I am in love with my ring. It suits me perfectly, my fiance loves it, he didn't have to go into debt to buy it, and it's like the dream ring I never knew I was dreaming of. It's not a diamond however, it's a higher end CZ ring. My fiance is morally opposed to the diamond industry and I'm not crazy about it either, and he was able to get much more of a ring at a better price. Plus it's got all the sparkle and fire to mesmerize me for hours. :P
My very close friends and family know that it's CZ, but general acquaintances and coworkers don't. It's not like I'm trying to keep it a secret, but it's not like I'm gonna start a conversation off with it either, it just seems irrelevant to me. My boss just got back from working out of town this week so it's the first time she's seen my ring. I showed her, she ooh-ed and ahh-ed, then she asked if it was a diamond. I said nope, it's CZ, and she raised her eyebrows and said "oh ok...well to each their own I guess" and the conversation was over.
Well, today I heard from a coworker that my boss has been making comments about my ring to other people and she's said things like "he should have waited to propose until he could afford a real ring", "she should probably start lynig to people about the ring so they don't think she's white trash and shops at Kmart" as well as a few other things. This isn't the first time she's been unprofessional and gossipy about her employees and I plan on going to HR about this and some other stuff.
What I'm really wondering is what's the best way to handle this? If someone assumes it's a diamond, should I correct them? If I'm asked flat out, what should I say (I've had a few other negative reactions so I'm apprehensive about saying CZ now)? If someone has a negative reaction, is there anything I can/should say that won't just sound like I'm trying to justify it? Or is this just completely ridiculous and I'm totally overthinking it? :P