Cubic Zirconia Rings - Yay or Nay?

[nicole]

my old college roommate had a CZ engagement ring- the stone looked like a diamond, but the ring itself was gold plated, and went really horrible and stained her fingers =/ I originally didn't want a diamond at all. I wanted sapphires, but my SO insisted I needed a diamond... tbh I would have been happy with anything. I wouldn't have minded a CZ ring, so long as the gold was solid- even if it's cheap I don't want to have to replace it, and I'm not keen on "upgrading"; I want the original ring my SO gave me, or nothing at all.

[snow_girl]

I don't wear rings at all, I think I have stubby fingers and rings just don't look good. I don't think I'd want an expensive one cause I don't know how much I'd actually wear it...

[Zapookie]

I don't mind CZ, as long as it looks nice. haha.

[loveknowsnodistance27]

I told my SO already that if he gets me a diamond engagement ring, I will throw it back at him lol. I want a CZ ring because I don't think it's worth it to break the bank on a ring. Plus, there are some very beautiful CZ rings I've found!

[kteire]

I want a diamond ring, but I don't care about the cost of it, or the size. I'd love some sort of classic, antique piece, or for a new one, fairly mined Canadian diamond

[efish1042]

My mother and I were discussing this recently, too. I actually don't want a traditional diamond ring. I would prefer a topaz or amethyst or something else more colorful. My birthstone is an opal, so I would love that, but I'm too clumsy for such a fragile stone :/
If I had to pick CZ or diamond, I'd pick low karat diamond (I hate big jewelry), but I would have nothing against CZ as long as, like lyonsgirl mentioned, he tells me about it.

[princessmeg1328]

When my fiance proposed, he gave me a diamond. I absolutely love my ring! However if he had given me a CZ ring, I would have loved it too. I would probably want to upgrade the stone to a similar looking diamond in a few years though. I'm glad I don't have to make that decision though.

[yayagrl]

I personally want something unique for an engagement ring. Honestly I don't care for diamonds and would have no problem with CZ. I would absolutely love a ruby center stone with sapphire whatever you call the side stones.

[SquishyLove]

Russians don't really do engagement rings by tradition, but my husband let me pick mine when we mutually decided to be "officially engaged" and announce it to friends and family that we were closing the distance and getting married. I picked a sterling silver ring with garnet as the center stone and small CZ stones surrounding it. Garnet is my birthstone and actually symbolizes eternal commitment as well. I'm not a fan of diamonds and I don't want to support a corrupt industry just so I can be like, "teehee, look at my sparkly ring!" I know there are ethical/conflict-free diamonds available now, but since I'm not really a fan of them to begin with (I like more colorful gemstones better), I wasn't interested in a diamond. Since my engagement ring is an unusual shape (the garnet is the flower of a rose, the little CZ stones are inside of silver leaves for the rose), I can't comfortably wear it with my wedding band, so I wear it as a right-hand ring now, and it's very nice. My engagement ring is from Russia, and it's a lovely souvenir of a beautiful, romantic, and lovely day my husband spent together in his city (celebrating 6 months of being a couple in love).

So in short, I don't think that CZ is bad. It looks pretty much like a real diamond and if you're not a jeweler you usually can't tell it's not real. I don't personally see the reason it's such a big fuss and why diamonds are a big deal. To me, what's important isn't the ring, but the connection and love between the couple. A ring is nothing more than a symbol, and how much it costs has nothing to do with the love between the two people. My 2 cents.

[lonelyinlove]

I'd hate to seem shallow, but I'd prefer a real diamond....

[alesitag]

for years I hoped to get a white gold diamond ring... my mind was set to that concept.

Now that I'm with my SO, I really see it's not about what the ring is made of... it's about what it means, so I already told him if we ever get engaged, I'd like a silver ring, absolutely no diamond but a CZ or any other less expensive stone (if it's pink, blue, purple, yellow or green I don't care, as long as it looks nice ) and he said he wants titanium wedding bands which are not so expensive either...

[aeiouna]

I've been flip flopping between wanting a diamond and wanting a non-diamond stone. (For a while I wanted rubies and garnets - ruby is my SO's birthstone, garnet is mine). But he got me a loose gemstone for our first Valentine's Day, with the intention of setting it in a ring eventually, and the idea of a diamond/diamondlike stone is getting more and more appealing.

I've heard things about moissanite as a substitute for a diamond, and have been toying with the idea of that as well.

[Jazi]

I have gone back and forth in my mind about whether I want "the real deal" or if I'd be happy with something that looks as pretty but isn't the same stone/material.

it usually boils down to money though.. and if money wasn't a problem I would want the real thing.. So I'd prefer to compromise on the size of the rocks rather than the type of stone I think. I'd also want white gold over platinum.

I can't wait to see what he comes up with.. and well, if it isn't a known stone or the "real thing" then as long as it's tough enough to not get chipped then I'd be happy .

[Zephii]

I wouldn't want a CZ ring, to be honest. In fact, I would not want a stone that was lab-grown/man made at all for something so important, because things of nature hold certain energies/properties, and their fake counterparts do not.

But for something as important as marriage, and in understanding of the traditions behind an engagement ring, no. I wouldn't accept CZ. Nor would I want a ring I'd have to upgrade later because, well, it's no longer my engagement ring then is it? Just parts thereof.

My engagement ring is emeralds though, because I'm not a big fan of colourless stones. I might ask for dimonds in my eternity ring, if we make it past ten years :P

[RoseOfPhantom]

My engagement ring is CZ. Honestly, because I see the ring as a symbol of eternity it's just that to me - a symbol. I have to look at it for the rest of my life so of course I want it to look nice but CZ is very pretty. I don't care about the price tag. All I told my fiancee was "Don't turn my finger green and it has to be nice looking, and of course, fit my finger. Other than that I don't care." I don't see the point. My ring is white gold with CZ. It will last, and it's gorgeous, but doesn't have the high cost. What's the point? It's a symbol. The price shouldn't matter. And I love it!