is no way I'd ever wear a CZ as an engagement ring. I just think it's TACKY.....VERY TACKY.
 
#38
Say I were single, and my bf would be proposing. Though I wouldn't want a CZ engagement ring, I don't think it's a big deal if others do, there's nothing wrong with them :rolleyes:

Then again I DON'T want a diamond one either :idea: I'd rather my fiance put that money towards a house, or our savings. :yes:
 
#39
ShimmaPuff said:
Occasionally someone, some extremely gifted someone, writes a concise sentence or two that crystallizes an idea on which I have expounded and pontificated and committed what would be a 3 foot high stack of single-spaced words upon words upon words, and never gotten closer to the goal than the "Occasionally Semi-Coherent" mark, and even then, obscured my point, myself and the occasional lurker with a severe case of Compulsive Reading Syndrome in a nebulous and rococo mazecloud of never-ending words and word wannabes, and then I see that paragraph, that luminescent and illuminating and accessible oh my! little sentence clump, perfect as a newbloomed rose at sunrise, and I just have to take a minute, and gaze at it in admiration, awe, and yes, not a little envy, before I set my nose sternly to the arduous task, and try my best to achieve my own personal unreachable star, of simply saying "Thank You."

Thank You for helping those of us Living With Brevity Impairment see how it looks written like we should have written it, but can only dream of, writing it.
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Why thank you Shimmer Puff! My efficiency with words probably comes from being an accountant!!! But, what I write comes from the heart and my life experiences. I love good things as much as the next person, but I know that a cz will easily pass as the real thing because even diamonds differ in color, quality and scintilation, fire etc. Only 10% of diamonds are cut correctly re. the angles of the lower pavillion, and the angles of the upper crown. But, hey, jewellers still need to sell the other 90%!

Being a realist, I am also aware that the resale value is so low, that the majority of the diamonds we see on each others hands better have sentamental value because thats about as good as its going to get!!!

I have experienced first hand people gushing and drooling over some of my cz jewellery. Once I had a tennis bracelot that would have been worth $1 million if it was real. I didnt even realise that anyone would think it was real but I got comments all the time. People were effected on a very emotional level. I took advantage of this to show others that much of what we are jealous of and putting on a pedistal is `nothing`. I wanted to teach that lesson especially to my friends....and then I got them some beautiful cz pieces so they could all feel very special too!!!!

At the end of the day, life is short, jewellery is there is be enjoyed. Real diamonds are great, well cut diamonds are the bomb....but cz can also hit the spot. imo
 
#40
Littlesharon said:
For me its an interesting concept that a lot of what we put on a pedistal is just smoke and mirrors. It interesting that we can be admiring what we think is an object of intrinsic value, but it may only be glass. It shows you that not everything is what it appears.
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Exactly. Reminds me of a discussion i was having with my new guy and his point was basically this- you could buy the most amazing cake made by a gourmet french chef, fly it in, and then get it decorated at Safeway.. and then on the contrary buy a Safeway cake and fly it to france to be decorated immaculately by the best cake designers on the planet.. have a slice of each cake in front of you.. and in the end.. most people are going to like the Safeway cake better because it APPEARS prettier/more expensive/etc.. but it tastes.. well.. like a Safeway cake.
 
#41
My mother can spot a CZ a mile away. They really don't look the same, they have a different sparkle, it's hard to describe. Of course, she can spot the different qualities of crystal, too.
 
#42
IMO, if you really like a cz JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT, then get it. But if the intention is to use it as a cheaper alternative to a diamond and to impress people (make them think its real), forget it. ;)
 
#44
I don't see the big deal. Really. I have a diamond engagement ring, but if we were needing money elsewhere, I would have been happy with a thin silver band.

My earrings, OTOH, are cz-- I just cant justify the price of diamonds for something I wear in my ears (and lose lots). If someone asked me, I would tell them they are cz.
 
#45
I feel pretty strongly about this one ... the original purpose of the diamond engagement ring was for the diamond to be a symbol of the man's financial prosperity, and to assure the woman's family that he would be able to take care of her, when he was marrying her and she would be leaving her father's house. That's why people are more "impressed" by large diamonds - it show's off the wealth of the couple.

These days, of course, most women are financially independent, so it's not like the guy has to show her dad that he can take care of her, since she was probably taking care of herself before they got engaged.

However, I am traditional, so I still see it as a symbol of the man's commitment to his wife by making a financial sacrifice to get her something of value. When we went diamond shopping, my husband was determined to spend as least two months salary, because that's what he felt that I "deserved."

That's not to say that I think a woman needs any particular size diamond - but it needs to be real, and her fiance should have saved for the purchase - I think 2 months salary is a good guideline. If that means that she's getting a real .25 carat diamond because that's what his budget can afford, then she should wear it with pride.

I know someone who's fiance drives a $60,000 car & spends $ like it's water on himself, but she's walking around with a 3 carat CZ on her finger that she's trying to pass off as a real diamond (she knows it isn't). My husband was disgusted when her fiance bought her that - he said that it showed a real lack of commitment to her - if he were really serious about the relationship, he would have either bought her a smaller, real diamond, or sold the fancy car to buy her the bigger diamond that he wanted everyone to "think" he had bought.

Maybe I have a more old-fashioned view of this, but I see the diamond engagement ring as a symbol. I think it's totally cool if you don't buy into it, though - I have lots of friends who just wear wedding bands, because they don't like the whole connotation of the couple's wealth being displayed on her finger - but I love diamonds too much to be that down to earth! :graucho:
 
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