She enjoyed a beach day on Monday. And one day later, Vanessa Hudgens was spotted picking up a smoothie in West Hollywood after a workout at Dogpound gym. Laguna Beach lovers reunite! She rocked her gold belly chains with earrings and layers of bracelets for the snap – as well as an anklet. The brunette beauty rocked a pink bikini with a colorful sarong on top, adding a straw visor. The 31-year-old actress flaunted her flat midsection in a crop top and Gymshark leggings, adding layers of jewelry. Her pal rocked black shorts with a tank top, adding sneakers and a face mask. Vanessa chose a black and white graphic short-sleeved crop top, pairing it with gray spandex bottoms. The beauty added small framed sunglasses and pulled her brunette tresses back, opting to go makeup free. One day prior, Vanessa showcased her toned form in a swimsuit as she posed on the beach. She added sneakers as well as a black face mask; the star rocked a gold belly chain with bracelets, necklaces and rings, as well as her diamond belly ring.

Nothing beats the sparkle of a diamond, but engagement rings aside, few of us can afford the genuine article. 800 (around £600). By comparison, a one-carat natural diamond will start from at least £3,000 for a low-grade stone without any settings. Savvy shoppers have been faking their diamonds for years. Diamonds are sold by the carat, with one carat measuring 6.5mm in diameter, roughly the size of a garden pea. A one-carat laboratory-grown diamond from De Beers’s Lightbox Jewelry collection (which will initially launch online in the U.S. The result? A stone that looks like a diamond, with the same physical and chemical characteristics, but which costs considerably less. A handful of UK jewellers already sell laboratory-grown diamonds – Nightingale, Brilliant Earth and Kinetique all sell online – but without the same economies of scale as a global power-player like De Beers, the prices are higher at around £1,500-£1,800 per carat. It’s a volte-face for centuries-old De Beers, which has always been firmly against anything that hasn’t been dug up from the earth. Grown in a laboratory, a tiny seed of real diamond is blasted with high-pressure, extreme temperatures and carbon atoms to mimic a three-billion-year process in just three weeks. Soon, however, grand jeweller De Beers will have a solution: a range of reasonably priced ‘almost-diamonds’.

Their flashy cocktail rings are a popular payday purchase.

The truth is, really savvy shoppers have been faking their diamonds for years, opting for high-grade zirconium oxide, commonly known as, whisper it . At 44, she had the perfect life. The firm’s cz diamond earrings range from £59 for a pair of baby hoops, to more than £400 for show- topping chandeliers. Combining cz diamonds with lab-grown sapphires and rubies (which are cheaper to make than lab-grown diamonds), a whopping cushion-cut ‘sapphire’ ring, the equivalent of seven carats, can be yours for £99 (reduced from £169: another advantage of going synthetic . ‘Our customers may go to a lot of black-tie events, but with us they can get themselves some lovely pear drop earrings for £300 instead of £30,000,’ says Scott. Their flashy cocktail rings are a popular payday purchase. ‘A cheap, clunky setting is always a giveaway. Carat gems, for example, are typically rated ‘IF’ (internally flawless) – the highest level of clarity. As the official jewellery partner of the Bafta Awards, chances are some of the sparklers on the red carpet are one of Carat’s designs. For sisters Emma Canning and Dervla Cogan, democratising diamonds was their goal when they founded Brilliant Inc ten years ago. Their pieces are so realistic, even women who can afford the real thing make a beeline to their Chelsea boutique. Top-quality cz won’t go yellow or lose its sparkle; combine this superior raw material with hand-cutting and expert polishing by master craftsmen and you’ve got something extremely convincing. Prices vary depending on the level of workmanship involved. ‘Like the majority of women, a real diamond is something we might receive as a gift maybe two or three times in a lifetime,’ says Dervla, who believes the quality of their designs elevate their cz stones. Although Carat taps into the mid-range ‘bridge’ market (‘we’re not cheap, but we’re not expensive,’ says Scott), it does have a boutique in London’s exclusive Burlington Arcade alongside luxury brands such as Manolo Blahnik and Mulberry. ‘We see celebrities, Saudi princesses . While ‘cz’, as it’s known in the business, is often sneered at (you’d be forgiven if cracker prizes spring to mind) the good stuff is on a different level. They can mix and match and it looks the part,’ says Dervla. ‘It’s the difference between 1,000-thread Egyptian cotton and regular, mass- manufactured cotton,’ says Scott Thompson, founder of Carat London, which specialises in synthetic stones.

‘These are people who really know their stuff, too. ‘It’s not going to break your heart or bank balance if you lose them,’ says Belinda Scott, whose Fab Fakes have been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex. ‘One lady came in brandishing a single diamond earring – the other was lost on a beach and she didn’t want to tell her husband. ‘Too big and your friends will know instantly that it’s not real. Her clients aren’t at all embarrassed about their not-so natural jewels. Ethics aside, the big benefit of a cz diamond is practicality. Belinda’s fakes may have saved a marriage or two, as well. ‘Couples often buy them as stand-in rings to be replaced later, but generally they don’t end up changing them! ‘Keep your carat size within the realms of possibility,’ she says. The firm’s Art Deco-style ‘Camilla Ring’, inspired by the Duchess of Cornwall’s engagement ring, retails at £165. A trilogy style – a la Meghan – is £155. Those in the know go to Belinda for their ‘diamond’ studs (her round-cut ‘super studs’ are £50) and tennis bracelets (from £100). And if you think no bride-to-be would be caught dead with anything less than the real thing, think again. Dervla also notes that customers are aware that opting for a synthetic diamond avoids the ethical implications involved with the real deal, whether it’s the environmental impact (1,750 tons of earth have to be extracted to find a one-carat rough diamond), or the human cost of child labour and ‘blood diamonds’, where stones mined in conflict zones fund warlords. ‘We supplied her with one of our Fab Fakes, and ever since she’s been walking around with a £12 stone in one ear, and a £4,000 stone in the other – and her husband is none the wiser! As well as supplying classic pieces you can wear every day, and everywhere, without fretting (cz diamonds are sometimes referred to as ‘travel diamonds’ for this reason), a big part of Belinda’s trade is one-off event dressing, such as mothers of the bride who want to impress guests. Whether you plan to save up for a top-grade, lab-grown diamond, or you’ve been converted to the joys of cz, would-be fakers who’d prefer not to be rumbled should heed Belinda’s number-one tip: don’t get too carried away. ‘Quite the reverse,’ she says, ‘people take the attitude of “look how clever I am”. Flanking a real engagement ring with two of her eternity bands is another bargain bling-boost: a single 3.5mm cz-encrusted band in 18ct gold is £55.

On a scale of 1-10, how sick was this?

Wrestling fans were left shocked as one star suffered a disgusting injury after being impaled by nails during a recent show. Immediately, the stick of nails became stuck in his back – drawing immense amounts of blood – causing Moxley to scream out in pain. A user on X detailed the injustice Fenix has faced, arguing that AEW’S reluctance to allow a popular wrestler to leave for the WWE only harms the fighter rather than their rivals, as they intend to do. Luckily for Moxley, the brutal injury didn’t have too much of an effect on his performance as he later defended his AEW World Championship against Cope (better known as Edge to WWE fans). On a scale of 1-10, how sick was this? He shot up and instantly called for assistance as onlookers in the crowd were left abhorred by the brutal injury. Others, however, suggested that the move went too far and that similar stunts should not be shown or attempted during shows. Fenix took to X to express his discontent, as he will almost certainly have to wait well in to 2025 to join his brother outside of AEW. At Wednesday night’s show, AEW star Jon Moxley was flipped onto the stick of nails in a gruesome move that left him bloodied and needing assistance from the referee. Back in December, one AEW star hit out at the company and their ‘inhumane treatment’ of him during his time there. In footage that emerged on social media, Moxley was seen being lifted into the air by his rival before being sent crashing down onto the canvas. Moxley than knelt down on the floor in the middle of the canvas as the referee and another staff member attempted to remove the nails from his back. Some praised the bravery of Moxley to even consider the stunt, let alone pull it off to the extent in which he did. Rey Fenix lashed out against the AEW’s mistreatment towards him, as the Mexican wrestler after being denied a move to the WWE. A zoomed in shot from AEW’s broadcast showed just how deeply the nails had sunk into Moxley’s back, leaving wrestling fans divided over the incident.