I like the look of dark gems and the current "chocolate diamond" trend.  Still, my experience with dark gems is that they tend to "get lost" by lacking sparkle.  As for chocolate diamonds, no way was I going to pay the high price of real diamonds.  Affordable ones were so tiny they looked ridiculous.

So my hopes for this ring weren't very high.  I confess to being very pleased when I opened this package.

The simple prong setting is very attractive and simple, allowing attention to go to the stones.  And what nice stones they are too - graduated in size from the biggest center one to smaller ones to the sides, these rich brown quartz stones are nicely cut and they catch the light very well.  Not a gemologist, I can't tell you what the cut is called, but there's plenty of them, maybe 6 on each side, to throw the light.

I thought I truly wanted a gold setting and band, but that has turned out to be a non-issue.  The setting and band are not very visible because stones cover the portion of your finger that is visible.  I wear a size 9 and even with this size, the stones reach across your finger.  The sizing of the stones is perfect- big enough to be seen without looking like you're trying to make a statement.

Overall, this ring is truly a good piece and far exceeded my expectations.  Wearing this ring with a dark brown nail polish echoes the gem color and looks very sharp indeed.