# Doper girls, cubic zirconium or diamonds?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 24, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765 "2006-10-24T21:45:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/21 "2006-10-25T05:33:49Z")
Steer clear of a ring. Unless you want her pining away for the “real” one.
Bracelets are nice too. If she isn’t a necklace/earring girl. Watches are great. My husband gave me a watch 10 years ago and I wear it every day. As a matter of fact, my wedding ring isn’t on today (was breading meat last night) but by god, the watch stays.
TJ Maxx actually has some cool jewelry at decent prices. Our Ross’ don’t have “real” jewelry.
FWIW, with your budget, I would think she is aware of your financial considerations and wouldn’t really expect something extravagent. I agree, a real “something” is better than a fake “something else.” A fake will always be a fake.
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### Author:  [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/22 "2006-10-25T06:10:49Z")
[Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_3_1/002-4548814-7486456?ie=UTF8&keywords=white%20gold%20citrine&rh=n%3A3367581%2Ck%3Awhite%20gold%20citrine%2Cp%5F3%3A%2450-%2499&page=1) has a pretty good selection of white gold and citrine jewelry. The link above is for the 50 to 99 dollar price range, and there’s some pretty stuff.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/23 "2006-10-25T07:25:38Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest]
I won’t buy diamonds for the social-politico-cuckhold DeBeers has on everyone.
except the engagement ring. That was before Al Gore invented the internet and we were still Pre-Google and jumping between the rings of Dante’s Circle.
CZ all the way.
But, enough about me, get her what she wants. Or just be like Mr. Ujest. Get her a Hockey stick, wrap it up, give it to me and then use it that night for a game. \*Lurve, exciting and new! come aboard! Were expecting you![/size]
[/QUOTE]
Oh good lord… all this time, I thought you were a dude.
I don’t know why.
Please forgive me.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/24 "2006-10-25T08:50:51Z")
I prefer stuff without any kind of stones, in general, but if I was getting “sparklies” as a present I’d like real ones best.
OTOH, my youngest brother has been bringing me earrings (the only kind of jewelry I wear consistently) from his trips for quite a few years. I would love the idea behind the present if they were the horridest things ever!
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/25 "2006-10-25T14:35:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> **Doper girls, cubic zirconium or diamonds?**
Definitely the doper girls.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/26 "2006-10-25T15:10:32Z")
[QUOTE=Danja]
Thanks for the advice everyone. I was going to go for the diamond because they had it marked down by about 300%, but then I decided that it does indeed seem too much like an engagement ring. I think i’ll get her the birthstone (which also is her favorite color). Now, my only problem is that the only metal she’s not allergic to is white gold, and NOBODY here sells white gold with citrine. Time to start the scavenger hunt, I guess. Thanks for the advice!
[/QUOTE]
That’s strange… she’s not allergic to white gold but is allergic to yellow gold? I say strange because afaik the white version has one component more than the yellow, so why would the addition of one substance make it non-allergenic? _scratches her head in confused confusion_
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### Author:  [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/27 "2006-10-25T15:15:49Z")
[QUOTE=Nava]
That’s strange… she’s not allergic to white gold but is allergic to yellow gold? I say strange because afaik the white version has one component more than the yellow, so why would the addition of one substance make it non-allergenic? _scratches her head in confused confusion_
[/QUOTE]
I am allergic to cheaper yellow gold (less than 24 karat), but not any of the white gold I’ve tried - my wedding band is white gold, in fact.
I’ve always assumed it has something to do with the amount of nickel in them. I would have thought white gold has more nickel, but honestly I’ve never gave it all that much though since I don’t like yellow gold anyway.
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### Author:  [@Wnabtokio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wnabtokio)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/28 "2006-10-25T15:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
Agreed. Alexandrite is a pink gemstone that at least _sounds_ cooler than “cubic zirconia”, and it’s cheap. If you go into a real jewelry store, you’ll find oodles of stuff in the “birthstones” section.
If you want to score big points, get her a “November” birthstone. (Topaz or Citrine). Any jewelry store should have lots of selection.
[Here’s](http://www.zales.com/search/index.jsp?cp=2251087&categoryId=2282142) a quick link. This is a tiny selection. Don’t worry, once you get in there, you’ll have more selection around the price of the one in the bottom right corner.
[/QUOTE]
Ooo, be careful with that one. I’m a November baby, and I hate hate hate! topaz for that month b/c it is brown. You can call it amber colored or brownish yellow or whatever, but it is brown. Poo brown. Even the nice ones. But I might be the only one who feels that way and citrine is usually ok.
I would totally go with something with some color, but that’s because I dislike diamonds for various reasons, the one most applicable to this discussion being that they’re clear. Clear is also boring to me. I love color!
I think that what everyone is saying about gemstones is right. They come in every color imaginable, and they have names that don’t have bad associations attached to them. (I think cubic zirconia just makes something sound fake and cheap.)
Personally, I got a promise ring from my bf last month, and I was so excited b/c it has [mystic fire topazes](http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?DeptID=11848&CatID=29620&CatTyp=DEP&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=0f37029&ProdSeq=14&ProdCount=18&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=mystic+fire+topaz&RefPage=SearchProducts&CmCatId=SearchResults%7CSearchProducts%7C11848&FromBanners=N&S4DeptID=11848&S4PageNum=1&S4PageSize=28&Dep=jewelry) in it! Now THAT’S a topaz I can get behind.
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### Author:  [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/29 "2006-10-25T15:16:08Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3]
Definitely the doper girls.
[/QUOTE]
Lawl!
To the OP: Be careful selecting CZ’s because they’re often _so big_ and _so perfect_ that they are obviously not diamonds.
Example: Mrs. bughunter received a CZ engagement ring because I could not afford a decent diamond engagement ring.
So I went online to a place that claimed to make custom CZ replicas, and specified a 1ct CZ yellow emerald cut “diamond” mounted sideways on a white gold mount so I could propose on a trip to Lake Tahoe. The intention was to put in a “promise” stone and replace it soon after with a real diamond.
What I received was a perfectly clear 2.5ct brilliant cut on a cheap-ass mount. I didn’t have time to reorder before the trip… and I still promised to replace the stone with a real one when I proposed. I did this without researching the cost of a similar carbon crystal. So now Mrs. bughunter expects the real stone to be a perfectly clear 2.5ct brilliant cut.
Yep, now I’m on the hook for a $10,000 stone instead of a $2000 one.
:smack:
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### Author:  [@Snowcarpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowcarpet)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/30 "2006-10-25T15:18:05Z")
(waves furiously at **Danja** )
I know where to get Citrine jewels in white gold. [Bluenile.com](http://Bluenile.com), my favorite jewelry store. Ring is expensive, earrings and pendant more reasonable. Go to Gemstone jewelry, Birthstones.
I love this store and keep a wishlist so my honey always knows what I want (I’m not a biatch, he is one of those guys who is generally clueless as to what I want for gifts, and he would rather select from a list.)
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### Author:  [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/31 "2006-10-25T15:35:08Z")
First of all, are you sure she likes jewelry? Many women don’t. I don’t.
I would also go with the birthstone option, even if you don’t get a citrine most of the birthstones are much prettier than boring (and, um, cruel) clear diamonds. I don’t like fake diamonds either, though–they look obviously fake, plus I don’t like rings with hugeass stones on them. They’re tacky and they catch on things.
But this is MY opinion and not HERS, why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s the one who’s going to be wearing it. Just window shop and ask her “what do you think of this one?” and get a general sense of her taste that way. I would be mad if someone bought me something I thought was ugly/ostentatious/mined by slaves but I still had to wear it.
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### Author:  [@Lilairen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilairen)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/32 "2006-10-25T18:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=Wnabtokio]
I would totally go with something with some color, but that’s because I dislike diamonds for various reasons, the one most applicable to this discussion being that they’re clear. Clear is also boring to me. I love color!
[/QUOTE]
My engagement ring is set with a sapphire. **Teine** knows I hate diamonds. 😉
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### Author:  [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/33 "2006-10-25T18:21:08Z")
> [@Wnabtokio](#):
>
> Ooo, be careful with that one. I’m a November baby, and I hate hate hate! topaz for that month b/c it is brown. You can call it amber colored or brownish yellow or whatever, but it is brown. Poo brown. Even the nice ones. But I might be the only one who feels that way and citrine is usually ok.
Not the only one. My Sister-in-law is a November baby, and she doesn’t like topaz because of the way that it looks with her coloring. So she and my brother have decided to pretend she’s a December baby for birthstones, because the pale blue whatever stone he bought her was so much better with her coloring. I’m not sure I understand it myself, but yes, dislike of one’s birthstone (or the less expensive substitutes) is not unheard of.
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### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/34 "2006-10-25T18:43:48Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
Oh good lord… all this time, I thought you were a dude.
I don’t know why.
Please forgive me.
[/QUOTE]
S’aright.
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### Author:  [@Danja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danja)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/35 "2006-10-26T19:42:40Z")
Thank you guys and gals very much. I took **Mishell’s** advice and went to [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). I ended up buying a ring similar to and by the same maker as [this one](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_so_4/002-3855590-6553661?ie=UTF8&keywords=white%20gold%20citrine&rh=n%3A3367581%2Ck%3Awhite%20gold%20citrine%2Cp%5F3%3A%2450-%2499%2Cn%3A3887251%2Cp%5F4%3ALeandra%20Creations&page=1). I’m a little bit concerned though.
I sent them an email asking for the correct size and asking by when they could ship (Birthday is November 3, the girlfriend doesn’t mind if it’s late but i’d love for it to be on time. I didn’t get any replies back, so i called both their customer service number (which led me to B&M imports or something like that), and the contact number on their own web site ([www.leandracreations.com](http://www.leandracreations.com)), and nobody picked up. I would have figured that since Thursday is a workday, someone would have. I called at 3:41 central (daylight savings?) time. Is this outside of normal work hours for a small jewelry company?
Has anyone heard of Leandra Creations, or have experience with small jewelry stores in general?
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/36 "2006-10-26T22:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=Wnabtokio]
Ooo, be careful with that one. I’m a November baby, and I hate hate hate! topaz for that month b/c it is brown. You can call it amber colored or brownish yellow or whatever, but it is brown. Poo brown. Even the nice ones. But I might be the only one who feels that way and citrine is usually ok.
[/QUOTE]
You too, huh? I’m an April baby, and diamonds bore me a lot. I much prefer the opal ring my mom (an October baby, before anyone brings up the myth) gave me a few years back to the few diamonds I’ve gotten over the years. It helps that the stone is his girlfriend’s favorite color, though 🙂
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-girls-cubic-zirconium-or-diamonds/377765/37 "2006-10-26T23:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=Danja]
I would have figured that since Thursday is a workday, someone would have. I called at 3:41 central (daylight savings?) time. Is this outside of normal work hours for a small jewelry company?
Has anyone heard of Leandra Creations, or have experience with small jewelry stores in general?
[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t assume that it’s a brick-and-mortar store. Quite a lot of vendors on e-bay do stuff out of their home.
That being said, never heard of Leandra Creations.
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