Imposters III

Fred evaluates two more C.Z. companies

Since the publication of “Imposters Too,” I’ve been asked to review two other C.Z. companies, CZ Gold and Chic Jewelry. Here are my findings. (In this article, I’ve reviewed three C.Z.’s in solitaire settings).

Each of the C.Z. solitaire rings came in a nice enough simulated leather ring box.

 

At first glance, each of the solitaires looked pretty good.

 

The C.Z.’s had good life, nice light return, and were very attractive. When I picked up my loupe (10x magnifier), however, the true picture came to light. The marquise was set improperly where the V-shaped prongs (that are designed to protect the points of the marquise) weren’t even covering the ends (See photo #5). There was tremendous porosity (pitting) as well as unpolished areas inside the basket (the head that holds the marquise) that were totally unfinished. (See photo #6). On top of that, there were some pretty bad abrasions and scratches on the surface. (See photo #7).

 

The radiant solitaire was nice enough (way better than the marquise) but was set improperly (way too high). You could park a Mack truck between the bottom of the rock and the base of the head. (See photo #8).

 

The round solitaire was attractive like I said earlier but was set poorly and not completely rhodium-finished. (Yellow gold solder could be seen at the base of the head).
Conclusion: Hit and miss on the quality of the C.Z.’s but atrocious metalwork, setting and polishing on the semi-mounts. I’d pass on these guys.

When I opened the box from Chic Jewelry, I immediately fell in love with their packaging. (See photos #9 and #10). No other company had gone to as much trouble picking out their ring boxes as these guys!

 

Like CZ Gold, my initial reaction was positive. The jewelry looked attractive and believable. (See photos #11, 12, and 13).

 

But sadly, just like CZ Gold, when I took a closer look, I was disappointed. I saw chipped stones (See photo #14), oversized girdles (See photo #15), unfinished girdles (See photo #16), stones mounted crookedly (See photo #17), and poor polishing, porosity, and finishing (See photos #18 and #19).

Conclusion: Buy their adorable boxes but get the contents from somewhere else! Total miss on quality of C.Z.’s and semi-mounts! If I had three thumbs, they would all be turned down.

by Fred Cuellar, author of the best-selling book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Diamond Guy®