Can normal people really tell the difference between cubic zirconia and a real diamond?

Question

I've been telling my boyfriend that if he finds a beautiful cubic zirconia ring then get it... but he keeps saying that EVERYONE will know the engagement ring is fake. I can't tell a difference? Is it just me?

I'm talking about the ones that cost about 50-60 dollars... not ten dollars or anything really cheap.

Answer 1

'civilians' won't have a clue, jewelers will.

if the stone is set in 14k gold, instead of the 'goldplated', 'goldfilled' or 'vermeil' (gold over silver), it's less likely to be detected. most of my friends, who have VERY expensive diamonds, have had identical cubic z rings made up for every day wear. their diamonds go into the vault, and the cubics get worn everyday. and, there's no chance that anyone who didn't know WHO did that, could tell.

btw, it's a good idea to keep the size of the stones smaller - 1 ct or less, since from your question a larger stone would be suspect as fake, to begin with.

Answer 2

What do you want? When my now husband first proposed, it was with a cubic zirconium. I didn’t care I was happy with the ring and what it symbolized. A year later, though, he proposed with a diamond, about a full carat. I thought the ring was too flashy, as I wasn’t much of a jewelry person. I’m still not. So what if people can tell the difference? If you’re happy, then that’s what matters. We found our wedding rings on sale at Ames, a discount store that was like Wal-mart and Kmart, but died out. They were originally over a hundred dollars, but we found them on sale for less than $100 each. They’re real, and what we wanted, as we had seen a similar design on a mall jewelry store ad and liked them. They’re gold brushed with silver edging and an engraved silver cross in the middle in an engraved silver circle.

Anyway, as I said, it comes down to what you want.

Answer 3

Only if someone really observes it and has a certain amount of knowlege about diamond rings. You can tell the difference by fogging the stone with your breath, a real diamond won't fog. Also, a cubic is extremely clear. Not all diamonds have a clarity to that extreme.

Answer 4

The only way I can tell the difference between hiccups and kicks is how long they last. At first for the first 30 seconds hiccups feel just like kicks so I'll just assume the baby is moving, but then I'll notice a pattern and if I can predict when the next little bump is I know she's hiccuping. Just like when you can tell the pattern of your hiccups, your baby's hiccups will be bump pause bump pause.. ect.

Answer 5

I not think many can tell. Not sure a Jeweler can either with the naked eye. But, to me, when a Diamond is very large it looks fake. The price range you thinking will be a nice ring, Fake or Real (As far as size).
Be sure it in a good mounting though. Gold "Plated" does wear and reveal what is under. Usually I get 14K Gold for my woman and 10K Gold for myself, as I work a lot with my hands.

Answer 6

I study minerals, and most people cannot tell the difference. Even some people with knowledge of diamonds fail to tell the difference sometimes.

Also, you must take into account that most people will not grab your hand and stare into your ring to try and tell if it's fake or not.

To accurately tell if it's a cubic or a dia, there are a variety of methods, like using a laser or light and observing the scattering, but as I said nobody is going to do that. You can try to crush it, a primitive method, but nobody's doing that either. You can find more methods on the net if you like, but none of them involve too simple methods.

Answer 7

Unfortunately he's right. Some department stores can make them look good with lighting, but CZ look a bit metallic. A good diamond with appear clear and sparkly. Plus people are more likely to scrutinize the ring when they find out he's given it to you.

Answer 8

Not unless they take the ring and scratch glass with it.