u/Any_Jello_8361

I have more than 30 Lab diamonds, every color from D to N and almost all of my favorite cuts. Since the settings I have custom made tend towards Vintage, I decided I wanted to add to my collection an OEC. That meant reading up on them first.

It seems there are 2 types of OEC, a transitional type and a type that runs to a more authentic look, smaller table, higher angles up top. What I also found is, the better the specs on an OEC going towards authentic looking, the higher the prices jumped. For me it came down to 2 diamonds , a 3 carat OEC with a larger table and transitional or a similarly priced but smaller 2.08 carat with more genuine OEC angles and table. I chose the 2.08.

My diamond is an E VVS2 with a 49% table and 64.8% depth. It's CVD type IIa. It cost me $599 from Altura and this was also my first Altura purchase. They had it cheaper than anyone else once I used my 10% coupon. This exact diamond was as much as $1500 on some high end sites. Even worse, similar diamonds with these more authentic specs for an OEC were several thousand dollars on some of the sites known for selling OEC. I would say , don't bother.

For comparison, a 2.08 carat round brilliant cut E, VVS2, Ideal cut can be had for $311, so I paid nearly double to add this OEC cut to my collection.

Was it worth it ? I love the look of it but next to a 2 carat Round Brilliant , there is not some gigantic difference, especially indoors. Outside, on a sunny day, but in the shade, the difference is more obvious and the pattern within the OEC is striking and very beautiful. In fact , it is more pleasing than the overall small flashes of light from a round brilliant. But would I pay double the price for another one, probably not. I could have gone for a cheaper Transitional OEC, but I wanted a diamond closer to the true vintage cuts.

BTW, Altura was excellent to work with.

Someone gave this somewhat odd 14k ring to me back in the mid-1990s with a CZ in it, back when CZ's were a thing and not cheap the way they are today. Later I would replace the CZ with a blue Moissanite and just recently I replaced the Moissanite with this 1 carat D, HPHT diamond. It's Si1 but there are no inclusions to the naked eye.

I've always wanted to put a real diamond in it but only Labs made it possible. I don't like this enough to spend a few thousand on natural so the $124 I spent was great, plus $30 to have the stones switched out.

I have no idea what the symbols on it are. Egyptian ? American Indian ? Strangely back in the 1990s I saw this same setting as a complete ring at an antique show and the dealer was selling it as if it were an antique , which it is not. Right now on Etsy, another antique dealer is selling it with a poor quality natural OEC in it for $3000 saying it is from 1910. I don't believe that either.

This is my second Lab diamond from Diyona and like my first order I am extremely satisfied. This was a Quick Ship Diamond. I purchased it last Friday, April 24, it was shipped 3 business days later and arrived today, 1 week after ordering.

It is a 2.4 carat, E color, VVS2 and HPHT. It was $305.16 plus tax and because I'd been watching it, it dropped in price twice by small amounts over 10 days.

I compared Diyona, Alturadiamonds and Aurelinne in a previous post and someone brought Carbon Sparkle to my attention.

I have 9 diamonds from Aurelinne and returned a 10th. Return process was completely free, painless and the slowest part was the diamond itself crossing the country by USPS. Aurelinne has an excellent 30 day free return from after you receive the diamond. This is one diamond in a 60 day period. But unless you have a 15% off code, Aurelinne is now more expensive than the other 3 vendors. Not all Aurelinne orders are free shipping.

Carbon Sparkle, who I have not used yet, has the same search engine as Aurelinne, the same free return policy, but states 1 free return in 90 days and the site clearly states that free shipping is on purchases over $200. I have tried it out over and over and Carbon Sparkle's diamonds are exactly 15% less in price than Aurelinne, no code needed. They've also improved their search engine to cover more shapes.

I have an OEC on order from AlturaDiamonds and because Diyona could not get it for me, my 10% off made Altura cheaper than Aurelinne or Carbon Sparkle. When it comes to returns and refunds I would check Altura's website or write for clarification, because Altura's return policy seems to be changing. Kind of hidden under "refunds" was a statement that if you bought your diamond with a discount or promo code, the diamond was NOT returnable. I used that 10% promo code, but I can no longer find that statement under refunds. As far as returns , one section says 30 days, another says 25 and originally it said 30 days from purchase, not from when you received it. With a 10% off code Altura is cheaper than Carbon and with no promo codes for either Altura or Aurelinne, Altura is cheaper than Aurelinne, but if being able to return a diamond is important to you , you need to carefully read the return policy on each site you consider. Also YOU must pay postage to return a diamond to Altura.

Diyona may not have colored diamonds yet, told me they could not get me a OEC I ended up buying from Altura, but Diyona beats the other 3 vendors for price and service. This second purchase came very quickly. This exact diamond was $1266 on Ritani and on sale for $1303 on Brilliance. I have not found anyone yet to beat Diyona's prices. Yes, their search engine is lame, but go to a site with a better search engine, get some IGI numbers and see if Diyona has them. Diyona has the same free 30 day return policy, they pay shipping.

Just for quick comparison, the same 2 carat E, VVS2 HPHT diamond on all 4 sites

Aurelinne, $373 , 10% off $335.70, 15% off $317.05

Carbon Sparkle $317

Alturadiamonds $331, 10% off $297.90

Diyona (the clear winner) $255.66 plus tax.

If you know of other cheap sites, please let us all know !

If you love Lab diamonds because they are VERY inexpensive, like me you most likely want a quality gold or platinum setting for a great low price too. I know that means using a China based vendor. I already do.

I wanted to know what China vendors people now use, why they use them, and would love to hear from people who have tried more than one. Does one particular vendor seem cheaper ? Have people had problems with one ? I see several names repeated, Tianyu, Provence, LGG, Stargems. Do any of these stand out as the best ? How long is it taking to see a CAD ? How long to get a finished ring ?

I personally go for more complicated designs with milgrain and carving. Does any one vendor come to mind as the best for this ?

I would not use any US vendor, way too expensive and most likely made in India or China anyway. I will not deal with India vendors. I have and all I ever had was problems.

Thank you.