Weddingbee boards

So my current ring is 14k white gold and has real diamonds but I think it is only around .25 karats. My mom bought me this ring because when FI and I got engaged we couldn't afford a ring and she insisted that I needed one.  Well 2.5 years into our enagagement, I am still wearing the ring my mom bought me. This is it:

I found a GREAT option for my new ring, however it is the jeweler's replica ring because apparently the actual ring is too expensive to keep in the store or someting like that? So it is made of sterling silver and very realistic cubic zirconia. I had no clue that it wasn't the real deal until I was told. It is only $159 and I LOVE it. My only concern with it is, how well the sterling and CZs will hold up and if I do need to have it repaired at some point, whether or not that would be easy to do. 

Here it is paired with a wedding band I found in the store just so I could get an idea of looks. Tell me bees, what do you think?

All you bees voting "keep current ring", could you give me some insight as to why?

I just am wondering if you all see something differently than I do. I have no emotional attachment to my current ring, as my mom bought it and my fiance had no involvement in it whatsoever. And I never really thought it was that impressive, it was just an inexpensive right hand ring so I could have something on my finger.

@meant2B: My current ring is from Zales. The other is from a local jewelry store called Robert Irwin Jewelers.

@Mrs.Estep: I actually really love the yellow center stone and the flower shape. Plus the price is right where we need it to be.

@Stassney:  You might have to polish the sterling (which wouldn't be difficult to do; you'd just need to make sure that the polish was safe for the CZs) and I have heard that CZs can get cloudy over time.  I've had sterling repaired before (earring posts) and it was pretty easy.  I imagine that you could get the CZs replaced quite easily.  I have a couple of sterling rings and have to polish them a couple of times a year, but honestly, if you're wearing it every day, you'll probably have to do it less.  

That being said: if you love the ring and it works for you and your FI, awesome!  I think it's really pretty and, in particular, really like the wedding band you've put with it.

I just think the current ring is so much prettier...

$159 for silver and CZ is highway robbery.  You are not really paying for much, besides maybe craftsmanship...  Check overstock.com for CZ rings, they average about $20-$30 with the same materials.

I voted to keep your current ring for now just because the new ring doesn't seem like an "upgrade."  Going from gold and real diamonds to sterling silver and CZ is actually a "downgrade" as far as quality.  HOWEVER, I fully understand wanting a ring that you and your FI pick out together.  In the end, if this ring is what your REALLY want, then go for it!  Only you will know that it is silver and CZ.  The ring is just token anyway, you already have the man! :)

@kala_way: The ring I have doesn't really have a "center stone" it is just large and flat and a bunch of teensy tiny diamonds together to make it look big, they are only about as thick as a business card. 

For you ladies with concern about the price, I think just like diamond, there are different qualities of CZ and sure you could get a sterling and cz ring from lots of places for about 20 bucks, but those are obvious fakes. What I like about this ring, is that you can't tell that it isn't real unless you actually know something about stones.

This came from Carat.co about their CZ rings which cost more than the one I am considering. Sure they are made of gold, but that can't be the only thing you are paying for. 

"We agree that many diamond simulants on the market are of very poor quality mainly do to the following inferior production techniques:

1. Poor selection of rough, meaning that low grade raw material is used in a non sterile environment. This results in poor clarity rough crystals that result in low color grades and poor clarity stones. Our rough is produced in an ultra clean environment using ultra refined raw materials.

2. Inferior cutting techniques yielding less than perfect stone proportions. This produces a stone that does not refract and reflect light in an ideal way. We cut by hand taking 20 times longer than standard machine cut stones and we have our stones cut virtually the same way as traditional diamond cutting methods.

3. Incomplete polishing of facets. This creates the milky or cloudy effect that you see in many inferior CZ stones. We polish each stone by hand not forgetting the crown and pavilion facets that are notoriously left unpolished leaving a less than perfect stone."

@blingbling: Would you consider it an "engagement gift" if your engagement ring was your mom's old ring that she had passed down to you, because that is basically what we consider this because there wasn't a family ring that could be passed to me. I also never said anything about being financially unstable. Yes we were, 2.5 years ago when we got engaged, but notice, we are not married yet. We waited until we were more stable in our lives to actually tie the knot. I am just not a girl that really wants to spend thousands on a ring, I don't care if it is real diamond. I don't care if it cost 13 dollars or 1300. I just want it to look pretty.