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Diamonds Suck (2006)

diamondssuck.com

151–160 of 618 posts

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#151

I'm the OP - surprised to see this at the top of HN today, but happy to post a quick update: My wife and I have been happily married for ten years now. She loves her ring, and it has held up extremely well. (She just had the band resized, absolutely no issues with the stones.) No one has ever thought it was anything other than a diamond ring, which includes several years of daily scrutiny from crazy New York City bri…

Seems like the link to the article about de beers is 404. Hopefully it still exists somewhere :)

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you...

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wife and I had read the Atlantic article before it was too late, went with plain wedding bands for both of us. However, living in America, this is causing issues for her, continuously having to explain to friends and acquaintances why she does not have a diamond. We'd been looking for used rings as an alternative - hence, thank you very much for writing this, you just saved me and my wife several thousand dollars.

> having to explain to friends and acquaintances why she does not have a diamond. I don't think this is a universal "in America" thing. Maybe in some parts of the country, but here in the northeast it seems like it's none of their business; I can't imagine asking someone to explain it, and I would think someone who did ask was being awfully nosy. FWIW my wife has a diamond ring which she almost never wears, and I can…

My wife and I, living in the SF Bay area and having no regard for convention whatsoever -- and not really liking diamonds -- went with a sapphire for her ring. She tells me that other women do sometimes ask her about it. This is unfathomable to me, but there it is.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#154
Since 2006, the synthetic diamond gem industry has made considerable progress, and is now banging out real diamonds at a good clip. Gemesis was the first to mass-market synthetic diamond gemstones. (DeBeers tried intimidating the CEO, a retired U.S. Army general. Intimidation didn't work.) Now other companies are doing it.

Silicon carbide gemstones are available in bulk on Alibaba.[1] So are diamonds.The page for Changsa Chenguang Machinery and Electric Company makes it clear how far down diamonds have come.[2] They have a list of diamond products - diamond plate for cutting tools and wear parts, monocrystalline diamond for wire drawing dies, diamond inserts for well drilling cutters, and diamonds for gemstones. The gems are a sideline from the cutting tool business. Minimum gem order 10 grams, capacity six metric tons of diamonds a year. That's just one small manufacturer.

[1] https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?IndexArea=product_en&Ca... [2] https://china-chenguang.en.alibaba.com/

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#155
post #96

I told my girlfriend (5 years) how I feel about diamonds and that I reject the very notion of buying a diamond engagement / wedding ring early on in our relationship. Several months ago, we landed on the marriage conversation, again. I reiterated that I am against diamond engagement bands. She then said: "What about a wedding ring then?" I told her it applies to wedding rings as well. We got into a heated argument an…

that's what crushing dreams looks like. nonetheless i agree with you, some dreams are just not worth it.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#156

I'm the OP - surprised to see this at the top of HN today, but happy to post a quick update: My wife and I have been happily married for ten years now. She loves her ring, and it has held up extremely well. (She just had the band resized, absolutely no issues with the stones.) No one has ever thought it was anything other than a diamond ring, which includes several years of daily scrutiny from crazy New York City bri…

There's a nice article by Priceonomics on Diamonds.

http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/45768546804/diamonds-are-b...

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#157

"The big difference between moissanite and diamond is that moissanite can be manufactured reliably and efficiently in a laboratory." Thats not true, diamonds can be manufactured reliably and efficiently in a laboratory as well. And its nearly impossible to tell the difference between natural and artificial ones. Only a very complicated lab test with a machine can tell the difference.

[deleted]

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#159
post #96

I told my girlfriend (5 years) how I feel about diamonds and that I reject the very notion of buying a diamond engagement / wedding ring early on in our relationship. Several months ago, we landed on the marriage conversation, again. I reiterated that I am against diamond engagement bands. She then said: "What about a wedding ring then?" I told her it applies to wedding rings as well. We got into a heated argument an…

The flashing red color in your peripheral vision? That's the warning light. It means you should reach down and pull the eject lever.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use the difference in price on a down payment on a home/apartment or open a college savings account for your kids. Tell the truth, you want to build a life together and are thinking about the long term financial and personal consequences of this decision. I bought a ruby for my wife for this exact reason. I also wanted to show our community that we rejected diamonds as a tradition. I think the more we discuss this is…

This doesn't work. I have tried it. She (my GF) just argues with me about any purchase I try to make that is around the ballpark of what she is expecting me to pay for a ring. e.g. Her: So you want a new MacBook Pro, but you can't afford a $3000 engagement ring? Me: No, I need a MacBook Pro for work. This has been going on for quite some time now.

tell her you'd rather set the $3k on fire - as in, real fire, with smoke and all - while she watches than buy a diamond ring. be prepared to follow through.

oh also don't listen to advice on the internet.

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