True story. Good friend had a sapphire in her engagement ring…very likely synthetic…since the couple was dead broke when they got engaged. Sapphire surrounded by small diamonds…it was a pretty ring.
For their 40th anniversary…yep…40th…they had the sapphire replaced with a diamond…and her husband surprised her by having the sapphire made into a very pretty pendent necklace!
Agreed BB, I have never experienced looking into an empty fridge, empty wallet and wondered what I was going to eat tomorrow. But I sure as heck know if I was that desperate I would not be at all concerned about a fake or real stone engagement ring!
Well, I was married to a postdoc. Money was very tight. No rings of any kind, but we were married and had each other - and still have. 
A fancy ring marriage strong makes not. 
| A fancy ring marriage strong makes not
I agree, and the same can be said for a wedding that costs an arm and a leg and only lasts a few hours
Totally agree. H and I got married in a friend’s B & B. Very intimate. No formal dresses for my two sister bridesmaids. All very casual, small and informal.
I also never have received an engagement ring.
So I am talking to a couple who apparently wants to do this. So I say, do it right!
BTW, I kinda wish I had done things more tradionally and formally.
I should say maybe I kinda wish^
An earlier poster said synthetic diamonds are flawless. I was just looking in a website for synthetic diamond rings, and the price differed by classification (S1, VS, etc). If they’re flawless, why is there a distinction?
DH was a grad student when he proposed. He didn’t have a ring to present. We looked at jewelers and eventually decided to use a diamond from a family pin in something I’d seen, but asked to be simplified. I ended up not liking it that much. That diamond fell out of its setting and disappeared as did its replacement. Since I’d never actually liked diamonds, though I’d liked the idea of a family hand me down a lot, I just went without for years. A few years ago my mother gifted me her jewelry box and I found a very plain opal ring that I love and which looks surprisingly good with my wedding ring. So I’ve been wearing it.
No opinions on real vs fake sapphires. (Except I don’t think anyone should pay more than they can afford. Or want to afford.) Actually the pearl sounds kind of interesting to me!
A member my family gave his now wife a very small and flawless diamond engagement. She did purchase a new setting, but thankfully kept the old setting. Why thankfully? The jeweler signed the ring…and an original Harry Winston.
I have seen (and held) original Paul Revere tea set. I was in awe. It had been passed down from family who purchased it from Paul himself. My mil gave me (to give my daughters) her set of china. No one will take it because of who she is…but I’ve got it here.
When my son and dil married Mr. Ellebud’s family gave them several serving pieces of sterling silver. She (and I) loved the gift. Solid, beautiful…mix and match…
As most of you know I love the big jewels. When we were young and semi broke…it wouldn’t have occurred to me to hold out for a bigger stone. Mr. Ellebud gave me a bigger ring for our 20 anniversary. Gorgeous and mine. I’m saving the first ring for one of my daughters who loves the ring.
"No opinions on real vs fake sapphires. "
“real” = both lab-made and found in nature;
“fake” = glass and plastic imitation stones
There, I clarified it for you. Are water molecules produced when natural gas burns fake water molecules or real water molecules? Think about it.
Dear Scientists Among Us,
You are never going to convince us that there is not an ineffable something more. But thanks for patiently explaining.
Yours,
Consolation
Oh, and another thing czs have an “orange” flash…real diamonds do not.
Consolation, the gem mining industry and the jewelers around the world thank you for your support.
And the manufacturers of synthetic gems thank you for your support, BunsenBurner.
The fact is we are not all going to agree-- and that is okay.
Assuming “czs” refers to cubic zirconia stone, that is NOT the same thing as a lab-grown diamond.
A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond. A cubic zirconia stone is not.
There is a difference. It is not a semantics issue.
No one is saying that a CZ stone is the same as a “real” diamond because IT IS NOT. We are saying that whether it is lab-grown or nature-made, it is the same friggin thing.
Carry on.
Actually, Consolation, you too benefit from the lab-made stones. The jewelry market for synthetic corundum is very, very small compared to the other uses. Many medical equipment devices, scientific instruments, electronics etc. contain those materials. So, we are all better off as society because of these synthetic stones. Can’t say the same about gemstone mining.
To clarify - I don’t really care if they are wild type, lab made, or fake. If I can’t tell the difference it isn’t going to bother me. The sentimental value of something with a history means more to me, which is why my great-grandmother’s monstrous dining room table sits in my dining room.
What does the GF do for a living? When my husband and I got engaged I was working in a TV studio so I needed a low profile ring to protect the stone. A large pearl or high profile stone may not be practical for your son’s GF.
People like different things, but not everyone appreciates that. I prefer colored gemstones to diamonds because they show better against my skin, so I chose a cocktail ring with a small center stone (maybe 3/16" wide) with a few small diamonds on each side. The color of one stone represents the month we met, the other the month we got married. My ex-SIL said my FIL laughed when he told her about it because the diamond solitaire his other son bought her was so much bigger. When we got married, darling hubby gifted me with a simple gold wedding band with channel set diamonds that he’d had made from the stones that were left from his great-grandmother’s ring. Neither of my rings cost a lot, but they’re priceless to me.
That’s cool—but please, please stop calling lab-made gemstones* “fake” or “not real”, 'kay? Can we at least compromise on that one? :)>-
So is the correct term “synthetic”?