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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).
CZ Gold
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.
Chic Jewelry
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®
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