Arthur Anderson
This is a really nice ring. It's a quality piece of semi-precious jewelry at around the same price as what I would consider Junk Jewelry. It's sterling silver, plated in rhodium. Rhodium can be thought of as a cousin of platinum. It's in the same family, has a similar coloration and many of the same characteristics as platinum. It's commonly used to plate pieces of jewelry made of other, softer white metals- usually sterling or white gold. The purpose is three-fold: to add strength to the softer, underlying metal, protect it from deformation or scratching and finally it adds beauty and luster to a piece of jewelry that might otherwise become dull quite rapidly.The setting is actually really beautiful. It sits up high over the band, supported by arches. I think this is called a cathedral setting but don't quote me. The stone is encircled with a ring of smaller stones (a halo setting) that sit slightly lower. All of them sit in what I believe is called a basket setting. It's just gorgeous and lets lots of light get underneath the stones so they sparkle & shine.The stones are lab-grown white sapphires. These are superior to a CZ; at the risk of spreading an ill-informed opinion based on stigma (for lack of a better word) as a fake stone used in cheap, junk jewelry, I looked up how white sapphires compare to CZs as a diamond substitute. Besides a lab-grown diamond, there really is no 1:1 substitute that matches the hardness and sparkle of a diamond at a lower price. The Mohs Hardness scale is a 1-10 scale for minerals that runs from talc (1) to Diamond (10). Cubic Zirconium is more diamond like in its sparkle & fire BUT it has a hardness rating of 8 versus Sapphire's 9. That means it will scratch more easily than a sapphire. Sapphires are a more suitable stone for a piece of jewelry that you want to wear daily. The only diamond substitute harder than a sapphire is a Moissanite (a synthetic version of a mineral first discovered inside- yes, seriously- A METEORITE that struck the earth) with a 9.5; however, Moissanite is actually much more Sparkly (what they call scintillation) than any other diamond substitute and (if you can believe it) scintillates even more than an actual diamond. For that reason, it can look a bit gaudy or fake, especially in the highly faceted cuts designed to enhance and amplify the sparkle of a diamond. They are good in less shiny cuts like the emerald or ascher. Moissanites are more expensive than any other diamond substitute. Only lab diamonds are more expensive; and significantly so at 3-4x the price of a lab diamond of equal size.This is a beautiful ring and a quality piece of jewelry that I have every reason to believe will hold up to daily wear while retaining it's beauty. HOWEVER- I'm not sure that this is an appropriate choice for an actual engagement ring. Despite it's beauty AND attractive price, I'd also think twice before giving it as a promise ring since it's liable to be larger and flashier than an actual engagement ring. It MIGHT make for an attractive TEMPORARY engagement ring if you plan on shopping for an actual ring together but ONLY if the ring you're planning to buy/budgeting for is going to be similar in size to this one. It would however be a nice choice as a "decoy" ring to deter would-be lotharios when a gal just wants to go out and alone or with friends and not be pestered, as a placeholder if a drastic weight fluctuation has made the usual ring too large or small or to wear when travelling to protect a diamond ring from loss or theft- and the wearer from any possible rakes that might see the absence of a ring as a green light. This is the only possible use for synthetic diamond jewelry according to the not at all greedy & Self-Serving Mined diamond cartels whilst hawking THIER OWN lab created diamonds.The only thing I don't absolutely adore about this ring, actually THINGS plural, are the yellow gold(plated) prongs holding the center stone. Not sure what the thought process was there but it's subtle enough that it doesn't really bother me. I just hope it doesn't adversely effect the durability of the setting and the security of the center stone. It's also not the right size- I'm a 6 and this is a 7 but I CAN wear it on my left ring finger though it fits better on a middle finger or my right hand ring finger. That's just bad luck. Finally, it snags on stuff a LOT. But in my book, that's just a fair trade off for having a ring in a pretty setting and not an ugly bezel like it's a GD cabochon!! I've had it on for an entire evening, slept with it on and am wearing it still and I've caught it on things more times than I can count- mostly my muslin blankets. So take care. None of those things- individually or all together- are worth docking a star. Anyone who's familiar with my reviews knows that this is a pretty rare occurrence and not a rating I give very often, so take that fact alone as a ringing (hahahaha) endorsement. I just hope that the seller and the ring prove to be equal to the praise in the long term.
