Best Sim on market?

[MichelleCarmen]

Are there any RB cut sims out there that COULD pass for real diamonds (aside from Ashas which are FAR too expensive, imo)? Does anyone have an interlap and do you think it looks close enough to a real diamond that most couldn''t tell that it''s a cz? Thus far, I''ve yet to find any czs that look real to me and I think I''ve looked at EVERY cz piece Nordstrom, The Bon, and all other regular old stores have to offer so I''m wondering about ordering an interlap, winfield''s cz, and/or a signity star to see what all these look like.

Anyone have any recommendations of what to order and where from?

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[Icicles]

Interlaps are pretty nice, and could pass as real as long as the person doesn't hold a loupe to it. Well, even then they still might not be able to tell, but i would stick to 1-1.25ct. Any bigger will look fake as the dark V shows up when it's tilted. Signity stars don't look as real. Too white and it's cut funny. I have yet to see a believable cz anywhere else retailwise, including Nordies, but the Interlap looks close enough.

 

[icelovr]

Where could I find an interlap?

 

[Icicles]

I feel that ashas are a complete waste of money. For that amount, i could buy another .43ct/d/vs2 diamond ring! you can buy Interlaps at Freecz.com.

 

[Patty]

I have an unmounted 6.5mm Interlap and a 7.0mm Interlap. To my eye, they look just like diamonds. I don't know if they will hold up and look good for a long time, but I'm probably going to put the 6.5mm one into my wedding ring until I get a new diamond for it.

I considered going with an "H" colored Asha but I just can't justify that kind of money for a sim.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 4/15/2004 9:08:00 PM Icicles wrote:

I feel that ashas are a complete waste of money. For that amount, i could buy another .43ct/d/vs2 diamond ring! you can buy Interlaps at Freecz.com. ----------------

Yes, this is how I feel too. . .I'd rather buy a small diamond than a huge Asha! lol

Where on Freecz.com are the interlaps? All I see are the Winfield stones and Signity Star stones. I sent an e-mail the other day and haven't gotten a response about the prices of Interlaps and this is a bit frustrating so I'd rather possibly deal with another vendor if there is one!

 

[Patty]

Michelle, the Interlap IS the Winfield stone. Don't know why they are called both, but they are the same thing.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 4/15/2004 10:31:39 PM Patty wrote:

Michelle, the Interlap IS the Winfield stone. Don't know why they are called both, but they are the same thing.----------------

Okay, great, thanks for clearing that up. hahaha! I emailed Wink asking him if this was the case, because I wasn't sure. They're so cheap, I guess I'll have to order a few different sizes.

Michelle

 

[glitterata]

Interlap, a Thai company, cuts the Winfields stones. Wink's business grew more quickly than his staff, so it can take ages for him to respond to email. If you really want to reach him, call him on the phone.

His stones are beautiful and cheap. It always amazes me that people will pay a thousand times as much for a diamond when the Interlap round brilliant looks so similar. I guess I understand it, but it still amazes me.

The colored CZs (faux aquamarine, tanzanite, etc.) look less real to me. They're just too sparkly. And the fancy shapes aren't all as convincing, either. But the rounds are great. I like the Old European cuts and the Old Mine cuts too.

Wink's a really nice guy and he tries hard, but he doesn't always do the most meticulous job with the settings. If you have a local jeweler you trust, you might have better luck buying the stones from Wink and having your local person set them. Make sure they understand that it's a CZ, not a diamond; and it might be a good idea to have a spare stone on hand in case they mess up. Your local jeweler might be more likely to mess up the stone (but perhaps less likely to mess up the setting).

 

[Mara]

I have a Signity Star and I got it for something like $20 online at eBay! It's beautiful...I wore it as a pendant before I had my Regent and it throws off alot of sparkle and is very white brilliant but I can definitely see a difference between it and a diamond. But check it out...for $20 it's worth it and they are abundant on eBay. I got a 1c pendant.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 4/15/2004 11:49:56 PM glitterata wrote:

Interlap, a Thai company, cuts the Winfields stones. Wink's business grew more quickly than his staff, so it can take ages for him to respond to email. If you really want to reach him, call him on the phone.

His stones are beautiful and cheap. It always amazes me that people will pay a thousand times as much for a diamond when the Interlap round brilliant looks so similar. I guess I understand it, but it still amazes me.

The colored CZs (faux aquamarine, tanzanite, etc.) look less real to me. They're just too sparkly. And the fancy shapes aren't all as convincing, either. But the rounds are great. I like the Old European cuts and the Old Mine cuts too.

Wink's a really nice guy and he tries hard, but he doesn't always do the most meticulous job with the settings. If you have a local jeweler you trust, you might have better luck buying the stones from Wink and having your local person set them. Make sure they understand that it's a CZ, not a diamond; and it might be a good idea to have a spare stone on hand in case they mess up. Your local jeweler might be more likely to mess up the stone (but perhaps less likely to mess up the setting).----------------

Thanks for your tips, Glitterata. . .I went ahead and ordered a 6.5 mm stone just a few minutes ago and CAN'T WAIT to get it! It was so cheap, I couldn't refuse my desire to check these stones. lol I'll be sure to find a local jeweler to set the stone as I've heard from others what you've mentioned regarding the settings not being up to par.

The old cut ones look good too? lol There's a cool ring on antiqueengagementrings.com that I'd love to have an old cut stone set in. . . .hmmmm. Fun future project!

Michelle

 

[Icicles]

I would suggest calling him if you don't get an email response. I got a response once after i already ordered and got my stone.

And I've read in dt that you should specifically ask for a smaller table? someone mentioned that it makes a difference in the look and realism, and she posted some pictures. There's a lot more info on sims there than anywhere else, so you might find it helpful.

I have signity star earrings in .5ct and 1ct each, and although they both sparkle a lot, it's not the same as a diamond. Interlaps look much better. I think you can get signity star stones for $5 nowadays on Ebay for a loose one, plus shipping. It's so cheap, you can't go wrong... just get a few and see for yourself!

 

[verticalhorizon]

Is it me or does that Winfield store site not work very well. When you try to get more info on an item, it doesn't do anything. Doesn't give me a lot of confidence. I'd love to pick up a few (for those prices) just to look at under an ideal scope.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 4/16/2004 3:22:53 AM Icicles wrote:

I would suggest calling him if you don't get an email response. I got a response once after i already ordered and got my stone.

And I've read in dt that you should specifically ask for a smaller table? someone mentioned that it makes a difference in the look and realism, and she posted some pictures. There's a lot more info on sims there than anywhere else, so you might find it helpful.

!----------------

Thanks, I read that too, on Pouffykitty's post

lol I've no longer a member there, if you know what I mean, so I can't ask any questions, but have read about all the happy sim wearing experiences there and am by nature compelled to follow the pack and try one out! Hopefully the interlap looks pretty & realistic, but not enough of either that my hubby decides it's not worth buying me diamonds anymore.

Michelle

 

[glitterata]

Yeah, Wink's website sucks--it works better if you use Internet Explorer, but it's still slow and badly organized. But he's a really nice guy, and the stones are beautiful.

About the settings--I think you'd be okay if you buy the setting from him, as long as it's off the shelf, not custom. I believe he sends the stones to the setting manufacturers and lets them set them. However, if you're supplying your own, precious setting you might be better off not risking having him set it. He's great at finding stones, and he's honest and ethical, but I guess maybe there aren't enough good bench jewelers in Boise for all the business he gets.

I once sent him an antique setting to set a stone in, and his bench man messed up twice--he used a yellowish white gold to rebuild the prongs, although I'd asked for platinum, and the thing looked terrible, as if it had been stuck on with bubble gum. However, when I brought it to Wink's attention, he apologized and worked hard to make it right. He refunded my money, and offered to pay me for the damaged setting. It all worked out in the end. My local jeweler was able to salvage the setting, and Wink paid for the repair.

 

[WinkHPD]

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On 4/18/2004 1:06:19 AM glitterata wrote:

Yeah, Wink's website sucks--it works better if you use Internet Explorer, but it's still slow and badly organized. But he's a really nice guy, and the stones are beautiful.

About the settings--I think you'd be okay if you buy the setting from him, as long as it's off the shelf, not custom. I believe he sends the stones to the setting manufacturers and lets them set them. However, if you're supplying your own, precious setting you might be better off not risking having him set it. He's great at finding stones, and he's honest and ethical, but I guess maybe there aren't enough good bench jewelers in Boise for all the business he gets.

I once sent him an antique setting to set a stone in, and his bench man messed up twice--he used a yellowish white gold to rebuild the prongs, although I'd asked for platinum, and the thing looked terrible, as if it had been stuck on with bubble gum. However, when I brought it to Wink's attention, he apologized and worked hard to make it right. He refunded my money, and offered to pay me for the damaged setting. It all worked out in the end. My local jeweler was able to salvage the setting, and Wink paid for the repair. ----------------

Thank you, I think.

I remember with great embarrassment that job. I am much better now at just telling people NO if the job is not something my benchmen want to do. My former benchman died shortly after Christmas, he literally worked himself to death and the quality of work went down hill the harder he worked. I now have two new benchmen and I sit down with each of them and inspect each job when they deliver them to me. (Their benches are trade shops who work for several different jewelers here in Boise, not in my small office.)

I don't send the stones out to have them set by the manufactures I work with, I send them out to have the rings made around your stones. That is why the Ingwer pieces are deliverable in other than the standard sizes of stones offered on their website. For Stuller pieces I set those here locally, it is very quick and my setters have now learned to do CZ's with only the very occassional scratched or chipped stone, which we replace at no charge if it is one of ours.

I also use custom jewelers for our finer jobs, peopel with highly recognizeable names to the readers of this and other forums, so I will not drop their names, but let's just say that they are some of the best people in the industry.

I acknowledge that your job did not go smoothly, and I appreciate that you also reported that we promply returned your money and paid to have the job done else where. Today my benchmen would tell me that is not the kind of job they want to do and I would just send it back. I used to try to convince them they could do it, with as you reported, dissastrous results.

I also appreciate your comments that I am a nice guy, as I like you too and am still so very sorry that the work did not go as well as I would have wanted. I will see you here on the boards and perhaps some day I can earn a second shot, but will not be dissapointed if it does not happen. I always recommend to people that they find a good local jeweler to work with, and I am happy that you have.

Wink