Sparklies  − 11 April, 2008

Jewelry is a guilty pleasure of mine. I LOVE looking at sparkly things. My friends tease me that I must be half crow – as those birds are known for their attraction to shiny objects, too. My husband has to drag me past the jewelry store windows when we are shopping, as I am totally mesmerized watching the special tungsten lighting turn diamonds into rainbow sparklers. Ahhhh… sparkly. 
Of course, I tend to have expensive taste – I LOVE platinum (as of yet, I do not have a platinum piece of jewelry in my collection, as it is so costly) and diamonds. Bridal sets are especially attractive to me – not only the symbolism behind it, but the lovely designs and the SPARKLE… I like colored gemstones, too – both precious and semi-precious. Emeralds are my favorite, with Green Tourmaline a close second, and the Tsavorite Garnet – a deep green is eye-catching to me, too. I guess I like green stones best of all – Peridot, Chrome Diopside… I only have a couple of Emerald, Peridot and one Tourmaline piece in my collection, however. Again, expense is an issue and I can’t justify spending money on sparklies that have no purpose (except to mesmerize me). The money can be better spent elsewhere, right? So I wait for special occasions and drop hints.
Every once in a while I do buy something for myself – a rare occasion and only inexpensive trinkets – usually to replace something I have lost, irreparably broken or to commemorate a special event. At Eukanuba I bought myself a gold trotting German Shepherd Dog pendant, and I usually get a toe ring and an anklet at the South Florida Fair which always runs during my birthday – I wear them all the time, so I don’t feel badly that I spoiled myself a little.
I will fully admit my undying attraction to cultured and simulated diamonds. I love Cubic Zirconias – so bright, sparkly and perfect. I would also LOVE to get a piece of Moissanite – the diamond stimulant so close to the real thing, a jeweler needs special equipment to tell the difference. There’s also “cultured diamonds” that are chemically the same exact thing as a “natural” diamond, but man-made, and as they are really diamonds, a jeweler CANNOT tell the difference. I am sure De Beers is pushing to get the cultured diamond folks to somehow mark the “difference” in the man-made stones, so they can market their mined diamonds as “real” versus the “fake” cultured stones. Personally, I will go with the fake ones, as there is no risk of them being “conflict” diamonds. I don’t trust De Beers (though they have the best marketing team around).
CZs are cheap, so I can spoil myself and it costs so little. The other day I “splurged” and bought myself a CZ “eternity” band made out of Stainless Steel. I LOVE it. It is SO SPARKLY and bright, and the ring looks exactly like my girlfriend’s platinum and perfect diamond eternity band. Mine cost about $16.00. Hers cost $1,600.00. And I don’t worry about losing mine. I got one for my sister’s birthday present, as she is an April baby. It isn’t a diamond, but it looks better than one. Honestly, next to real diamonds, CZs are sparklier and brighter. As no children are harmed in the production of CZs (unlike the kids of parents who work in Sierra Leone’s alluvial diamond mines) I have decided to only buy CZs from now on. In fact, my “ringer” engagement ring (the one I wear when I travel in case something happens) is a white gold and CZ Tiffany-style piece. It’s beautiful and no one knows it isn’t the real thing – well, now you do… 
But’s that’s all I want – pretty sparklies that don’t cost much and are mesmerizing to look at. I can’t wait to get home to watch some more QVC and HSN presentations… Ahhh, sparklies…