So I proposed to my former girlfriend about 3 weeks ago (she's now my fiancée). We're both doctoral students, and money IS a HUGE issue, so I spent a lot of time and energy looking around at non-diamond options.

Diamond Nexus Labs has a nice website, and some "nice looking" articles that seemed to support their claims. I was in a hurry, so I bought my ring from them.

Their customer support was very good; they went out of their way to deliver the ring to me under strange circumstances. When I saw it, however, I was disappointed. My fiancée didn't say anything negative, but she didn't have to. The stone was dull: hardly the "perfect man-made diamond" that they advertised. After doing further research, I discovered the controversy surrounding Diamond Nexus Labs (some of which is stickied at the top of this forum).

As soon as I got back from my trip, I looked for another option. After quite a bit of searching (looking at Asha, Moissanite, and real man-made colored diamonds), I found BetterThanDiamond, and ordered a 1 ct Asha Tiffany Reproduction from them. I wanted something that looked nice, but was not so extravagant that it would look like something that would be impossible for me to afford.

On top of that, what I REALLY wanted to do was compare the ring from DNL to the new Asha ring I bought from BetterThanDiamond, and to take pictures. The people at BTD got the ring to me quickly, and it is BEAUTIFUL. Their customer service has been amazing; Angelic is as sweet as her name implies she might be.

Here are the pictures I took. These are untouched, original photos... all of them (not just ones that make BTD look good). See if you can figure out which ring is which.

Let me know if you have any questions. I don't want anyone else to make the same mistake I did!

OMWord! What a HUGE difference! I can totally tell, and those pids aren't all that close up.

Thanks for the pics! Great testimonial. Welcome!

I can tell which is which also! Welcome, and thanks for the great pics!

even if you put the dnl stone in a great setting it would still look like crap ... we considered dnl first before we found btd also - kudos to you for taking another chance for your lady

OMGawd....the DNL ring is what gives CZs a bad name

Congratulations!! I'm glad you found BTD (aren't we all?)

Very easy to tell which ring is the Asha.

Very brave of you to do this experiment, and an excellent testimonial of quality! Man, once you've found this place and explored some of these lovely "stones", you're hooked! Fantastic product and service ~ enjoy! The Tiff Repro looks lovely on your bride-to-be ~ congratulations!

WOW - I know exactly which is which... Thanks so much for posting that photo... Congrats to you both - the Tiffany Repro looks wonderful on her.

Thanks for all the wonderful replies... you've made me feel very welcome!

She absolutely loves her ring. She couldn't believe that I picked out something she loves so much without her input. Even though we've been together almost five years, my proposal was a complete surprise.

cant go wrong with quality and lots of love...congrats on the five years and engagement!!