Lab-Grown Diamonds

[spikerS]

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Fuck supporting diamond mining companies, go synthetic 100%. Also if resale value is a concern of the purchase perhaps it's not the time to buy a ring.

The whole diamond market is BS. Look at Spence diamond's marketing for example. 5-10 years ago they were constantly running ads talking down about synthetic diamonds not being real or a true sign of love and blah blah blah. But now that they are in on it they are constantly pushing ads for 'Artisan crafted' diamonds. It's all just a marketing game to convince you to spend more.

This +1000% it's a fucking bullshit industry the whole way round. And if you are looking at this ring as an "investment" or resale value, what the fuck are you doing getting married to this chick? You have the completely wrong mindset. The only people who should have this mindset are the hawkers trying to fleece you of your cash.

+rep to Pheoxs.

[you&me]

This probably isn't a popular idea around here, but I know several (older) guys that have upgraded their wife's ring. Generally they got engaged when they were younger / poorer and have since done well and want to get a bigger rock to reflect their current situation... Not for everyone, but it is a positive situation where resale might be worth considering.

[ercchry]

Huh... this thread just reminded me, did she keep the ring? Or did I get it back? Oh well, the important thing is I invested less than 1hr of my time into acquiring it

[The_Rural_Juror]

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Huh... this thread just reminded me, did she keep the ring? Or did I get it back? Oh well, the important thing is I invested less than 1hr of my time into acquiring it

Are you talking to yourself? Which one of you knows the answer?

[ercchry]

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Are you talking to yourself? Which one of you knows the answer?

I was hoping you did

[max_boost]

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Huh... this thread just reminded me, did she keep the ring? Or did I get it back? Oh well, the important thing is I invested less than 1hr of my time into acquiring it

Yes
No
Yes

[Neil4Speed]

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This +1000% it's a fucking bullshit industry the whole way round. And if you are looking at this ring as an "investment" or resale value, what the fuck are you doing getting married to this chick? You have the completely wrong mindset. The only people who should have this mindset are the hawkers trying to fleece you of your cash.

+rep to Pheoxs.

There isn't anything wrong with thinking of it as an "investment", or resale... Although its a bit far reaching, at the end of the day, you can't take stuff beyond the grave!

[msommers]

Lab grown diamonds cuz the pumped value of mined is asinine.

Real gemstone that hasn't been heat treated, now we're talking.

[shakalaka]

If it isn't a blood diamond, is it even really a diamond?

[e31]

This thread is missing the perspective of an industrial & technological need for diamond products. The need for cost effective diamond saws, drills and anvils (amongst other tools) is greater than your need for silly traditions. Lab grown diamonds are the only way to reliably get two stones (with no defects) large enough to produce an Anvil pair.

[gpomp]

Some of the popular online retailers will allow you to trade in your old diamond and upgrade to a larger one on the same setting. This is only available on real diamonds and not the synthetic ones. Not sure if this is applicable for Beyond as I’m sure all your engagement rings are at least 5 ct and probably won’t need to be upgraded anyways.

[Maxx Mazda]

Can anyone go into detail about their Spence experience? I’ve never been, just curious what all the hate is about.

[Tik-Tok]

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Can anyone go into detail about their Spence experience? I’ve never been, just curious what all the hate is about.

Sean's voice in their radio ads

We bought there before online retailing became big, and had no problems with them.They were slightly more expensive than other independent retailers, but way cheaper than mall jewelry stores. They were also the only ones who offered Canadian diamonds of the 1/2 dozen or so places I checked out.

Can't speak for what they're like now, as that was almost 20 years ago.

[ExtraSlow]

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Can anyone go into detail about their Spence experience? I’ve never been, just curious what all the hate is about.

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We bought there before online retailing became big, and had no problems with them.They were slightly more expensive than other independent retailers, but way cheaper than mall jewelry stores. They were also the only ones who offered Canadian diamonds of the 1/2 dozen or so places I checked out.

Can't speak for what they're like now, as that was almost 20 years ago.

Same with me. I found the place fine, but that was a long time ago. Mall type stores were unhelpful, didn't know enough to do online. I did 3-4 trips on my own, pawing over the sample rings multiple times. Didn't feel any pressure or sales pitch at that point. Did that until I found one I liked well enough, then worked with them for a teeny tiny customization, slapped in some small polar bear stone, and got married.
I'm not buying another ring, but a "better" jeweler would no longer intimidate me, or I'd look online, but back then, spence worked fine for me.

[killramos]

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This thread is missing the perspective of an industrial & technological need for diamond products. The need for cost effective diamond saws, drills and anvils (amongst other tools) is greater than your need for silly traditions. Lab grown diamonds are the only way to reliably get two stones (with no defects) large enough to produce an Anvil pair.

Pretty sure it’s a well established fact that the value of diamonds has nearly nothing to do with their utility.

[max_boost]

Value is perceived.

Humans will pay insane amounts for a baseball, a card, a picture etc. Lol cool story bro stuff jk

[The_Rural_Juror]

I want to sell my (probably) blood diamonds. Where do I go to get the best price?

[lilmira]

lab grown women?

[JordanEG6]

Thanks for all the replies and inputs. I appreciate all the responses. Still shopping for it, so I haven't decided on which way to go.
Again, I've budgeted for a mined stone, not knowing about lab-grown until recently, but now with this knowledge, I can explore different options. And if I can save some cash and put it towards something more worth while, that would be great too.

To those asking for context, My GF doesn't value these kinds of things as much, she's very practical and simple, but of course, any lady would like and appreciate something like this. At the end of the day, she just wants to get married. She has no idea I am ring shopping.

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This +1000% it's a fucking bullshit industry the whole way round. And if you are looking at this ring as an "investment" or resale value, what the fuck are you doing getting married to this chick? You have the completely wrong mindset. The only people who should have this mindset are the hawkers trying to fleece you of your cash.

+rep to Pheoxs.

Whoa. Triggered. If you read my original post. Resale value doesn't mean anything to me. I won't will be returning, selling or upgrading it. I was simply noting the differences between a mined diamond and lab-grown from my research findings.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Can anyone go into detail about their Spence experience? I’ve never been, just curious what all the hate is about.

I've been 3 times.

1.) Buying a simple diamond pendant that I think I already knew I wanted because I had seen it somewhere and asked "where'd you get that shiny thing above those luscious cans?" and the answer was Spence. It was exactly as ExtraSlow described up until I identified the item I was going to buy. Then I wanted to shop further and see what their ring buying experience was like and what their diamond selection was like and that fuckin sales wiener was so insistent that I pay for the $300 thing he was holding and he drove me so nuts that I paid for it and left. It was odd because they could have pushed me into additional purchases that were significantly higher but I felt like they drove me out.

2.) Years later I returned to seriously look for a fairly significant diamond and Canadian content and I got the heavy pitch described in my earlier post. They want a deposit and they want a deposit. Will call you for weeks after.

3.) Several years later I knew I was looking for some really fancy earrings and I was doubtful Spence would have much. But, all this talk about lab diamonds being better value brought me in for a quick look. It was a shit show of high pressure, again and they again had fuck-all selection of larger stones. At that time, the artisan diamonds were too close to the same price as blood diamonds.

So, if you already have a reasonable idea of what you want, they have no value to offer you. I guess if you had zero concept of what might look good beforehand, I could maybe see them being more useful because you can quickly rule out classic rings and move into hideous, chunky trash before figuring out how big a rock to slam in there.

Their prices on higher end diamonds are a long way from the lowest prices you can get, period. I saved thousands (in Edmonton) by going to a tiny place on Whyte Ave called Freeman Jewelers instead of Spence. Both Paris and Independent had way more selection and better prices than Spence, as well. I don't know as much about competing stores in Calgary.

Hope this helps!