E-ring question

Hi Ladies!

I'm sure this is a little unorthodox, but, I need HELP!

My boyfriend and I have been living together for three years and have 4 furry babies. We have discussed marriage and have set a potential date with my mom who is an event planner at a LI hall. Now we have switched over to looking for e-rings. We are both grad students and as such don't have a ton of money to spend on an e-ring.

Anywho, we are looking at diamond simulants instead of mined diamonds. We are both grad students in the science field and the prospect of a stone created in a lab intrigues us. Does anyone on this board have any experience in this area? I have looked up some and there are both excellent reviews and very poor reviews for the two main companies I'm looking at (Agape and Diamond Nexus).

I don't intend for this to become a 'diamond is better, suck it up and pay the money' type of thread. If you have any experience with purchasing one for yourself, your fiancee purchased one for you, or you know of a friend that has one, I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you!!!