lostponys Dull-Eyed Twinkle-Eye Pony Bright Eyes re-Twinkled with cubic zirconia

[lostpony]

I got a HTF pony Bright Eyes and like most remaining Dull-Eyed ponies her plastic eyes have lost their coating long ago.  So I replaced them with large cubic zirconia.

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Pictures fail to capture the experience of 4+ carat diamonds in direct sunlight so I took some video, alas only slightly better:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzP8lAXs8KOWcEZXbU5zVzBqaGs

Here are a few extra pictures taken with my paltry droid camera:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzP8lAXs8KOWeG9Fd3NKb29iLWc

and a couple collages:
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The procedure for removing the eyes was simple and the new stones are mounted in proper settings so they can't move or pop out.  If you look closely in some of the pictures you can just barely see the prongs at the edges of the eyes. 

Lab-created diamonds are just like natural diamonds in that both are created by massive pressures and basic carbon, both have 10 hardness, and both have astounding visual qualities!  Artificial stones are also cheap and avoid human rights abuses.

**edited:  lostpony error:  cubic zirconia (CZ) are not actually lab created diamonds oops.  These are CZ.

At last, a solution to restore Dull Eyed Ponies to brilliance!  How does everypony like them?  Please comment!

**edited to add:  The stones that fit are about 10mm overall total widest diameter including any setting, and the replacement procedure is detailed below!  I want to see others try this out with alternate gems and stones etc.  If you are nervous don't forget to try it out on a more common or bait Twinkle Eye pony before committing your rare/favorite!  PM me if you need help.  Good luck everypony and don't forget to post pics!!

[RainbowQuartz]

WOW!!!

[Baby Crumpet]

She looks stunning! Wow! I think I actually prefer these.

[Uninu]

Woah! Now those are truly sparkly eyes! I love them

[Griffin]

Those eyes look amazing, what a fantastic repair job!

[SpaceButtPonies]

This looks amazing!

[Lore-Lei]

Beautiful beyond words!

[Lucky_Ladybug]

Wow! How gorgeous! You had an amazing idea there and you executed it brilliantly!

[Thrice]

Wow! Aren't synthetic diamonds that size quite expensive?

[lostpony]

Thanks so much everypony!  I'm basking in all your appreciation!

Not expensive anymore!  These cost me only $10 along with several other pairs including two sizes even bigger than these which made is very easy to match up the perfect size.  Amazing, right?  So we don't have to be rich to have twinkle-eye ponies like this...I am going back to buy as many more as I can afford soon just in case they don't stay this cheap. 

As recently as last year I paid $20 for just one pair of this size.  They seem to have reached an astounding production capacity to make this possible.  A friend is sending me some G2s with missing eye gems and I am going to upgrade them with some of the smaller ones.

Oh and I love your Carl Sagan quote!

[pinkkittywinks]

Shiny!!!!

Love pkw xxx

[kaoskat]

Very awesome! She looks great!

[Whippycorn]

I like the effect, the video definitely shows the sparkly off better.   Am I right that they are also less 'pointy' than TE eyes, it makes them look more natural and softer I feel.

[lostpony]

Yes they are the standard modern round diamond cut.  I tried to include some angles that show that a bit.  I guess they are a little more shaped like something the eyelid could blink over than the original shape, yes.

I did find some glass gems with a shape closer (without putting them side-by-side, looked perfectly identical) to the original twinkle eyes plastic gems (which are shaped more like the eyes in the show than these) but they were flat-backed so I am not sure how I would mount them, they were glass so lacked the sparkle and can scratch and become dull, and they were used so I wouldn't know how to order more if I liked them.  But, if someone really liked the original shape, it seems there IS a gem cut that mimics it perfectly, so if that is what they really wanted to do it would be possible.

And thanks for checking out the video!  I was so disappointed I couldn't capture them in stills in the sunlight...I wonder how much you have to pay for a camera that actually pick it up....a lot probably.

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Are you sure its a lab diamond and not a cubic zirconia?
I work in the jewelry business and even lab created diamonds are still quite a bit more than $20 for a 4ct size.

Or it could be an imitation diamond?