My Etsy Experience
*Long Review* I wanted to share my experience because I actually found this vendor through this subreddit. First, I do want to acknowledge that another user posted a stunning ring from Rare Sparkles Co., and that’s actually what convinced me to order from them. Their ring was gorgeous, so I genuinely think I may have just gotten unlucky with my stone. This is just my personal experience.
I currently have a white gold brilliant cut cushion with halo and decided I wanted to switch up my engagement ring. I ordered some CZ Amazon rings just to test out styles and fell in love with an elongated cushion solitaire with a gold band, hidden halo, crushed ice cut. I did lots of sleuthing on this page and found a user with a gorgeous ring from Rare Sparkles Co. on Etsy. I immediately messaged them on Etsy with my inspo (I got the pics of the listing from the user post on here) and told them the dimensions of the stone I wanted, some slight tweaks to the halo and a white gold head for a two-toned look. The seller agreed they could create the piece with the tweaks and gave me the lead time. I had two other requests: an estimated finish date because my husband wanted to plan a cute lil re-proposal and a stone check before it was set because I know CI moissys can look cloudy and I wanted to confirm whether I liked the stone. The seller agreed but I received neither.
When I reached out two weeks or so after payment, I was told the ring was done. It was ahead of schedule but I never received the stone check. The seller sent me a few still photos and the ring looked okay but I asked for a video so I could see how the stone actually preformed. I got a notification a few hours later that the ring had shipped. I didn’t receive the video of the ring until the next day. I noticed that the gold band looked a bit duller in the video than in the still photos. I did get 10k gold so I chalked it up to the alloy game but the discrepancy in how it was photographed and how it looked irl gave me pause especially because I had to go out of my way to ask for the video. The video was short and I honestly couldn’t really tell how the stone was performing, but at this point the ring had already shipped so I decided to wait and see because the seller accepted returns - or so I thought.
I received the ring a few days later and immediately was disappointed. It had very little sparkle and was so dull. In natural light, direct sunlight, and darkness with flash, the stone was white and glassy. The only decent performance was in Walmart under the fluorescents but it was still clear only the edges were lively and the center was dead. Despite the gold being a bit duller, the actual setting was well made and I was happy with the style. I tried my best to let it grow on me but ultimately I decided to return it.
When I reached out to the seller about the return, they notified me that since it was a custom order, only a 70% refund would be issued. The ONLY place they could show me this policy was in the stock listing for the style of ring I got which I never saw because I just messaged their page directly with inspo pics. The custom order listing they created to have me pay from did not have this policy (and they couldn’t produce and evidence otherwise), the email confirmation did not have this policy and they even sent paperwork with my order that said free returns within 30 days for any reason. When I took this up with them, the seller was rude, talked around the issue and said the cut was one of the best they’ve done. I was so frustrated over the issue that my husband suggested I find a lab diamond with similar dimensions since they do better with CI cut than moissys. I originally was going to return for the 70% and start over, but then they had all this reasoning why I needed to not select signature service for delivery and the return address was different than the original address. None of this seemed wild, but based on my overall experience with them, I just didn’t trust it. On top of that, when I reached out to my typical overseas vendor about how much it would cost to make the same setting with a lab diamond, it was more expensive than a loose diamond + re-setting. So ultimately I decided to eat the money and reuse the setting for the gorgeous lab diamond I purchased from Luvansh. I found a stone that works perfectly for resetting and the difference between the performance of the two stones are day and night. And while I know the two stones have different qualities, I must say the Etsy moissy still underperforms compared to my original moissanite by leaps and bounds.
I just wanted to share my experience with the vendor since I found them on here. I’m sure I may have had a one off terribly cut stone but I want others to be aware of how they operate and shop at your own risk! Pictures of the ring and the ring compared to my lab attached.
TL;DR: Customer service issues on the front and backend as well as a lackluster stone from Rare Sparkles Co. on Etsy. Setting is decent so I’m resetting a lab diamond in it. Shop at your own risk!