Sparkles for Less

I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine...my diamond studs aren't real. 

I might have told you they were somewhere along the line, so I apologize for not telling the truth. On the same note, didn't your mother teach you it isn't nice to ask people questions like that! LOL

My earrings are unbelievably great quality for cubic zirconium stones. Unfortunately, the key to great looking "fake" jewelry is typically the setting...and gold can be expensive. By no means were my studs cheap. Believe it or not, they were upwards of $250! The good news is that I've had my earrings for 5+ years and they remain to look flawless. 

Over this past weekend, Ben and I went to Vegas. As we were walking through the Palazzo Shoppes at The Venetian hotel. I stumbled across the Erwin Pearl boutique. Erwin Pearl is the magnificent designer that created my earrings. His work offers deceivingly stunning costume jewelry set in quality metals for everlasting elegance. I begged and pleaded with Ben for a tennis bracelet that caught my eye as we were passing. It was only $165!!! I was in love! As vain as that sounds, I admit to loving fashionable things, especially when the price tag doesn't break the bank! 

This piece of jewelry wasn't set in white gold, like my first Erwin Pearl purchase, but the salesperson promised that the sterling silver would remain looking fabulous for many years to come. (She even gave me a secret cleaning tip: toothbrush, toothpaste and warm water.)
If I may advise one little thing about wearing cubic zirconium jewelry...mix it in with other things. Preferably diamonds would be the best, but nonetheless, any mixture of real stones can camouflage even the "fake" jewelry that might not be as convincing as Erwin Pearl.