My 'Diamond' Engagement Ring is Cubic Zirconia !!!

Poppy9

Does it matter that they are CZ. Good CZ can fool anyone.

OH used to work as a goldsmith for a very reputable jewellers that had qualified gemologists in the company. OH was given a large diamond solataire ring to resize. The ring had been in for valuation previously and customer had then returned to have it resized. It had been assessed and valued as a diamond.

OH resized the ring and treated the ring as a diamond as that what the packet said. He quenced the ring to cool it after soldering and the stone milked i.e. went white. OH !!!!!! himself as it was a big stone and he had to tell the boss. He suspected it wasn't a diamond straight away as it had never happened before as he had spent years training and knew which stones took heat and which didn't etc.

Luckily his boss was also suspicious but there was this damn valuation done by the company saying it was a diamond. They decided to send the stone away for analysis and it was a CZ. Customer didn't seem overly bothered so either already knew or it was all a planned con.

Anyway you can have your CZs replaced with diamonds. If you take it to a few places to find the cheapest you need to know what stones they are quoting you for i.e. colour/clarity as this affects the price hugely. You need to break the price down between the cost of the diamonds and the cost of setting. Also if you ring is 20 years old and been worn daily your setting maybe badly worn, so you may need it replaced. In effect you will end up with a new setting (ring head/mount) on your old band.

If you really want diamonds why not get a diamond ET ring and keep your engagement ring in tact?

Violetta_2

Looks like your right I googled ratners and according to Wikipedia they are now Signet jewelers The official website showing that HSamual AND Ernest Jones!!! are part of the same group.
Not sure if it's any help OP. I'd be very annoyed if it turned out we had spent our hard earned cash on a fake, but it does show you it's the love that counts not the rock on your finger.

ailuro2

couple of years ago my lovely hubby bought me a diamond and emerald eternity ring, only to have one of the stones fall out after a week....

Took it back to the shop and they said there was only one other ring like it in the country, butt he sourced it and I tried it on, found it was too big, so they got it resized - lo and behold a few weeks later one of the emeralds disappeared, so took it back and got a full refund, the jeweller said it was probably the resizing that had caused the stone to come out...

A week later the shop was displaying the same ring at full price and as new...around £400 full price ring, but of course this was for a damaged second hand one...

Not going to say who but they are on of the companies mentioned above, ended up going to Beaverbrooks, paying a bit more, but the ring is still gorgeous, and I ended up with 18ct instead of 9ct gold.:D

foxxymynx

I had rings resizes (engagement and eternity) and stones fell out after resizing. The jeweller hadn't checked the fittings after resizing. I took them back to the shop that I had them resized in and they replaced the missing stones,

Poppy9

A good goldsmith will know how much a ring can go up or down in size before it affects the settings too much.

Sometimes customers were prepared to take the risk but OH would always warn them if it was risky and that if it would cost extra to redo the setting, claws. He would keep the ring in the ultra-sonic cleaner after sizing risking rings for a few hours as it literally shakes the muck out of the ring (muck is often all that's holding in stones on old rings). If a stone didn't fall out then it was usually okay and at least he got a clear view of how well the stone is being held in.

Even though he's not a goldsmith now people still show him their jewellery and ask his advice. He recently sent one girl back to the shop she bought her engagement ring from after telling her one of the stones was chipped underneath and the claws were not set down properly and would catch and lift. With a new ring always run it over your sleeve while in the shop to see if it catches as this means the claws are not down properly. Also ask the jeweller to let you look through an eye loop at the ring closely (top and underneath) and ask them to talk you through the quality of the stone, about the cut of it, the colour and any inclusions/marks. Also ask them what the hallmarks mean as they will tell you what year it was hallmarked. A good way of judging if a ring is antique/secondhand/new. Also when looking through the loop you will see if the band is worn, the joins invisible ( sometimes a ring is cast as one piece and sometimes the band is joined to the setting by hand). You also shouldn't be able to see with the naked eye the join if you have had a ring resized but if a piece has been added you will may see a slightly different tint due to slightly different alloys. At first glance it may look new and shiny after a polish but looking through theloop will let you see any deep marks.

Poppy9

You should be able to go to any branch of H Samuels as another jeweller will charge you. Not sure of prices these days.

horseykitty

I have a sapphire and diamond engagement ring that is too small for me now so I don't wear it. I would like to start wearing it again. I can't have it stretched, as it has already been stretched a couple of sizes already (it was second-hand - there's money saving for you. No my hubby isn't a cheap skate, it was the ring I wanted and I saved about £300 quid). Would it be possible to have a new shank put on it? I

Kavanne

horseykitty wrote: »

I have a sapphire and diamond engagement ring that is too small for me now so I don't wear it. I would like to start wearing it again. I can't have it stretched, as it has already been stretched a couple of sizes already (it was second-hand - there's money saving for you. No my hubby isn't a cheap skate, it was the ring I wanted and I saved about £300 quid). Would it be possible to have a new shank put on it? I

Best thing to do is take it to a local jeweller and see if they can do it If not, they will be able to make some other suggestions.

Noctu

Just a thought, have you ever had to have it repaired before? Some less reputable jewellers have been known to swap diamonds with CZ when they've been took in for repair/resizing/cleaning/whatever.

jen_br

I hate to say it but 200.00 for a ring for diamonds is kinda cheap... i would expect some of the stones to be CZ even 20 years ago!