I bought a 1.75 carat Charles & Colvard loose gem for $400 and had it set by a local jeweler for $50. Cheapest identically spec'd diamond I could find at the time was $22,000. They seem to sell this brand of stones everywhere now. I would highly recommend you check it out in person next to an actual diamond and you will immediately see what I mean. I ordered several from C&C, whom at the time had a very generous return policy, and kept the nicest one. I would recommend you check out a few different places tho because there are definitely people out there trying to pawn off lower quality slightly green/gray stones on unsuspecting buyers.