• What’s the best way to keep Shelby Gems clean?
• Why are Shelby Gems more expensive than other man-made gems?
• What happens if my Shelby Gem jewelry needs sizing or repair work?
• How hard or durable are Shelby Gems?
• Can I buy loose Shelby Gems?
• What’s the difference between Shelby Gems and cz?

You can use any commercial cleaner made for genuine diamonds, or mix ammonia and water to clean your Shelby Gems (we’ve been told vodka works really well, too). Windex works just fine! Soak your jewelry in the solution long enough to loosen any dirt, cosmetics or residue, then use a soft brush all around the stones, and finally rinse the piece with clean hot water. You can use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, too, but be sure and change the solution periodically. Your Shelby Gem will sparkle again just like genuine with the same basic care needed. In 38 years, I have never seen a Shelby Gemstone of any color or kind actually lose it's color or sparkle...it always is a case of soap build-up... "Bath tub Ringitus!" or fingernail polish or some other type of coating. With proper cleaning and a little care, a Shelby Gem will look beautiful for centuries or even longer. Just think about it. All Shelby Gems are harder and tougher than natural Emeralds and Emeralds have been around for millions of years. Really, a Shelby Gem will be around just as long!!!

We encourage returning jewelry to us once a year for professional cleaning and a check-up by our jeweler. There is absolutely no charge for this service, and is done while you wait if you so desire. Of course, you can mail in your jewelry for this service also if you so desire. While it is here, we will check your stones to be sure they are all tight in their settings, so please include a daytime phone number so we can contact you to discuss any repairs needed.

Actually, Shelby Gems ARE NOT anywhere near the most expensive man-made gems. Probably the most expensive is the junk people call Moissanite. It's truly a horrible doubly refractive stone with an overblown price tag. We believe Shelby Gems are the BEST manmade gems on Earth. The purest raw materials in our secret recipes, the most quality-conscious growing methods, faceting done by diamond cutters, professionally setting the stones in rich, solid 14kt gold mountings -- Our employees have been with us for years and they and I really take pride in making the best jewelry we possibly can. We do everything absolutely 1st class, or not at all. 1st class doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to be perfectly constructed and finished. We back up our gems with a lifetime guarantee that the gems will continue to hold their brilliance and will not get scratched. Part of what makes a genuine diamond so desirable is the brilliance created from refracting rays of light into colors of red, orange, green, yellow, violet and blue. This brilliance is measured in terms of the refractive index. Shelby Gems have a refractive index very close to a genuine diamond. It is absolutely impossible to visually see the difference with the unaided eye between one of our gems and a good quality genuine diamond, ( Of course, with your naked eye and normal 20/20 vision you can see flaws and carbon spots in most all diamonds below $3,000/carat ...you'll never see those ugly things in our gems!!) One of the little known (dirty) secrets in the diamond business is that a "perfect-flawless" diamond is legally defined by the US Fair Trade Commission as "any diamond in which a flaw cannot be seen while using a 10 power loupe. A loupe is a magnifying eyepiece which is used in one (1) eye. If you want to see the flaws in a "flawless" diamond, just use a binocular microscope at 10 power or higher! Sure is nice to see the Fair Trade commission protecting us, isn't it!

The first ring sizing is included in the purchase price. We stand behind all of our merchandise and we will perform any necessary repair. We have our own highly experienced resident jeweler and we strive for timely return on repairs. We can usually replace a missing gem in your own jewelry with a Shelby of your choice, so check your jewelry box for old or damaged pieces that need a brilliant new gem!

On the MOH hardness scale for gemstones, genuine diamond is 10, the highest ranking. The hardness difference between numbers on the scale increases as the numbers get bigger - there is much more difference between 7 and 8 than between 3 and 4, for instance. Shelby Simulated Diamonds are very, very close to 9. That means that Shelbys are extremely durable for everyday wear. Remember, we guarantee them forever against discoloration and accidental scratches. Most people aren’t aware that all gemstones, even genuine diamonds, sapphires, and rubies occasionally are chipped or fractured. It is highly unlikely that this would happen to your Shelby Gem.

Yes, we sell loose gems to replace missing or damaged (or disliked!) gems quite often. Do keep in mind that our gem guarantee is in effect only when our jewelers set the Shelby Gems -we cannot guarantee another jeweler’s work. Chances are you’ll be delighted with a Shelby Gem set in that old ring that’s been just sitting in its box for years.

I am the guy who actually commercialized the production of Cubic Zirconia in the middle 1970s. Cubic Zirconia is a mixture of Zirconium Oxide (ZrO2 for all you chemists out there) with another chemical added to it so that it doesn't turn to powder upon cooling after hardening (crystallizing) The other chemical can be Calcium Oxide, Yttrium Oxide, Magnesium Oxide, Cerium Oxide...etc.. In other words Cubic Zirconia is not always "Cubic Zirconia". What I mean is that there is an almost infinite range of chemical mixtures that people call Cubic Zirconia. About 99% of the stuff people call cubic zirconia (CZ) is 80% ZrO2 and 20% Y2O3. This is a cheap mixture that has a relatively low melting temperature and it forms big crystals when it cools. This makes it very cheap to manufacture. Our Shelby Simulated Diamond is about a 13th cousin twice removed from CZzzzzz. All I feel comfortable telling you is that we use a different mixture of a lot more chemicals that melt at a much higher temperature that results in a harder, tougher more brilliant stone. (I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill worry about you starting your own factory.:) Our gems rival the color, brilliance and quality of the very best of genuine diamonds, and will last for more than your lifetime. Measurably better materials and meticulous quality control separate Shelby Gems from cheaper imitations and from the other imitations with "overblown" prices and deceptive names like "Created Diamond","Sonya Diamond", "Nexus" Diamond (all illegal names when used to name CZ) which all of these 'fancy' named rocks actually are! They all say they have 'factories', but of course you can never visit them and the pictures they publish of their factories are actually laughable if you know what a gem factory really looks like! LOL Come and visit us any time and take a look at our factory pictures!