As I was browsing the news today on the topic of diamonds, to see what kind of things are trending or newsworthy, it is ironic that I came across this article today from Forbes.com. A previous post, which you can find here, spoke about how big diamond company De Beers is entering the market of man-made diamonds. I talked about what this means for the little startups and how it changes the landscape.

Given my previous update, it caught my eye when another big diamond company, Tiffany, is in the news on the topic of lab-created diamonds. However, contrary to De Beers, they are taking a hard stance on not making man-made diamonds. According to the article, they refer to them as “less luxurious” than their natural counterpart.

Of course, this became open season for manufacturers of lab-created diamonds to voice their opinion in response to Hart and Tiffany’s stance. Jason Payne, who is the founder of one of the leaders in the man-made diamond industry, immediately posted an open letter to clap back at Tiffany and explain why their stance on artificial diamonds is incorrect. According to Payne, new luxury customers want lab-made diamonds. He states “My clients are steadfast in their belief that lab diamonds are the epitome of modern luxury, with most proudly evangelizing the superiority of ‘cultured’ diamonds over ‘dirt’ diamonds.”

This whole discussion came about as Tiffany released news on the full transparency of their diamond mining and sourcing. The mining of diamonds can be a detriment to the environment, and with all the news about climate change and similar issues, Tiffany is outlining their actions on environmental responsibility in a letter to President Donald Trump.

If you hadn’t read the news yet – and unless you read gossip mags, then you probably haven’t – last week greeted us with the news that movie star Chris Pratt got engaged to his girlfriend, Katherine Schwarzenegger (daughter of Arnold and Maria Shriver). It came as a surprise to many, as the two have only been dating since the summer. They were apparently introduced to each other by Shriver through their church.

Pratt was previously married to actress Anna Faris, with whom he has a 6-year-old son, Jack. While they have only been together for a short time, the engagement is not as much of a surprise to those who know them. They state that they neither of them date just for the sake of dating and that they knew quickly that they were meant to be together. They are serious and hopeful about their future together.

Enough background on the couple. Since this site is about diamonds, I only bring up this news to spill the dirt on the engagement ring that Pratt gave to Schwarzenegger. Just like with my post about the Tim Tebow engagement, of course People magazine has the scoop on the rock that he put on her finger.

According to People, Pratt chose a romantic oval center stone for his bride-to-be. It is believed to be a 5-carat diamond, as told by Beverly Hills jeweler Jason Arasheben. It is complemented with a simple band, with more focus being on the rock itself. As for the price, it is speculated that a diamond of this size and shape would cost somewhere in the area of $550,000.

There aren’t a ton of great photos of the ring, but you can see it in the Instagram photo shared by Pratt above. That is one massive diamond! It’s safe to say he went to a high-end jeweler – you won’t find something in this price range diamond retailers I review here.

While this is a little bit less than Tebow spent on his, which is estimated to be north of $600,000, despite his higher earning power as a massive film star these days, it is understandable that Pratt spent a little less than the star athlete. Given that he is not far removed from a divorce, as well as having a child (neither of which apply to Tebow), it may be a wise move to not spend as much as high big-budget movie salary could afford.

But then again, who am I kidding – $550,000 is still a massive amount of money to anybody! It says in the article that Faris and Pratt just recently finalized their divorce and it seems to be amicable. Neither of them requested spousal support and they agreed to live within 5 miles each other until their son completes 6th grade. They’ve all (Pratt, Schwarzenegger, Faris and her boyfriend) out together on excursions with young Jack, so it sounds like it is already a happy family. Good for them!

While a ring valued at over $500,000 isn’t in most people’s budget, there are still great rings that can be had at affordable prices. For my top recommendation, take a look at this brand here: https://www.diamondcuts.com/james-allen-review/

As I love learning about diamonds and sharing what I know with my readers on this site, I try to keep up to date on these gems whenever they come up in the news. Today I was browsing through Google News and I came across this article off of Yahoo Finance that discusses the viability of lab-grown diamonds.

Artificial diamonds have always been a pretty controversial subject in this industry, where mostly everyone takes a side – whether they are inferior or if they are as good as the real thing. This article I found provided some pretty interesting viewpoints, as well as illustrates a shift in opinion from some of the industry’s biggest names.

However, due to their lower price points, as well as the increased sophistication of the technology to create something that looked just like the real thing, their popularity began to rise. This couldn’t be more evident than when De Beers, one of the longest-running names in the diamond business, announced that they would start to offer lab-grown diamonds. Previously, they had referred to them as inferior.

Due to economies of scale, De Beers will be able to sell their artificial diamonds at even lower price than the other smaller companies that create them. The crux of the article is the question of whether or not the smaller players should be worried about this. An interview with a founder of a lab-grown diamond startup, Clean Origin, doesn’t think De Beers’ strategy will work. He claims that, despite reports to the contrary, prices for these kinds of diamonds are not coming down, and he actually has to turn away customers. There is much more demand than there is a supply of lab-grown diamonds, which keeps prices at a steady level if not increasing.

Furthermore, the price to produce a lab-made diamond has decreased at the same time. It used to cost around $500 per carat to produce previously, and now is around $300 per carat. This is increasing the margins for manufacturers of these gems and allowing them to increase their production to as much as their capacity can take, if not expand their operations. The fact of the matter is, despite De Beers entering the market for lab-produced diamonds, there is even less barrier to entry than before for the smaller producers and an even more lucrative business than ever.

I have already given my thoughts on lab-grown diamonds in this post, but am curious to see what my readers think. Do they measure up to the real thing? Is a natural diamond a requirement for you, or your partner? What would make you choose one over the other, other than the price? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

If you don’t follow the gossip news at all, this week we were greeted with the announcement that football (and now baseball) star Tim Tebow has gotten engaged to his lovely girlfriend, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters.

While we’re happy for him and his soon-to-be bride, that’s not what this is about. Of course, we wanted to bring the news of the rock he bought her!

People.com has the story on the diamond that he gave his beauty pageant-winning fiance (she was the winner of Miss Universe in 2017), and it is absolutely gorgeous! With a few years as a starting QB in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, a few years as a commentator on major sports networks, and now a budding professional baseball career, it is safe to say that Tebow has a budget quite a bit higher than the rest of us. His financial means definitely show in this stunning engagement ring. Estimates put the value at around $600,000 to $750,000.

Tebow gave his fiance a jaw-dropping 7.25-carat solitaire ring, as pictured in the photo below.

Apparently, the couple got engaged on Wednesday evening at Tebow’s family’s farm outside of Jacksonville, Florida. As they passed a small lake on the property, they stopped at a bench that had he had specially built and was engraved with the day that the couple met. As he got down on one knee, he told her “This ring is internally flawless — just like you” as his girlfriend beamed with excitement.

The ring was purchased a month before the proposal, with Tebow flying in a jeweler into Jacksonville with a set of diamonds from him to choose from. It reminds me of all those Neil Lane scenes in the last episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette – lifestyles of the rich and famous, right?

I am very old school in that I believe that when it comes to engagement rings, it should be dealt ith the classic way. Save some money from your salary until you can afford an engagement ring. In fact, your spouse should know about your financial situation before you decide to get married and start shopping for a ring. Your budget should be known so there are no outrageous expectations.

However, sometimes love can make us do crazy things and people may not think about their financial well-being before buying a diamond ring. This often leads to a financial disaster and long-term after-effects on the marriage.

However, there are some shortfalls for going this route to pay for your ring. So the real question is: should you finance an engagement ring?

To put it simply, financing an engagement ring should be your last resort. You really don’t want to start a marriage with debt hanging over your head. Luckily, there are many financing options available today both through banks and diamond retailers.

“Diamonds are forever”, as the saying goes, and a man from California took that adage to heart in the gesture that he made during this holiday season. As described in this article from wjc.com, Randy Huhn from Arroyo Grande wanted to do something special to carry his late wife with him forever.

He found a company based out of Texas called Eterneva that was able to transform his wife’s ashes into a beautiful diamond that he will be able to cherish eternally.

The process is done through a carbon purification process in which it is then put through cycles of high heat and high pressure, much the way that natural diamonds are created, which eventually (over the course of a few months) turns the carbon into a raw diamond.

I really love the gesture that Mr. Huhn made here, as it will be an eternal gift whereby he can carry his deceased wife with him forever. It is said that his wife loved the mantra “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, so he hit it right on the nose with this idea that he had.

To go even further with the sentimentality, for even further honoring the memory of his wife, the end result was a blue diamond that matched his wife’s eyes. This guy “gets it” and I can’t think of anything more loving. After cremation, you’re commonly left with an urn to place somewhere special. Though it is not said in the article what kind of jewelry or what kind of diamond cut he made from this, this creation from the cremains can be carried with him everywhere.

This gift to himself comes at a particularly special, though difficult time for Huhn, as it was the first Thanksgiving that he and his wife did not spend together after 40 years. It will also be her first birthday and Christmas since her recent passing, so Huhn will have this diamond so that she is “with” him during this usually joyous season.

While it is generally regarded that lab-created diamonds are poor value, this diamond that Huhn had artificially created is worth much more in sentiment than it is monetarily, and that is something that you can’t put a price tag on, regardless if it is real or fake. It is not said whether or not the Huhns had any children, but I can imagine this would be a wonderful heirloom passed down that has special meaning.