Before the recession, the idea of grabbing a cheap, fake, diamond to commemorate one of the most important decisions of your life – marriage – was seen as appalling. However, people still want to get married and many don’t have the money to splurge on a real diamond. You can use a “placeholder” ring to mark the commitment to marriage and replace it as soon as your financial situation turns around. Luckily, there are many choices for a cheap engagement ring, and as long as you’re honest with your intended, it shouldn’t cause friction later on.
Cubic Zirconia
This isn’t even made of the same material as diamonds. They’re actually zirconium dioxide in crystalline form. Visually, they appear similar to white diamonds, but any jeweler can easily tell the difference as it’s not made of the same material. In terms of cost, they are not even close to diamonds. However, you can buy them in various colors and for those that aren’t too distinguishing about real versus fake diamonds, you can probably pull it off.
Enhanced Diamonds
These are lesser quality diamonds that aren’t as valuable as their perfect cousins are. They may be color-enhanced or heat-treated to make imperfections less visible. Once a diamond has been enhanced, it’s often not very valuable at all. However, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t look great in a ring. Besides, you aren’t lying when you say it’s a real diamond!
Simulated Diamonds
Some of these are even hard to tell from the real thing. They are best known as “laboratory” diamonds as they are grown in a laboratory by implementing technology. They are created using high pressure and temperature techniques. They have been used extensively in manufacturing processes, but they are great as a cheap replacement for a real diamond.