Young couples can create financial problems instantaneously by investing in expensive diamond engagement and wedding rings.  They carry the heavy burden of paying off the rings for years into their new relationship, often creating strain and resentment.  Starting a new life together also requires investing in a home and family.  Money must go toward the house, vehicles, and children.  When reality sets in, and the need to make a big impression subsides, couples often regret spending so much money on jewelry.

So, why waste money on expensive, mined diamonds when simulated diamonds are just as beautiful and durable, at a fraction of the cost?  The diamond industry has done an excellent job, marketing to vulnerable, young lovers, claiming that the diamond is the ultimate symbol of love and commitment.  Diamonds are the leading choice when it comes time for young men to purchase gifts for their lovers. Valentine´s Day, Christmas, and birthdays all beg for the gift of diamonds.  The ultimate occasion - the engagement - has been marketed to demand a diamond.  The diamond industry holds onto these customers, convincing them that diamonds, too, are the ultimate gift for anniversaries and holidays for years to come.

The diamond cartel has spent billions of dollars making people believe that mined diamonds have intrinsic value like gold. Specifically, the DeBeers company has created the illusion that diamonds are rare, by purchasing from others, stockpiling, and imposing a monopoly on diamonds with a successful scheme to keep the cost high.

True that diamonds have become a symbol of wealth, because everyone knows they are very expensive to purchase!  However, high quality simulated diamond can be indiscernible from natural diamonds and cost about a tenth less. Because they are less expensive, the manufactured diamonds should not be considered cheap in the sense that they don´t compare.  In fact, the lab-created diamonds often compare better. They don´t have the flaws that mined diamonds have: color and clarity disparities or blemishes and inclusions. A jeweler´s first clue as to whether a gem is simulated is that it is more perfect than an actual diamond.  Viewed with the naked eye, no one would have a clue. To scientifically test a diamond, an electrical device can be used; mined diamonds will conduct heat very efficiently, and simulated gems will not. The carbon in mined diamonds makes them very good conductors of heat, whereas simulated diamonds are made up of polycrystalline and does not conduct heat as well as mined diamonds. Conductive Heat testing is an extreme measure that does not dispel the fact that simulated diamonds are just as brilliant as mined diamonds.

Simulated diamonds are also just as durable as mined diamonds with a ranking of 9.7 on a Mohs scale of 1-10.  They can be cut in the same fashion as classic diamonds, including the precious hearts-and-arrows effect, giving off the coveted "fire" found in natural diamonds. An equally important aspect of high quality jewelry is the setting in which the gem is mounted.  With a beautiful gold or platinum setting, simulated diamond jewelry will last a lifetime and can be passed down through generations.  If the intention is for the piece of jewelry to be a family heirloom, never to be pawned, the fact that it is not a costly mined diamond is of no dispute.

So, why waste money on mined diamonds?  Why pay around $3,000 for a 1-carat diamond, $17,000 for a 2-carat, or nearly $40,000 for a 3-carat diamond when you can purchase a simulated diamond for as little as $100?  Well-educated jewelry shoppers are choosing simulated diamonds as an alternative to mined diamonds.  Hopeful young consumers will see the value in investing less in diamond engagement and wedding rings and more in their relationship.