Weddingbee boards

Welcome!! I was totally in your boat, and was 95% sure we were going moissanite but I JUST went ring shopping this weekend with the FI (we're doing things kinda back words and wacky). Anyway years ago we went to the Pasadena Jewelry mart and the ladies at Prestige Jewelry were unbelievable. We went back this weekend and it was the same, it's by far the best customer service I've ever received in my life. They are absolutely no pressure and the service is great and they are SO informative. My point being we were asking her all sorts of questions about diamond alternatives and she showed us some amazing things. We saw white sapphires which are really pretty and they're still on my list but what she showed me that was down right shocking were the new CZ's from Japan. Now don't get me wrong my FI and I BOTH were totally against going the CZ route until she pulled out a CZ and then pulled out an $8400 diamond (just the diamond not the band included) you could absolutely NOT tell the difference. When I asked her what the price was I was floored . . . $20 . . . WHAT for a 1 carat CZ $20. I thought she was teasing me and she laughed she said she see's stuff online all the time for $200 and up and is just floored but she also said that since she deals in wholesale it also helps her out. She did say that over time since the CZ is not as hard as a diamond it would have to be changed out (but who cares at $20), white sapphires won't but they don't have the depth of diamonds but they're really pretty and clear. She was happy to let us try out a ton of stuff and I think we found a ring and wedding band all for WELL under what we originally planned on spending. Just to give you a hint on her prices she showed me a very thin maybe 2mm half eternity diamond band in 18k white gold for $150. A plain thin 18K white gold band goes for $75. She even showed us some e-ring options with diamonds that were completely affordable and shockingly nice, not yellow or beige in color, nice and clear. Anyway I've gone on forever. The Pasadena Jewelry Mart is at 230 E Colorado, Pasadena, Her booth is C4 (I think but their name is Prestige Jewelers). If it's not too far you might want to check it out.

As far as checking moissanite out in stores I think I noticed that JC Penny carries them if you go to the moissanite site there a place to look up stores near you.

Good Luck.

They don't turn yellowish over time. They just tend to look different in different lights. Sometimes my moissy has the slightest gray-green tint, hardly noticable and only on very overcast days.  I didn't even notice it until I looked for it. I've received a ton of compliments on my ring.

It sparkles like you wouldn't believe and looks very bright in most light. Moissaniteco.com is an awesome website with tons of designs, good prices and customer service. They'll also do a custom ring or modify a ring if you ask them. They're very good to work with. I even lost my receipt and they used our credit card to send it to us again :)

Luckyducky- that solitaire was on my wishlist but my fiance picked a different one. I love how low the setting is :)

P.S. The moissanite in JC Penney is being phased out. Their seem to jack up their prices however. I noticed that the sale price of a pendant was more than the regular price on Moissaniteco.com. Happy shopping :)

Here's a few pics of my ring :)

Thanks! You must post pictures when the big day arrives :)

Any reason why MrsWoods??  I have a moissanite and I love it!  And for me it wasn't about not having the money for a diamond...it was about not WANTING a diamond.  :)

Actually, Moissanite has more fire and sparkled than any other stone, due to its double light refraction. Luckyducky is asking about Moissanite, not diamonds or other diamond alternatives. Bridal jewelry does not start and end with diamonds and each bride's choice is special and unique to her.

It's funny the reactions moissanite gives. I was at a family reunion and two of my cousins had polar opposite reactions when I told them my stunning ring was Moissanite. My older cousin has a 2 carat rock and didn't seem to understand what Moissanite was. She thought it was some sort of cz. I tried to explain that it's a gemstone of its own right, and I knew I didn't want a diamond and thought Moissanite was beautiful. She said, "well you can always upgrade to a diamond later." Ugh. Then I showed my other cousin who was recently engaged, and when she learned it was Moissanite, she said, "wow, I wish I would have known about this before I got engaged."

One thing to keep in mind is that if you order it and decide it's not for you, you have 30 days to return it.

So I was just checking out that Nexus labs place for those who might be interested and the moissanite still has more brilliance, dispersion, and refraction than the nexus labs stone.  Also, the nexus labs stone (whatever it is) is singly refractive, so it wouldn't be as sparkley as the moissanite.  :)  That being said, I could find nothing comparing the porosity of moissanite to the nexus lab stone nor could I find where it stated the hardness of the nexus lab stone on the Mohs hardness scale. 

At any rate, many of us love our moissanites and have had no problems with them.  They are beautiful stones with a very unique origin.  I've never been told my ring looks like a CZ.  Everyone comments on how sparkly it is.  Either way, good luck to you Ducky!!!