Candles are a great way to brighten up and add some glamour to any living space. Diamond Candles takes it a step further by including a surprise in each and every soy-based candle: a $10, $100, or $1000 ring! They have some really fun scents, too, like Caribbean Dream, Cupcake, Sweety Pea, Ocean Mist, Chocolate Truffle, Vanilla Lime (yum!).
I was sent a complimentary candle to try out, and I chose the Fresh Grass scent (now sold out, unfortunately:-(
Indeed, just as the reviews say, it does smell like a hint of grass, with a fresh laundry smell, and a slightly sweet undertone. It is reminiscent of waterfalls, lush, mossy areas, and sweet, wet grass – a very pleasant and clean smell. The scent lasts awhile, lingering in the air for hours after burning, which is a huge plus (compared to candles whose smell just fades away once extinguished!) And I would definitely order it again if they re-stock it.
But of course the real draw was the hidden ring inside the candle: what would it look like? Was it real? How much would it be worth? It was sort of a treasure hunt inside a candle. You can tell where the ring is embedded from the outside: just a few inches below the top of the wax, so at least I knew what I was aiming for.
It took about 6-8+ hours to burn the candle enough to where the wax was soft enough to remove the ring. (Use a skewer or toothpick to remove, place on a paper towel, and allow to cool before handling!) Then, carefully peel off the surrounding foil and plastic packaging, making sure the wax is hard before you do so. (I was too eager and some of the molten wax got on my ring, which is proving truly difficult to remove!)
When I got my ring out I was very pleased to see that the quality of the ring was very good – in that it was an excellent piece of costume jewelry. Though I could tell almost immediately that my ring was not worth $100, let alone $1000, it was still a decent piece of jewelry, with precise settings and a pretty piece of yellow glass in the center. It could pass for an actual wedding or engagement ring, since the stone had a sparkle to it and the setting did look expensive.
But if you’re wondering if your ring is the real deal (and one of the rare rings worth $100 or $1000, as Diamond Candles says), here’s how to find out:
5 Ways to Tell if Your Diamond Candles Ring is Real (as in, Worth $100+)
1. Look at the quality of the setting and ring shank. Do you see any lines or obvious seams? If so, the setting and/or shank was created in a 2-part mold, rather than fabricated out of precious metal wire and sheet. Lines or seams in central areas of the setting and/or shank indicate the ring was cheaply made.
2. Look inside the ring shank for a stamp. Any stamp that says something like 10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750, 900, 950, PT, Plat…or a jeweler’s name or brand name indicates the ring is made of precious metal. If there is no stamp or signature, or if like my ring, yours says “China,” then the shank is likely made of cheap, base metal.
3. Look at the stone, and turn it upside-down on a piece of newsprint or a magazine. If it is a diamond, you should not be able to read anything through the stone; if it is glass, you will be able to. A real diamond has a high refractive index and will distort type.
4. Look carefully at the sides of the stone. When you rock the ring from side to side, do you see any flashes of extra colors – like bright orange or bright green? If yes, then you may be dealing with a real diamond or citrine. Also, any colors visible in the flashes appear as in distinct bands or solid areas. Glass stones (or low-quality diamonds) will often show a full rainbow spectrum in their facets, with colors not distinct from one another.
5. Look at the inside of the stone. In glass stones, you will often see air bubbles trapped in the glass. Real gemstones may have inclusions, but not perfectly-round air bubbles. (This is something apparent upon magnification.)
This is not just a useful rule of thumb for evaluating your Diamond Candle ring…you can also use it to check out rings when buying vintage pieces or evaluating heirlooms in your collection. (Of course, a jeweler will be able to do the best job in distinguishing fake from real – but you might be able to save yourself the money by looking closely and at least eliminating pieces that are obviously not expensive items.)
So, are you ready to embark on your very own treasure hunt with Diamond Candles?
You Could Win:
Good luck to everyone!
xo
Carly
FTC Disclosure: I was sent one Diamond Candle for review purposes (ARV: $25). I was not compensated in any way for this post. The opinions above are my own. One candle will be provided to the winner of this giveaway courtesy of Diamond Candles. To read my full Disclosure Policy, click here.
Love this post! These are fun candles but it’s hard to know what the real deal is!
Thank you, Shannyn! Hope my little guide helped – it is different for different gemstones, but in general glass stones and cast settings look and behave a certain way, so it’s easy to spot once you know what you’re looking for 🙂
Omg I think my ring is real I need to go have it checked thank you for this information….
Really??! Oh, how cool! I’m so happy for you! Yeah, if you can’t see any obvious mold marks, there’s no “Made in China” on the inside, and the stone refracts light instead of being see-through, then you may indeed have a real and expensive ring on your hands!!
There is no mark on the inside of the band but it did turn my finger green. The stone is a citrine with two small diamond looking gems on either side. When I look at the citrine with you advice above is show a bright green color from the side. Could the stone be real even though the band is cheap metal?
Hmmm. I don’t think any reputable jeweler would set a real stone into cheap metal, but just because it turned your finger green doesn’t necessarily mean it’s made of cheap metal. Check out this info here: http://chemistry.about.com/od/jewelrychemistry/f/Why-Do-Rings-Turn-Your-Finger-Green.htm Does the stone distort text below it or can you see through it clearly? If you can see through it clearly that’s an indicator that it is glass – sometimes the flashes of color as you turn the stone are a little hard to see or distinguish from those of a real/fake stone, but the refractive index should give you a good clue as to whether it’s a real citrine or not. You can check out one of my sources as well to see real citrines compared with fake citrines – and the difference is pretty obvious to the naked eye. http://jewelrybyemmy.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/is-it-citrine-or-is-it-glass/ Good luck! Hope it’s the real thing!
The stone does distort text when looking through it.
Neat! Then maybe it is real 🙂
Overpowering scent, junk ring. In the trash and out of the house
Ha! What scent did you try? So I know to stay away!
Vanilla something. And if I understand the DiamondCandle rep correctly, all of the rings in the candles are very inexpensive costume grade ($10, or less at full retail). The reveal codes actually enter you in a “sweepstakes” for rings with a value.
Oh? I wonder if that changed – when I had originally written the review, the rep told me that inside the candle could be a ring of high value – there was nothing about any reveal codes. I will definitely stay away from the vanilla then, thanks for leaving this tip!
I think they started putting cheap rings and a code in late last year.
Where do I find the code? I’ve been looking for hours.
I got one worth $280 stamped sterling n had an opal stone in it…. Dont give up… Usually 1:2,000 or so are real…. Get lots of people interested to up ur odds!!!
Ooh…that’s really awesome! The opal must have been beautiful 🙂 Congratulations!
Lacey of DiamondCandles
FEB 19, 2015 | 12:10PM EST
Hi
I apologize for the misunderstanding! The value of the ring you found in your candle and the RingReveal code are actually two separate things. The ring you found inside your candle is valued at $10 retail, and the RingReveal code is for the opportunity to win an additional ring off our site. With the RingReveal code you find in any Ring Candle, there is a 1 in 100 chance to find a code for a $100 ring, a 1 in 1000 chance to find a code for a $1000 ring, and a 1 in 5000 chance to find a code for a $5000 ring. You may also see the “Official Rules” for the RingReveal codes here: https://www.diamondcandles.com/sweepstakesrules.
Please simply the codes
Hi Dotty – could you clarify? Thanks!
Very Romantic design! But what is main point of diamond candle is all about? 🙂
I love diamonds and other precious specially Heart in diamond.
I think the point is that there is a jewelry surprise inside the candle that could be exchanged on the Diamond Candle website for a real diamond if you have the winning code. Kind of like a lottery, so the potential win is what people enjoy.
You can sink your fingers in the candle to get the ring too. It doesn’t burn! Must be the soy they make it with? I love these candles. My sister received 4 for mothers day and I have just ordered mine i loved all the smells and they last a while,considering they even stuck a ring in it. I can’t wait to try mine out!
Great tip, Cristyn! Mine has still lasted all these months – and I love the fresh grass smell. Thanks for sharing!
Or you can just enter the code but whatever
I find my ring yesterday, the actual ring was like $10 of course, but I had a reveal code for a 1,000 ring I could pick myself! I chose a 14 caret white gold, with half caret diamond. Guess I will see it’s legitimacy once I get it appraised ☺
Oh, that’s so cool! Hope you end up with an amazing treasure, it’s really neat to hear of someone winning something awesome like that. Congratulations and thanks for posting! 🙂
Just finished burning my first 2 diamond candles (I got the maple pecan scent for both). First one and I won the $5,000.00 ring!!! Crazy. Lol I didn’t believe it at first. I ended up picking a 1.5ct halo diamond ring in 14kt white gold. Second candle didn’t win anything, lol but that wasn’t too disappointing. It will be interesting to see if it appraises for as much as they claim it is worth but for now I’m very excited. Thanks for posting this. I’m behind the curve on finding these candles, but you can bet I’m hooked now.
That’s absolutely amazing!! I’m so excited for you – and to hear your story. Many people have posted about disappointing experiences so it’s great to hear that you did get a ring – and I hope it appraises for what they say it’s worth. Congrats to you!!
My ring is nice, it does say China inside but right next to it, there is a circle with GR inside the circle. Any idea what that means?
Hi Carla, it could be the manufacturer’s code or a city code… I’m not really sure. Are you sure it doesn’t have GF for gold-filled? Just a thought!! 🙂
I have purchased several, and won both $100 and now the $1000!! I was so stoked! I picked a tanzanite and diamond ring and it is beautiful! Honestly I love the candles and love that the rings now have a code. I think it would be frustrating to get a valuable ring and have it not fit, or not be your style. This way it’s like two surprises in one! Love this company!!
Oh that’s awesome! What a great story. Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
My boyfriend gave me a Diamond Candle for Christmas and I’m absolutely in love with my ring! The center stone is the color of my birth stone (November) with a smaller stone on both sides. My ring does not say China or any other jeweler marks on the inside and there are no apparent seam marks that suggest cheap metal. However, when held to newspaper or other print I can only see the color of the print and not the letters clearly. Is this something I should get appraised or just enjoy the ring for what it is?? Either way I love it and I’m very pleased with it because the placement of the stones are exactly the same as the promise ring my boyfriend gave me 3 years ago.
Well… seeing the print through the stone clearly is only proof that it could not be a diamond. It could be a topaz or a citrine…you could check my sources above to compare the real vs. fake citrines and at least rule that out. Another indication of cheap metal of the setting is if you look closely at the ring setting in my example above, the metal looks kind of “blobby” surrounding the stone, right? That’s an indicator that the metal is flash-plated…and likely a valuable metal would not be. The details on a valuable ring would be crisper since it would be unlikely it was plated and be valuable. Take a close look at the setting details under a magnifying glass. If you can’t see any indicators that you have a cheap ring…you may want to get it appraised…though even a “valuable” ring could only be worth $100 or so and then the cost of the appraisal might not be worth it. Hope that helps!
What does it mean when its stamped/marked “Best”?? Is it worth anything??
I’m actually not sure. “Best” could be the name of the manufacturer or jeweler…or a stamp on a piece of cheap costume jewelry to market it as “Best.” Please reach out to Diamond Candles directly to check with them, thanks!!