Well, I knew I wouldn't like them when I ordered $50 worth! 
(Boy, they do look beautiful in pictures, don't they?) But it's the only way to get the look I need on a cake and the customer likes the idea... My question now is how are most people attaching them to the cake - flat side out? It seems that if you stick them on upside-down (pointy side out) they'll look a litte better, but is that silly?
I had the same problem. I really don't like the gems, but I'm in the same boat as you. I'm putting 75 of them on a wedding cake this month!
They really don't look any better pointy side out.
I've only attached them to fondant covered cakes. I poked a hole in the fondant, added a dab of gum glue, then pushed the gem into the hole.
http://www.shop.diamondpartyconfetti.com/product.sc;jsessionid=8513A6859650019DB1C6ACFC38205E6C.qscstrfrnt03?productId=32
is this where you got them?
These look amazing!!!!!! did you try to oil them up like they say?
Thanks! Just tried taking some pictures, but guess my camera can't focus so small! KHalstead, I didn't get them off that site. I ended up ordering from Beryls.com b/c they stated that the small diamonds were "approximately 1/4inch". All the other places I looked had approximately 1cm as the smallest. So I ordered from this place and well, they are really 1cm! I've written the company to suggest they re-word their website. 1cm is closer to 3/8" not 1/4". Small details really matter sometimes! Anyway, I did try to spray with shortening. It does clear them up a bit, but once they are pressed pointy side into a cake, I doubt you'll see any facets. Only, a dome-topped, clearish piece of candy stuck into a cake.
don't know why the site changed where I ordered from. I didn't order from GSA... I ordered from b.e.r.y.l.s. dot com. ??
wonder if you could use some of that edible silver leaf on the backs?
the cake they had on that website looks sooooooo beautiful with the diamonds scattered around the tiers! Sooo sparkly! I'm sure that's why anytime you see them advertised they're on a black background to make them look nicer. My DD wants a carved dalmation cake with a princess crown on the dog and jewels scattered around it (she said like it broke into a treasure chest lol) so I was planning on ordering some soon, her birthday is Nov. 28th so I've been looking around! I have a gem mold but like you said, they're big...close to 1" each I think! Thought I'd try the whole jolly rancher thing in the mold (I've used them for other things, but not with a mold)
I have the same problem with my edible diamonds. I ordered them in two different sizes and when I got them I was sooo disappointed. You are exactly right, they have no sparkle and when pushed in the cake they just have a colored dome. I actually used them on the skirt in my naughty school girl cake as buttons.
But I oiled mine too....they went cloudy again. Very disappointing. I also have tried to put silver on the back and had no luck with that either.
Oh, shoot! I had high hopes for trying the silver back.... Thanks so much for the info!
Making them yourself doesn't work so well either. (see the brown ribbon and bows cake in my pics) I tried several different ways to keep them clear, NONE of which worked. 
It is good to know the stuff you order isn't much better though, so thanks for posting about them.
yes, i was disappointed as well. I ordered some for a wedding cake I did in September. I ended up putting them on pointed side out so that there would be a chance at seeing the facets. Otherwise, like other have said, all that you see is a clear dome. Now I have a ton of them that I don't know what to do with.
the ones i have looked at are different, but they say that touching them will make them go cloudy.
im sure i have seen flat backed ones, which maybe look better on the sides of cakes?
those shapes i think would be better scattered about the cake.
xx
I posted the oil tip. I have only used the oil on a black gem, but it's been on a dummy cake for about 6 months and still looks good and shiny. But maybe that's because it's colored. I have painted silver edible paint on the backs of clear ones and I thought it helped.
I made 4 different batches of them. NONE turned out - they were very pretty and shiny and clear the first day, but all of them were cloudy and some even lost their facets by the next day. (and yes, I did put the vegetable oil on them) It seemed to help some, but NONE of them stayed nice and clear. They were all cloudy and shiney. You can kind of see in the cake pic how they ended up looking.....sort of cameo cloudy. 
I won't try it again, I will either use fake ones and just have them remove them from the cake or not use them at all.
Leahs - I bet your's is still nice because it is colored.
so is everyone talking just about the clear diamond gems? or does the lack of shininess apply to all of the other colors as well?.... i was hoping to buy the ruby ones but i'm a little nervous about making them focus point of my design if they aren't going to be shinny
Yes, the cake did come out beautiful! And I've only ordered these clear diamonds. I also noticed that they do not have sharp edges on the facets...
CC - the bows and ribbons on that cake are a 50/50 blend. I used 1/2 white fondatnt and 1/2 chocolate (it was a sample of chocolate that I got at ICES!) and then mixed that 50/50 with gumpaste. In person they looked kind of like suede. I loved the color that it made.
Thank you for the nice comments on it. 
DianeLM - I look forward to your results! Thank you for this suggestion.
Wow that is disappointing they look so shinny in the pictures. I wanted to order some too.
Okay, here is my bling wedding cake.
The hex gems I made myself with isomalt in a plastic mold. They were very shiny and clear.
Since I was placing them over the black string junctions, I had to add a white fondant backing to the gems. BUT - before gluing on the fondant with a tiny smear of gum glue, I sprinkled a tiny bit of rainbow disco dust onto the white fondant. Made a WORLD of difference in the way they sparkled!
The smaller gems are the pointy ones we've been talking about. I experimented with placing them pointy side out, but it didn't help at all.
As it turned out, I didn't need to add any disco dust or oil to the gems. They stayed nice and clear all the way through the cake cutting ceremony.
I attached them to the cake with royal icing. First, I drilled a hole in the fondant with the gumpaste tool that you make flower centers with. Squirted in a little royal, and pushed the gem in. Didn't lose a single one!
The gems on this cake are on the top and 3rd tiers as well as between the diamonds on the bottom tier.
Diane, your cake is amazing! And the bow....wow! Thanks for sharing.
Amazing cake....Just a hint if your dimonds dull brush a small amount of oil on them.
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