Comments on: Fake Diamond Controversy http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/ A rich life without a lot of money Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:59:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Amolner http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31708 Amolner Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:59:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31708 We have been buying jewelry from DNL for probably five or six years now... rings, pendants, earrings.  We have been very happy with every purchase.  Although I can't comment on comparing DNL products to $25K jewelry as one individual wrote about, I can comment on the quality of their products compared to the more "normal" $2k - $5k diamond jewelry, and we believe DNL's products (at least those we have) are beautiful.  And they cost 10-20% of jewelry with real diamonds.  We stopped buying real diamonds when we started buying DNL products.  Their stones are absolutely gorgeous to the naked eye.  We have not studied them under significant magnification, but then who checks out your jewelry with a magnifier when you're wearing it? Some people probably buy jewelry as an investment; others to show off what they can spend on it.  Our approach has been to buy pieces that look nice when you're wearing them.  Purchasing DNL products has permitted us to own some very, very nice looking jewelry.  We bought one piece of CZ jewelry a while back, and it just doesn't compare.  There are other synthetic stones out there, but we've been happy with DNL's stones and settings and haven't tried anything else since.  DNL's stones really catch the light, as well as a large number of compliments. We have had only good experiences with DNL.  Granted we have never needed their customer service.  Their settings have all been very strong, well-made and attractive; and they've always shipped the correct products quickly.   We have absolutely no affiliation with DNL, but we would recommend them. We have been buying jewelry from DNL for probably five or six years now… rings, pendants, earrings.  We have been very happy with every purchase.  Although I can’t comment on comparing DNL products to $25K jewelry as one individual wrote about, I can comment on the quality of their products compared to the more “normal” $2k – $5k diamond jewelry, and we believe DNL’s products (at least those we have) are beautiful.  And they cost 10-20% of jewelry with real diamonds.  We stopped buying real diamonds when we started buying DNL products.  Their stones are absolutely gorgeous to the naked eye.  We have not studied them under significant magnification, but then who checks out your jewelry with a magnifier when you’re wearing it?

Some people probably buy jewelry as an investment; others to show off what they can spend on it.  Our approach has been to buy pieces that look nice when you’re wearing them.  Purchasing DNL products has permitted us to own some very, very nice looking jewelry.  We bought one piece of CZ jewelry a while back, and it just doesn’t compare.  There are other synthetic stones out there, but we’ve been happy with DNL’s stones and settings and haven’t tried anything else since.  DNL’s stones really catch the light, as well as a large number of compliments.

We have had only good experiences with DNL.  Granted we have never needed their customer service.  Their settings have all been very strong, well-made and attractive; and they’ve always shipped the correct products quickly.  

We have absolutely no affiliation with DNL, but we would recommend them.

]]> By: Atlantis18 http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31707 Atlantis18 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:07:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31707 This really helps out , thanks engaged june 2012 This really helps out , thanks engaged june 2012

]]> By: Foorbrittany http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31624 Foorbrittany Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:11:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31624 I got a DNL as an engagement ring 5 months ago.  The ring is pretty, but the band is turning copper colored around the stones and the prongs, which is obviously really embarrassing.  5 months seems pretty early to me to dip the band.  I think the alloy mix was off when they made the white gold. I got a DNL as an engagement ring 5 months ago.  The ring is pretty, but the band is turning copper colored around the stones and the prongs, which is obviously really embarrassing.  5 months seems pretty early to me to dip the band.  I think the alloy mix was off when they made the white gold.

]]> By: Alexandra1662003 http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31617 Alexandra1662003 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:58:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31617 I just received a DNL ring from my husband, and although I am not in the diamond business, I can TOTALLY tell the difference between the DNL stone and the real ring my ex husband bought me(for over 25k). If you hold the DNL stone right next to a high quality stone(mine is 1.8 CTs, D color, vs1) you can just tell- I don't know how else to describe it. My response to everyone's posts on here: the fact that anyone is considering a ring, real or not, shows all of us how ingrained the engagement ring tradition thing is. We will never really know where a real stone originally came from-there are too many middlemen who "touch" it on it's way to a US jewelry store. So it comes down to this: if you really care enough to think about this issue(namely a real stone for big $$$ versus a fake stone, whereever you get it) think about what your ring would be worth if you had to sell it. My ex husband negotiated HARD- he was a total jerk to the jeweler, to get as close to wholesale as he could on the diamond. my consolation is that if I had to sell it, I would make a lot of money. Real jewelry, of a certain quality(18k gold/platinum setting) usually goes up in value, and as long as the traditional diamond industry maintains a tight hold on inventory(which we can all assume they will, since soooo many people would lose money if the diamond market was suddenly flooded with product) you are probably safe spending serious money for a high quality ring. So, if you have the budget, and an engagement ring is important to you, I say buy something that over time goes up in value. If you are budget minded, buy a USED DNL ring-there's bound to be a secondary market for DNL rings. I wouldn't spend more than $500.00 on a fake ring though- it will not be worth much at all if you have to sell it. Or say to hell with the whole diamond thing and get really cool bands. I just received a DNL ring from my husband, and although I am not in the diamond business, I can TOTALLY tell the difference between the DNL stone and the real ring my ex husband bought me(for over 25k). If you hold the DNL stone right next to a high quality stone(mine is 1.8 CTs, D color, vs1) you can just tell- I don’t know how else to describe it.
My response to everyone’s posts on here: the fact that anyone is considering a ring, real or not, shows all of us how ingrained the engagement ring tradition thing is. We will never really know where a real stone originally came from-there are too many middlemen who “touch” it on it’s way to a US jewelry store. So it comes down to this: if you really care enough to think about this issue(namely a real stone for big $$$ versus a fake stone, whereever you get it) think about what your ring would be worth if you had to sell it. My ex husband negotiated HARD- he was a total jerk to the jeweler, to get as close to wholesale as he could on the diamond. my consolation is that if I had to sell it, I would make a lot of money. Real jewelry, of a certain quality(18k gold/platinum setting) usually goes up in value, and as long as the traditional diamond industry maintains a tight hold on inventory(which we can all assume they will, since soooo many people would lose money if the diamond market was suddenly flooded with product) you are probably safe spending serious money for a high quality ring. So, if you have the budget, and an engagement ring is important to you, I say buy something that over time goes up in value. If you are budget minded, buy a USED DNL ring-there’s bound to be a secondary market for DNL rings. I wouldn’t spend more than $500.00 on a fake ring though- it will not be worth much at all if you have to sell it. Or say to hell with the whole diamond thing and get really cool bands.

]]> By: June Child http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31595 June Child Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:19:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31595 I don't work for DNL, I work for an insurance company actually, and I have nothing but compliments for DNL. My bf bought me a pendant 4 years ago, that I get compliments on all the time, and it still looks fantastic. I don't do anything special to take care of it and wear it almost constantly. I recently received a real diamond ring from my 4 aunts, who all chipped in to buy it for me, to match the pendant. They paid, in my opinion, a ridiculous amount and the pendant still looks better. I don’t work for DNL, I work for an insurance company actually, and I have nothing but compliments for DNL. My bf bought me a pendant 4 years ago, that I get compliments on all the time, and it still looks fantastic. I don’t do anything special to take care of it and wear it almost constantly.

I recently received a real diamond ring from my 4 aunts, who all chipped in to buy it for me, to match the pendant. They paid, in my opinion, a ridiculous amount and the pendant still looks better.

]]> By: FrugalBabe http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31507 FrugalBabe Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:34:06 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31507 Dan - Well said. I couldn't agree more. I've had my DNL ring for 4.5 years, and I'm still completely happy with it. I bent the band and bashed the setting a bit loose a while ago, and they fixed it for me (including new rhodium plating, reshaping the band, and fixing the setting) for something like $35. Customer service has been excellent, and my ring is still exactly what I wanted. I remember reading a review a while ago where a person complained because she bought a DNL stone and then fell on hard times and tried to pawn it. She was miffed because the pawn shop could tell that it wasn't a mined diamond and would only pay her the value of a man-made diamond instead. She said she felt "cheated". I am not making this up. Apparently, her plan was to cheat the pawn shop, and she wasn't happy when it didn't work out. Obviously the stones that DNL sells are not the same as the stones that are dug out of the earth. If they were, they wouldn't cost $100/carat. But my untrained eye can't tell the difference, and I would say that's true for most people. I second Dan's point about not going too big. If you suddenly start wearing celebrity-size rocks, people will probably assume they're fake (plus, that's just tacky anyway). My stone is also 1 carat, and it's a perfect size. Dan – Well said. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve had my DNL ring for 4.5 years, and I’m still completely happy with it. I bent the band and bashed the setting a bit loose a while ago, and they fixed it for me (including new rhodium plating, reshaping the band, and fixing the setting) for something like $35. Customer service has been excellent, and my ring is still exactly what I wanted.

I remember reading a review a while ago where a person complained because she bought a DNL stone and then fell on hard times and tried to pawn it. She was miffed because the pawn shop could tell that it wasn’t a mined diamond and would only pay her the value of a man-made diamond instead. She said she felt “cheated”. I am not making this up. Apparently, her plan was to cheat the pawn shop, and she wasn’t happy when it didn’t work out. Obviously the stones that DNL sells are not the same as the stones that are dug out of the earth. If they were, they wouldn’t cost $100/carat. But my untrained eye can’t tell the difference, and I would say that’s true for most people. I second Dan’s point about not going too big. If you suddenly start wearing celebrity-size rocks, people will probably assume they’re fake (plus, that’s just tacky anyway). My stone is also 1 carat, and it’s a perfect size.

]]> By: Dan S. http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31506 Dan S. Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:00:21 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31506 I purchased a "diamond" from DNL to put as the center stone in a wedding/engagement ring. The stone (brilliant cut, 1 carrot) was absolutely beautiful. Since we were in a rush I had DNL ship us the stone and I had it installed by a local jeweler. After about 9 months, the stone developed a small crack in it. It turns out that DNL will only warranty stones that they set themselves. When I looked back at the literature they sent with the stone, it said that if you have someone else set the stone that they need to have a slightly different "heat setting" than typical diamonds. Well, our fault, we forgot to pass that info along. My wife and I talked about it, and (until the original stone cracked) we were very happy with the purchase. So, we decided this time to send the ring to DNL and this time have them set the replacement stone we purchased. We just received it back today and it is absolutely incredible. They rhodium plated and polished the ring and it is the most beautiful we have ever seen it! They did fantastic work, and I would have saved quite a bit of money and frustration if I had them set the original stone the first time. If you educate yourself to what you are actually buying, you shouldn't knock DNL. If you think you can buy an -actual- 1 carrot diamond (natural or synthetic) for $100-200 then I have a bridge for sale. My wife and I decided to put the $4,000-6000 we would have spent on a diamond into our house's down payment. If we tried to be ghetto-tastic and put a big 2-3 carrot diamond in the ring then it would look totally fake... so choosing a stone that doesn't look "too big" is a big part of helping it look genuine. For our needs, the 1 carrot diamond fit the setting perfectly. We are very happy with our purchase. I would certainly do business with DNL again. I didn't even know this site existed until I typed in "Diamond Nexus Lab review" into google because we were so excited about how beautiful the ring looked when we got it that I wanted to write them a positive review. After reading many of the reviews on this site I was surprised that so many people had a bit of a sour taste in their mouth with this company. Do the research! Know EXACTLY what you are purchasing! If DNL has the product you want, I can recommend them highly. I purchased a “diamond” from DNL to put as the center stone in a wedding/engagement ring. The stone (brilliant cut, 1 carrot) was absolutely beautiful. Since we were in a rush I had DNL ship us the stone and I had it installed by a local jeweler. After about 9 months, the stone developed a small crack in it. It turns out that DNL will only warranty stones that they set themselves. When I looked back at the literature they sent with the stone, it said that if you have someone else set the stone that they need to have a slightly different “heat setting” than typical diamonds. Well, our fault, we forgot to pass that info along.

My wife and I talked about it, and (until the original stone cracked) we were very happy with the purchase. So, we decided this time to send the ring to DNL and this time have them set the replacement stone we purchased. We just received it back today and it is absolutely incredible. They rhodium plated and polished the ring and it is the most beautiful we have ever seen it! They did fantastic work, and I would have saved quite a bit of money and frustration if I had them set the original stone the first time.

If you educate yourself to what you are actually buying, you shouldn’t knock DNL. If you think you can buy an -actual- 1 carrot diamond (natural or synthetic) for $100-200 then I have a bridge for sale. My wife and I decided to put the $4,000-6000 we would have spent on a diamond into our house’s down payment. If we tried to be ghetto-tastic and put a big 2-3 carrot diamond in the ring then it would look totally fake… so choosing a stone that doesn’t look “too big” is a big part of helping it look genuine. For our needs, the 1 carrot diamond fit the setting perfectly.

We are very happy with our purchase. I would certainly do business with DNL again. I didn’t even know this site existed until I typed in “Diamond Nexus Lab review” into google because we were so excited about how beautiful the ring looked when we got it that I wanted to write them a positive review. After reading many of the reviews on this site I was surprised that so many people had a bit of a sour taste in their mouth with this company.

Do the research! Know EXACTLY what you are purchasing! If DNL has the product you want, I can recommend them highly.

]]> By: Bonnie R http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-31336 Bonnie R Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:10:44 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-31336 I wear a DNL ring which I have had for a year now. It remains beautiful although I was initially very skeptical about how it would look a year out. I have two daughters both of whom got engaged last year. Each has a huge stone. One is a a 25k diamond, the other a 2k DNL. Each has had her ring 11 months and each is thrilled with her choice. It will be interesting to see how the DNL ring looks in another few years. I wear a DNL ring which I have had for a year now. It remains beautiful although I was initially very skeptical about how it would look a year out. I have two daughters both of whom got engaged last year. Each has a huge stone. One is a a 25k diamond, the other a 2k DNL. Each has had her ring 11 months and each is thrilled with her choice. It will be interesting to see how the DNL ring looks in another few years.

]]> By: Frugal Babe http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-30927 Frugal Babe Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:03:46 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-30927 Kevin, I've been wearing the ring for more than four years now, and it still looks great. It still sparkles. Last year, I was lifting weights without gloves and bent the band a bit - it wasn't all the way circular anymore. I spoke with DNL and they said they'd fix it for me if I sent it back. I think it cost me $30, and they sent my ring back in perfect condition. They straightened the band, cleaned the ring, tightened the setting (it had come a bit loose, I think when I bashed it on something while I was working in the garden) and put a rhodium plating on the white gold. Their customer service has been great both times I've needed to send my ring back (the first time was because I ordered the wrong size and had to send it back to be resized - which was free). I don't do much of anything as far as maintenance or cleaning. Every once in a while I clean it with vinegar and a toothbrush. And it still looks great. Best of luck! Kevin,
I’ve been wearing the ring for more than four years now, and it still looks great. It still sparkles. Last year, I was lifting weights without gloves and bent the band a bit – it wasn’t all the way circular anymore. I spoke with DNL and they said they’d fix it for me if I sent it back. I think it cost me $30, and they sent my ring back in perfect condition. They straightened the band, cleaned the ring, tightened the setting (it had come a bit loose, I think when I bashed it on something while I was working in the garden) and put a rhodium plating on the white gold. Their customer service has been great both times I’ve needed to send my ring back (the first time was because I ordered the wrong size and had to send it back to be resized – which was free).

I don’t do much of anything as far as maintenance or cleaning. Every once in a while I clean it with vinegar and a toothbrush. And it still looks great. Best of luck!

]]> By: Kevin http://frugalbabe.com/2009/02/18/fake-diamond-controversy/#comment-30923 Kevin Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:57:01 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=812#comment-30923 I bought a DNL ring for a relationship that didn't pan out 4 years ago. The ring was stunning. So I am in that position again and have no issue buying their product. My question is FB, in January of 2010 you mentioned you had worn it for 3 years and it still looked great. So another year and a half has gone by... Is it still holding up? Does it still have that sparkle? I bought a DNL ring for a relationship that didn’t pan out 4 years ago. The ring was stunning. So I am in that position again and have no issue buying their product.

My question is FB, in January of 2010 you mentioned you had worn it for 3 years and it still looked great. So another year and a half has gone by… Is it still holding up? Does it still have that sparkle?

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