I do! I have a 3 carat CZ ring that I wear on my right hand and a 10 carat CZ tennis bracelet. I wear both pretty regularly. Most of the time, I just love wearing them and I don't think twice about it.

I bought them for myself with money I received as an inheritance from my grandparents. (They were always sympatheic to my love of jewelry.) I always wished my husband would buy me some major bling to honor me for all I do - 6 kids, homeschooling, and more breastfeeding than you can shake a stick at just to start things off. But we are not wealthy and unfortunately, my husband, for all his wonderful qualities, is not much of a gift-giver. It just isn't important to him, and although I've told him how meaningful special gifts are to me, he doesn't respond.

So, here I am with my self-gifted, self-honoring BLING! Like I said, mostly I feel great wearing it, but sometimes I feel like I'm kind of lying, although, usually when people comment about my jewelry, I am quick to state that it is fake.

Do you wear CZ jewelry? How do you feel about it?

I sure do. Especially in earrings because I lose earrings so easily.

In fact...for only about a year now...I've been wearing real diamonds on my hand...and that's only because after thirty-four years of waiting for two rings which my grandmother willed to me, but which my aunt "kept" in a safe-deposit box (lot of jealousy and awful greed involved in that one, folks! *sigh*), I finally got them and had another ring made up -- one which took months to make (how do I keep finding these awful merchants?!) -- but I do adore it. And my mother gave me my father's wedding band and her small, modest wedding set and I had them made into one ring.
Now...I feel like I never want to remove them from my fingers, so my lovely CZ and Moissanite rings sit in their boxes.
But...I do have a gorgeous tennis bracelet in white gold -- with CZs -- and many, many earrings.
No one ever asks if they're real (LOL -- hey, nowadays...ya never know what people might ask!)...but I seem to always blurt out that they are "fake" out to anyone who might compliment me on a piece. LOL
Truthfully, none are really bold or ostentatious...and they're all of good quality...so they really do look like the real thing.
Of all stones...the diamond is the most beautiful, to me, but I have issues with buying them...so the CZs have given me much pleasure through the years.

Definitely. I wear them with "real" diamonds, too. I especially love the pieces that are designed with small stones and good metalwork so that they look very authentic, but basically I wear things that I think look good and I don't really care whether they're "real" or not. My husband bought me a smallish CZ tennis bracelet set in white gold that I wear every day and absolutely love to death. I have lots of CZ earrings and as long as the design is appropriate for the look I want, I'm all for it. I don't really care for the prismatic ones or the ones that are really brightly colored, but that's just personal preference. There are some very pretty CZ solitaire rings out there... www.ziamond.com has a really interesting selection.

I wear CZ's, too! Like Catie, I'm infamous for loosing earrings (my hubby gave me a pair for Christmas, but I'm afraid to wear them , lol!)

You guys are right about CZs being great because they aren't valuable. If you lose them or if they are stolen, it's sad, but not the end of the world.

I have two CZ rings that I love and wear and always get compliments on. I don't care if they are CZ, I wear them b/c they're pretty and sparkly. I wear real diamonds too for the same reason. If it's pretty and I like it, I wear it. :-) I don't try to pass them off as 'real' though - if someone asks I say they're CZ. I wouldn't spend ALOT of money on CZ's though, but I've found some nice rings at the department store and even Avon, for under 30 dollars. :-)

I seem to skip the CZ category. I would rather wear a very small diamond or a very glitzy piece of obviously fake rhinestone costume jewelry than a CZ. I mix "real"* jewelry with costume all the time and enjoy that. Exception is I do have one set of Indian jewelry (gold necklace and matching earrings) that has some CZs set in it and I do love wearing it.

I've seen some gorgeous CZ jewelry on The Shopping Channel. They also have something called Diamonelle. These stones are set in gold or silver. Some of those pieces are beautifully designed and made and they are quite reasonable.

*I put "real" jewelry in quotes because all jewelry is real and to be enjoyed.

I have a CZ ring set in 14K gold and get compliments on it all the time. I think if the setting is good quality, no one can tell it's fake anyway. I like big, real diamonds, but I don't like having to pay the extra insurance bills to cover it in case of loss, so I don't plan to acquire any more "real" jewelry than what I already have.

Caz, I can understand that. Having to have a huge insurance policy would definitely deter me from wanting to own extremely expensive diamond jewelry. I sometimes visit a diamond forum called Pricescope. It's fun to read the posts of people who are buying diamonds right and left. A number of people who have ubervaluable diamond rings such as engagement rings get a CZ copy made to wear when they travel. I'd rather enjoy being able to freely wear more modest stuff.

Yep, it's a pain because jewelry is not covered under regular homeowner's insurance, it has to be scheduled separately and individually for each piece. And it's not cheap - it's about 0.5% of the item's value per year. Doesn't sound like a lot but it adds up fast if you have lots of pieces or very expensive pieces, and is an ongoing financial drain. I'll stick to non-precious jewelry from now on.

I have real diamonds.........but I sure do have some really pretty CZ drop earrings that have 14K settings. I love them!

When I pop off, I'll make sure each of you gets a gem made from me. Or, uh, my "carbon"...

(click below)

LifeGems





Dahlings, I'll look fabulous on you....

Gee! Why not enjoy them now?? heh heh!

The only CZ I have is the plain stud earrings and they are great for the reasons stated - so easily lost; I think I am on my third or fourth pair. Same with pearls - always fake. I am not much into diamond or diamond-looking jewelry in general. I quite like beads and semiprecious gems - turquoise, citrine, amethyst, coral.

I haven't yet. But after reading these articles, I appreciate them more:

http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go34...ts/berg/cz.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cubic-zirconia.htm

http://www.ziamond.com/faq.html

There is also the alternative of lab-grown diamonds, lower in price and skirts the human rights issue.

I wear them and have some really pretty rings and other jewelry that are CZ.
I don't care if they are genuine stones or not I like them for their beauty.

I saw Jeanne Cooper on an interview. She plays Katherine Chancellor on Y & R.
She was telling about getting some very valuable jewelry stolen some time back.
She talked about how violated she felt and angry.
It prompted her to create her own line of costume jewelry.
She showed some of it and it's gorgeous!

http://www.cbs.com/daytime/yr/about/bios/jcooper.shtml

Karen

There's also Moissanite to consider, which is a man-made diamond thingy, but they're also quite expensive. For the money, I'd go CZ any day. I'm particularly partial to the Kate Landry line that they sell in the Dillards department stores down here.

Magdalene, very interesting reading on cubic zirconia. I did not know how they are made. What is the human rights issue about them?

I've been coveting this one for some time now (at Ziamond.com)

http://www.ziamond.com/asinpavsol.html
Click to view attachment

I was referring to human rights issues around diamonds that are mined vs. the lab-grown ones, not CZs, with that observation. Sorry for the confusion.

I get hypnotized by the shiny, sparkly bracelets on display in Lord & Taylor, or Macy's, or even Claire's prom jewelry section, and so far have several I enjoy very much, garner many compliments...A friend has the most beautiful CZ set in silver snowflake earrings that look like they came directly from Tiffany's.... All my rings are real colored gems but now I wear an anniversary ring of channel set diamonds with my plain gold band, which is 'real' and nice but can't compare to CZs looks-wise! ... Years ago I did have a one carat solitaire ring from QVC set in real gold, but it was just that little bit toooo big. I was pregnant at the time and sold the ring to one of those 'we-buy-your-old-jewelry' guys at a kiosk in the mall, and got only the going rate for gold settings, not much. The stone itself was worthless. But I got some money for it and bought a set of crib sheets and baby quilt :D .... Watching the shows on QVC and HSN, I remember at one point they expressed surprise that customers were asking for smaller, more realistic rings to wear when travelling. It apparently never occurred to them that smaller and realistic were selling points! Duh!

Yeah, if your rock is just TOO big, people will start examining your husband's car, wristwatch and shoes.

Ah, yes, of course. That is an issue. I'm a Canadian-diamond fan myself.

Yes, I absolutely do have and wear CZ jewelry because I have an unfortunate tendency to misplace my more valuable pieces and after having lost a couple of things that were irreplaceable I decided to put away the "real" pieces and just wear CZ and costume things. If I lose them, it's not quite as heartbreaking as losing a family heirloom.

I have 3/4 carat each moissanite earrings that sparkle so brightly they are blinding in sunlight. Everyone always thinks they are real diamonds and one woman sounded so envious that I had to quickly divest her of her illusion (don't hate me for my sparkling diamonds, lady!) They are pierced earrings with screwback closures so I can't lose them when I have them on - hopefully noone will try to rip them off my ears ;>)
http://www.moissanitejewelry.com/index.htm

LOL LOL Glorious 1...I often get a smile or a laugh at your humourous lines..... you are such an interesting character....you like to tread your own path and see things from another point of view. Crazy !

Poor Rasputin....
we can wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd rather have a CZ than a blood diamond but gold isn't that clean either....I wear all three...CZ, gold and pc diamonds.