They are grown in a warehouse in Florida by a roomful of Russian-designed machines spitting out 3-carat roughs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A second company, in Boston, has perfected a completely different process for making near-flawless diamonds and plans to begin marketing them by year's end. This sudden arrival of mass-produced gems threatens to alter the public's perception of diamonds - and to transform the $7 billion industry. More intriguing, it opens the door to the development of diamond-based semiconductors.

http://www.apollodiamond.com/ - you can buy from this website, though they say they will be opening "soon", and in one area say 2007. Guess they are running out of time meeting that deadline.

Here is gemesis the other company:

http://www.gemesis.com/buy.aspx

And of course, there's the perennial favorite;
http://www.lifegem.com/

It doesn't say love unless you killed someone and used their body to make it.

Plastics and cubic zirconia are not diamonds, the properties are markedly different so try again, better yet, don't.

I'm certainly not kept awake at night, fearful that my stone will plummet in 'value' due to some rogue business flooding the market with them.

I don't think anyone commented on this one yet. But the properties in question here, clarity, cut etc are in fact pretty damn close to identical. So for this argument you're wrong. Now if we were arguing the merits of using diamonds in drilling or something else you might have a point....

Why would you? It plummeted in value the day you bought it. As soon as it leaves the store it's basically worthless.

Draguun, is that a sybian?

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you, that said, I wouldn't be so quick as to assume I made the same mistakes.

The resale value of diamonds is next to nothing. The setting is more valuable than the diamond itself.

Which is what happens when you buy a garbage diamond that's only been 'appraised' rather than actually certified.

It's irrelevant that some properties are close ('cut' isn't a property either by the way) when other properties are again, markedly different; the argument you're supporting is no different than claiming glass and plastic are the exact same thing because they have some commonalities. And just so we're clear, my argument is that diamonds are different from cubic zirconia and plastic, period, no qualifiers.

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you, that said, I wouldn't be so quick as to assume I made the same mistakes.

right. keep thinking that, chief.

Great, yeah I don't think anyone here is arguing that diamonds are IDENTICAL in every way. They're (we're) saying that for the purpose that a piece of jewelry serves the properties, attributes, etc of synthetic/fake diamonds serve just as well.

The only diamond I ever bought came completely with certificate and all that other neat paperwork.

I heard that you and Amanda got engaged, congratulations.

I heard that you and Amanda got engaged, congratulations

things just started to make a whole lot more sense

...it doesn't reduce the 'fire' of my own stone.

That's just it, they were.

Who was it certified by? Did it come with a plot plan and/or laser inscription? What were the attributes?

Yeah. Why not just give them a cubic zirconia and call it a day? Still has the same meaning. You just paid hundres (thousands) less. =)

I look at the certification being nothing more than a statement of what carrot, color and cut I purchased, and nothing to do with retaining value. I honestly could care less. The value to me was in the meaning in which it was given.

Because girls like to feel appreciated. Apparently that means spending 2-3months salary on an object as a pledge of your affection.

things just started to make a whole lot more sense