Tuesday, August 3rd:  Last Joli Ring, with .51ct E H&A SuperbCert diamond, now in auction!:  We're in the process of clearing out all of our non-Asha/non-Takara items, and so we've put a beautiful 18k/platinum Joli ring up for auction.  Center diamond is a .51ct, E color, VVS2 SuperbCert H&A with a nearly perfect Brilliancescope score.  You will have to work very hard to find another diamond more brilliant than this one.  

Auction closes Friday, Aug. 6th, 12PM PST.  Originally priced at $2950, we are starting the bidding below our cost at $2250.  Ring details are on the Joli ring page here (with links therein for the diamonds GIA report, etc).  Auction thread is here if you wish to bid.

*Nice customer feedback (Asha)!: We're also pleased to be able to another kind customer feedback email we received recently.  We'd also like to say "Thank you" to this customer for both taking the time to write, and allowing us to reprint their comments!

"I would like to express how thrilled I am with my recent Asha purchase. I received my 2.6-carat radiant-cut Asha set in the platinum Artemis ring and it is absolutely stunning! The Artemis is a substantial, heirloom-quality ring. I am even more pleased with the visual performance of the Asha stone.  My Tiffany & Co. engagement ring holds a 1.6-carat VS2/G round brilliant diamond, and the Asha holds its own next to my diamond. I have looked at other "super sims" and the Asha is superior due to the cut quality and optional warmer colors which increase thebelievability of the stone. I am so pleased to have found such a realistic simulant at a mere fraction of
the price of my genuine diamond! From order to delivery, your company has been a class act."

Tuesday, July 27th: 10 year anniversary sale on Asha H&A's!:  We're doing our first ever sale on our Asha H&A rounds, with discounts of nearly 30% being offered on both colors of our H&A rounds.  Sale begins today, and will probably end one month from today.  In conjunction, our Asha stud earrings (Tiffany and Swirl style) have also been discounted to reflect the sales pricing.  

Please note that this sale price is only applicable on stones currently listed as "in stock", and we cannot retroactively apply the sale price to previous purchases.  Our Asha H&A page is here!

*Nice customer feedback!: We're also pleased to be able to share some additional customer feedback we received over the past few weeks.  Thanks to this customer for allowing us to reprint their comments!

"Thank you so much for getting the ring to me on time. I just got it and it is breathtaking.  I must admit that I read all those people who wrote to you guys saying how they love their ring and how it looks so real, but I was very very skeptical. I have looked for a long time for a ring that looks real but doesn't cost what real diamond cost. I have purchased various stones, but none have been good enough. Even I can tell those stone were not real. I figured, the worst case is that if I don't like the Asha stone, then I'll just return it... no harm done. But, today, I received my ring... the Emerald Cut Asha stone with the Harry Winston setting is IT.... THE RING THAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!! It has fooled EVERYONE; even a co-worker who has self-proclaimed herself as the "Diamond Girl". She has a 2 ct. stone (real) and it looks so tiney next to mine; and now everyone is drooling over my ring. I just wanted to thank you and let you know that not only your product is PERFECT, but your customer service is as well."

Friday June 11th: Nice customer feedback!:  We've received a few nice customer e-mails!  Thank you to those customers for both writing to us with your kind feedback, as well as allowing us to anonymously share your e-mails here!

"Hi, I just got my Asha Asscher cut in the classic Tiffany style solitaire. It's simply gorgeous.
I have never seen anything so beautiful. I am sure this won't be my last purchase - I plan 
to get more Asha jewelry. Thank you very much."

From a different customer - 

"I have to say this~my fiance and I have "ok" finances, but not great....which is why we decided on a simulant-a 1carat instead of a genuine "chip"which was all we could afford!  I got my engagement ring today~it's spectacular!!  My mother has been a jeweler for 18+ years(and she has NO clue) no idea that it's not genuine, if not better!  I just can't believe the quality.......all I can say is thank god for you!  I get to have the absolute ring of my dreams.........for the price of 1/4 carat flawed diamond...it's just unreal............I was shocked, amazed and just totally thrilled!!  I actually have a beautiful(spectacular)1carat diamond, for under $400.00~including a bottle of cleaner......you have given the "under class" a real chance to shine, literally!  Thank you so much, we were really worried what we would get-but thank god for you!  Its a precious treasure, and you are truly a godsend.....this ring is the most beautiful stunning piece of jewelery ever!  And that's from a jewelers daughter!  My deepest thanks for making my dreams come true(and keeping our wallet safe).  Take care, and I will most certainly buy again."

"I actually told my best friend it was a simulant, and now her husband is going to order her one...
I told her i wouldn't let her WASTE good money on a natural diamond ever again after seeing the superior quality of the asha!  So, potential nervous buyers......let it go and just get one, they're the bomb diggity!! "

Saturday, June 5th:  Three Stone Emerald Ring back in stock!:  After a long hiatus, our three stone emerald ring is finally back in stock!  Our three stone emerald ring uses a pair of side .55ct emerald cut Asha� stones, with a center stone of 1.25ct emerald cut Asha�.  For more information and pictures on this ring, please visit our three stone emerald ring page here!

Tuesday, May 25th:  BetterThanDiamond 10 Year Anniversary Sale!!!:  In celebration of BetterThanDiamond's 10 year anniversary, we will have a series of sales!  Starting today, all of our pearl and shell pearl jewelry will be on sale for 15% off, while supplies last!  Please check back often for new discounts!

*New shipment of Asha� stones have arrived!:  We just received a new shipment of loose Asha� stones in various cuts and sizes from the diamond coating lab.  Back in stock now and available for online purchase in limited quantities: 1 ct E color H&A round; 3.10ct E color emerald cut; 4 and 5ct Asscher cut in both E and H colors!  

Tuesday, May 18th:  E-mail problems:  We are experiencing e-mail problems replying to specific customers.  Most customers are able to receive e-mails from us just fine.  If you are one of those who have sent us e-mail and have not heard back within 48 hours, please send your question via a private message to user 'Christine' on our message board.  Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience!

*IMPORTANT: BetterThanDiamond will be closed from 6/28/04 to 7/10/04 for the Fourth of July Holidays!:  No orders will be processed or shipped and no e-mail inquiries will be answered during that time.  We will resume normal business operations on 7/12/04.  If you need your order by the Fourth of July and you're ordering completed jewelry, you must place your order before 6/10/04.  Loose stone orders may be placed until 6/23/04 for delivery before the Fourth of July.  If you do not have a deadline for when you need your jewelry piece or loose stone, you are welcome to place your order online at any time.  We will process all orders placed between 6/28 and 7/10 on 7/12 when we get back!

Thursday, April 29th:  Cushion & Radiant cuts are here!:  The much awaited Asha� cushion and radiant cuts are finally here!!!  The radiants are available in H color only.  The cushions are available in E and H colors.  J/K colored cushions and radiants are not ready yet.  For more information and photos, please visit the Asha cushion cut page and/or the Asha radiant page or click on the respective photos!

Asha� cushion cut

Asha� radiant cut

*Pear cuts delayed:  Unfortunately, the Asha� pear cuts will be delayed as all of the available pear cuts were used up during diamond coating tests at the lab.  We are still planning on offering pear cuts but we will have to start from scratch with these.  

Monday, April 19th:  Another nice customer feedback!:  We received permission to share an email from a recent Asha� customer - thank you to that customer for both writing to us with your kind feedback, as well as allowing us to anonymously share it here!

"This is my 3^rd Asha purchase and I can just say that everyone is a favorite and beautiful.  
Thanks so much.  With the type of customer service BTD offers, you can definitely look 
forward to a long and successful future and definitely more purchases from me!!"

Wednesday, April 14th:  Harry Winston Reproduction Ring with Side Baguettes Is Here!:  We're happy to announce that the much awaited Harry Winston Reproduction Ring with Emerald Cut center and Side Baguettes is here at last!  This semi-mount can actually accommodate more than emerald cuts.  The basket head for the center stone is interchangeable and can be made to hold most stone cuts.  For more details on this ring, please click here!

Saturday, April 10th:  Limited Edition Asscher Trellis Ring Offering Period Extended!:  Due to customer demand and the positive feedback we've received since reintroducing our Asscher Trellis ring, we've extended its last offering date from April 11th to May 2nd!

Friday, April 9th:   Clearance Price Reduction on Yellow Takaras!:  We have reduced the prices on all yellow Takaras over 1.0 ct!  We are not planning on cutting any more yellow Takaras but are going to focus on the pinks and the blues going forward.  To clear out our current inventory, all yellow Takaras, including those that are over 1.0 ct, are now $3250/ct.

Tuesday, April 6th: Cable necklace added!  We've had a number of inquiries concerning the cable necklace that's shown in our Duo pendant pictures.  The modern, solid construction cable necklace is now available here!  (Duo pendant sold separately.)

*New Tiana natural diamond is here!  We've received a 1.13 ct, G color natural Tiana ideal cut diamond back from grading.  For more details and pictures, please click here!

Wednesday, March 31th: Rare Type IaB Phoenix diamond back from grading!  Our type IaB Phoenix princess cut diamond is back from grading!  This diamond was sold to us as a type IIa diamond because it field tested in Brazil as such.  However, additional tests performed at the HPHT lab revealed that it was in fact not a type IIa diamond, the type commonly used for the HPHT process, but an ultra-rare type IaB diamond, which the field test did not detect.  Since we could not return the diamond rough to Brazil, we went ahead and ran the HPHT process on it knowing that it was not a type IIa diamond.  The result was a very unique, light lime green colored stone.  This diamond appraised highly because of its rare color.  For more information and pictures, or to see the appraisal card for this diamond, please click here!

Wednesday, March 31th: Cartier 1922 Reproduction wedding set auction starts now!  The auction for our Cartier 1922 Reproduction wedding set with alternating diamonds and rubies has now officially started!   For more information, please visit our auction page here!

*New Phoenix Diamond is here!  We just completed a heart shaped Phoenix HPHT diamond and had it graded.  It turned out to be 1.05ct, H color, IF!  For more information on this diamond, please click here!

Tuesday, March 30th: New pink Takara! We just got the biggest Takara to date back from grading!  The new Takara is a VVS2, Fancy Intense Pink, 0.37 ct round.  You can get more information on this stone here!

*New auction item coming up tomorrow!  The Cartier 1922 Reproduction wedding set with alternating rubies and diamonds is going on auction tomorrow, March 31st, 12pm PST.  The platinum ring and matching platinum wedding band both feature 6 diamonds, 3 on each side of the center stone, and 4 rubies, two on each side of the center stone.  The ring is set with a 2ct E color Asscher cut Asha� center stone.

Monday, March 29th: Another nice customer feedback:  We received permission to share an email from a recent Asha� customer - thank you to that customer for both writing to us with their kind feedback, as well as allowing us to anonymously share it here:

"I just wanted to say that I received my ring and absolutely love it. It looks great and am very pleased with the quality of it. Thanks for being so courteous and professional to work with."

Wednesday, March 24th:  Tiffany Reproduction engagement ring and wedding band are here!  The first set of our recent famous maker reproduction rings, the Tiffany reproduction engagement ring and wedding band, is here!  This is an exact replication of the original Tiffany engagement ring and is the same ring that you see in Tiffany & Co. stores with the exception that ours does not have the Tiffany stamp on the inside of the ring shank.  For more pictures and information, visit our Tiffany Reproduction page here!  Introductory pricing is effective from now until May 1, 2004!

Tuesday, March 23rd:  Custom Trinity Ring photo!  We just finished a custom Trinity ring using Takara fancy colored diamond sides and a white natural diamond center.  The customer has kindly given us permission to post photos of this ring on our website (thank you!) so we're happy to share it with you here!

Takara .27ct VVS1 Fancy Blue diamond (left)
Natural .70ct G/VS1 white diamond (center)
Takara .31ct VS2 Fancy Intense Pink diamond (right)

Sunday, March 21st:  Added retail locations page! We've compiled a list of retail brick and mortar stores that carry the Asha� diamond simulant.  BetterThanDiamond.com is an Internet retailer.  If you wish to see the Asha� in person, please contact the store nearest you!  Our retail locations page is here!

Wednesday, March 17th:  Silkwood boxes sold out! We are sold out of the silkwood boxes which our loose Asha� stones ship in.  You can still order loose stones but they will be shipped in diamond paper until we get more boxes.  You will automatically save $22 on your purchase for choosing to ship your Asha� in diamond paper, which is what 90% of our customers choose to do anyway.  We are currently looking for other boxes as an option for shipping our loose Asha� stones and will post more information here once we find something suitable. Ring boxes are still available.

*Asha� cushion, radiant, and pear cuts available in the next two weeks!  The sputtering machine has been fixed and is being calibrated for testing.  Thank you for your patience!  The much awaited cushion, radiant, and pear cut Asha� stones will be back in stock in the next two weeks!  We will have the following sizes available:

Cushion cut:  5.50mm (1ct), 7mm (2ct), 8mm (3ct), 8.75mm (4ct), 9.50mm (5ct),10.25mm (6ct)
Radiant cut:  7mm x 5mm, 7.5mm x 5.5mm, 8.5mm x 6.5mm, 9mm x 7mm
Pear cut:  10mm x 7mm and 12mm x 8mm

Quantities are unknown at this time as some will be lost during the testing of the sputtering machine.

*Asha� Asscher cuts will be made available in 4ct and 5ct sizes!  Due to customer demand, we will be offering limited quantities of 4ct (9mm) and 5ct (10mm) Asha� Asscher cuts shortly.

*New retail jewelry store carrying the Asha�!  Durow Jewelers in Clearwater, FL now carries Asha� stones.  For those in that area who wish to view the Asha� in a retail store, their contact information is 

Durow Jewelers
30127 U.S. 19 North
Clearwater FL 33761
727-789-9080 / [email protected]

Monday, March 15th:  Very nice Asha� feedback:  We received permission to share an email from a recent Asha� customer - thank you to that customer for both writing to us with their kind feedback, as well as allowing us to anonymously share it here:

"I just wanted to thank you for all of your help and guidance with my stone.  I did have the stone set in my current setting (at a huge cost of $1000.00 to create a custom mount to fit it :) , and it looks absolutely beautiful-quite royal actually. I am extremely thrilled so far with it and I am looking forward to having many years of enjoyment wearing it. Again, thank you for creating such a beauty and allowing the average person to feel glamorous!"

Friday, March 12th:  New Auction!  We've just put our last white Akira freshwater pearl double strand bracelet up for auction!  This beautiful bracelet is made of 7.0mm - 7.5mm white premium round Akira freshwater pearls. Two 14k yellow gold spacers ensure the strands stay aligned during wear. The clasp is a 14k yellow gold filigree safety tension catch. As with all our Akira freshwater pearl jewelry, this bracelet comes with an independent appraisal. For more information on this item please visit our auction page here!

Thursday, March 11th:  We are reintroducing our discontinued Asscher Trellis ring!  Due to popular demand, we are reintroducing our discontinued Asscher Trellis ring for a limited, one month period.  From now to April 11th, Our Asscher Trellis ring is available for purchase on the
Limited Edition Asscher Trellis Ring page.

Tuesday, March 9th:  The "Duo" earrings are here!  In addition to our Duo pendant, we have added stud earrings to our "Duo" line of jewelry!  The Duo earrings are the lowest set earring mountings we offer and are ideal for larger sized stones.  For more information and pictures, please visit our Duo earrings page here!

Sunday, March 7th:  Introducing our newest pendant - the "Duo" pendant! Our newest pendant, the "Duo" pendant, has just arrived!  This modern and unique hand-fabricated pendant setting allows maximum light capture and reflection.  It emphasizes the radiant beauty of the center stone and gives the illusion that the center stone is free of any enclosure!  For more information and pictures, please visit our Duo pendant page here!

Tuesday, March 2nd:  Platinum Cove� Akoya Cultured Pearl Necklaces are here! After much anticipation, our Platinum Cove� cultured pearl necklaces have finally arrived!  These necklaces feature high quality white saltwater Akoya pearls with ros� overtones.  Platinum Cove� cultured pearl necklaces are available with AA or AAA grade pearls.  For more details, please visit our new Platinum Cove� cultured pearl necklace page here!