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Diamonds Suck (2006)

diamondssuck.com

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Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#541

Post by kevinh »

zeroer wrote: post #490
jakewins wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm, well, because I'm having a conversation about cultural differences between the midwest and the north-east. I think it's appropriate to segway into another topic that way. If it's the sarcasm you find inappropriate, I respectfully disagree. If our new president fulfills his promises, friends of mine will be cataloged, deported. My own hopes of US citizenship and the life me and my wife had planned for ourselves i…

The only people Trump has promised to deport are those here illegally, so I'm assuming that the friends you mention are illegal immigrants, whose mere presence in the country is a crime. Is it so much to ask visitors to our country to follow our laws? I've traveled to a lot of countries. Every country I visit, I read and follow the laws of the country, including visa and immigration rules. Many of these laws I disagr…

Overstaying a visa is not a criminal offense. It is a civil offense.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#542

Post by dgudkov »

Millions of men spending billions of dollars every year because of a marketing campaign of one company. If they instead crowdfunded a massive anti-campaign they could've stopped this madness.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#543

Post by knz »

cmdrfred wrote: post #519
sangnoir wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You know, you don't need an engagement ring to get married You also need a partner who wants to get married to you. Where does HN get it's perfectly compatible partners from? A difference in opinion is not unexpected - not everyone is equally pragmatic. Also,things that are considered "deal-breakers" are far from universal.

"Where does HN get it's perfectly compatible partners from?" Truth is women in our culture are still somewhat of a status symbol. My wife is essentially perfectly compatible with me that was achieved by not simply selecting the most physically attractive person who would marry me but instead finding someone who actually is a decent human being. Her ring cost under 50 dollars. She wants me to spend the short time we a…

If people want to spend their money on a ring then I have no issue with that. Personally my wife is quite frugal about signs of material wealth (raised in a family with money that drove old Honda's etc) and had very strong opinions about not wanting an expensive ring. Instead we spent our money on a honeymoon exploring Asia and Europe - I wouldn't trade that time for any ring. Travel may be a privilege but teaches you a lot more about the world and the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#544

Post by stephencanon »

erelde wrote: post #101
sametmax wrote: post #31

Seems like an american things really. In France, nobody would expect anyone to buy a certain kind of ring. As long as it's pretty, you can go for anything. Or no engagement ring. Some friends of mine don't even get wedding rings. And I just met a not married couple wearing rings just because they liked it. Our wedding ceremonies are also usually way cheaper and less show off that the ones your pop culture is selling…

(french also) I know a couple who married at the beggining of their fifties, just went to the mayor's office with two witnesses, signed the papers and that was all. They are both litterature teachers for students in their master cycle.

When I was at Berkeley, a colleague did the same. Came into the office one morning, said "[girlfriend of 5 years] and I just decided to get married today, come down to city hall with us at lunch for the party."

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#545

Post by Declanomous »

trprog wrote: post #372

>If I can prevent a single reader from needlessly dropping $6,000-10,000+ on a diamond engagement ring, this site will be a success. Financial worries are the #1 cause of stress in a married relationship - there is absolutely NO excuse to start your married life by taking on that level of debt. This is probably very naive of me but it honestly never occurred to me that anyone would actually go into debt for a ring. I…

I know many people whose ring was financed by the place where they bought the ring. From my understanding, the financing is similar to that of a car, in the sense that the interest is artificially low so you are "tricked" in to spending more for ring than you otherwise would have.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#546

Post by [deleted] »

ftrflyr wrote: 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…

[deleted]

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#547

Post by Nursie »

mikemikemike wrote: post #540

Interesting read and great points. But the reason I'm shopping for a diamond is precisely that it is too expensive. It's supposed to be proof that I am glad to make sacrifices for her. If we wanted to do something nontraditional we might choose some completely different kind of ring, but to choose something that looks super expensive and is not would make me feel like I had cut corners for my fiance.

Why does she need this proof?

Why is wasting a ton of money proof of anything but stupidity?

Genuine questions here. Diamonds are certainly a feature of UK marriages but I've certainly never heard of "X months salary"...

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#548

Post by sliverstorm »

lacampbell wrote: post #196
ejcx wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sent this to my SO and she now wants one instead of a diamond. Until now, it's been non-negotiable. Thanks for writing. I did not want to buy a diamond :)

> Until now, it's been non-negotiable. I really hate to be a random person on the internet giving personal advice but... diamonds being "non-negotiable" seems like a huge, glowing, neon warning sign. Don't be surprised to find out a bunch of other things are non-negotiable if you divorce.

We can only read so much into that statement.

Did she say "I must have a diamond that costs a minimum of $15k, or else I'm leaving you"?

Or does she get kind of sad & blue & disengaged when he pitches alternatives, because she dreamed of a diamond ring as a kid?

The later is quite understandable. Even if you think diamonds are silly, it's a matter of fact women in the USA grow up surrounded by diamond culture.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#549

Post by zeroer »

kevinh wrote: post #541
zeroer wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only people Trump has promised to deport are those here illegally, so I'm assuming that the friends you mention are illegal immigrants, whose mere presence in the country is a crime. Is it so much to ask visitors to our country to follow our laws? I've traveled to a lot of countries. Every country I visit, I read and follow the laws of the country, including visa and immigration rules. Many of these laws I disagr…

Overstaying a visa is not a criminal offense. It is a civil offense.

You may be right. I don't know the law that well.

Should there be a punishment for overstaying a visa? What should it be?

I think the answer may depend on the type of visa, the length of overstay, and perhaps some other factors, but in the majority of cases, I would expect the answer to be deportation, which would necessitate an arrest and holding. Whether that's called a criminal offense or civil offense is a distinction without a difference.

Re: Diamonds Suck (2006)

#550

Post by FullMtlAlcoholc »

rhino369 wrote: post #538
FullMtlAlcoholc wrote: post #60

Another alternative is synthetic, lab grown diamonds. They are superior to naturally occuring diamonds, cheaper, aren't tainted by human misery and suffering like conflic/blood diamondst, and arent extracted from ecologically damaging mining techniques like open pit mining.

They've probably gotten better since I looked in 2012, but at that time, they weren't much cheaper and they had both superior and inferior properties. IIRC, they had less imperfections in the crystalline patterns but more impurities that lead to a more yellow color because of impurities leaking in during fabrication. So they were kickass for practical uses, but didn't look at good. Maybe they are overall superior now…

No one is getting killed for them and they aren't extracted from open pit mines. Those are two big pluses for me
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