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Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

theatlantic.com

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Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#41

Post by steve19 »

philwelch wrote: post #30
sliverstorm wrote: post #22

Unfortunately, realizing this is not enough. You need your partner to realize it too, or you're out of luck. Good luck presenting a ring of ruby or sapphire; even though they are far prettier stones IMHO, every girl I've met has diamonds stamped into her heart.

This was an eye opening experience for me as a younger nerd, something that taught me how truly irrational many humans are. Diamonds are clearly pretty, but buying them props up a cartel and indirectly leads to warfare, enslavement, and death. Clearly a young woman would happily understand why I would have ethical objections to this... ...and to this day, I don't understand how some people's minds even work. (It was…

It also of course, provides legitimate employment to a lot of people throughout Africa.

If people stopped buying diamonds, it would be a disaster for the continent.

Saying that, I still would hate to buy something that may have been mined by a slave and purchased by a cartel.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#42

Post by zefhous »

pbiggar wrote: post #36

A few years ago, my girlfriend and I had an argument about this article and the book it came from. I flat refused to buy diamonds, and obviously she wanted a beautiful engagement ring. The compromise we came to was that if it wasn't a diamond, then it better be fucking amazing, preferably with a yellow saffire. Long story short, I'm currently on my honeymoon, and her yellow saffire ring blows everyone away. If your g…

My wife has a blue sapphire and she absolutely loves it. As you mentioned, it's very unique and we both like that a lot.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#43

Post by Dove »

noonespecial wrote: post #31

Its been a fantastic fad while it lasts (lasted?) but in the end its always just been "Vans off the wall" for "big people". I wonder what we'll use next. I've always wanted to give my wife a ring with a bit of a meteorite set in it because, hey, its from outer space . Where does one find such things?

These guys were able to procure some to make dice. You might start by sending them a note and/or following up on the source they mention.

http://crystalcaste.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Sto...

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#44

Post by sandGorgon »

pbiggar wrote: post #36

A few years ago, my girlfriend and I had an argument about this article and the book it came from. I flat refused to buy diamonds, and obviously she wanted a beautiful engagement ring. The compromise we came to was that if it wasn't a diamond, then it better be fucking amazing, preferably with a yellow saffire. Long story short, I'm currently on my honeymoon, and her yellow saffire ring blows everyone away. If your g…

There are the Indian Golkonda diamonds - they are the legendary mines from where some of the most famous and treacherous diamonds were mined (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golkonda#Diamonds) - or the Panna diamonds, but I would be very surprised if there wasn'nt a De Beers hand in there somewhere.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#45

Post by Luc »

noonespecial wrote: post #31

Its been a fantastic fad while it lasts (lasted?) but in the end its always just been "Vans off the wall" for "big people". I wonder what we'll use next. I've always wanted to give my wife a ring with a bit of a meteorite set in it because, hey, its from outer space . Where does one find such things?

They sell them by the kg on eBay. Any jewel maker has the tools to cut a nice piece into the right shape for a ring.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#46

Post by Andys »

pbiggar wrote: post #36

A few years ago, my girlfriend and I had an argument about this article and the book it came from. I flat refused to buy diamonds, and obviously she wanted a beautiful engagement ring. The compromise we came to was that if it wasn't a diamond, then it better be fucking amazing, preferably with a yellow saffire. Long story short, I'm currently on my honeymoon, and her yellow saffire ring blows everyone away. If your g…

She must be pretty damn happy with it, if you're getting away with browsing news.yc whilst on honeymoon :)

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#47

Post by Corrado »

pbiggar wrote: post #39
callmeed wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How bout a pic?

Best I can do on the phone right now: http://i.imgur.com/Gj0dp.jpg

Wait! That's a picture from a cell phone? Man, my cell phone cameras (iPhone 2G, Palm Pre) are really behind the times.

Wait! You're browsing Hacker News on your honeymoon?!

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#48

Post by jacquesm »

Spending insane amounts of money on a clump of carbon molecules to declare your love seems to me extremely wasteful. If your s.o. really needs a display of conspicuous consumption over spending your - now joint - funds carefully and wisely you might want to talk it over. Easy come easy go, if you have money left over to throw it out more power to you but most people are not in a position to throw away money like this.

Congratulations to the DeBeers marketing department, they've done an excellent job of making people believe this sort of stuff is needed.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#49

Post by stbal »

I'm amazed in general at the amount of conformity in people surrounding the whole topic of weddings. Not just the ring (btw, diamond rings for engagement is an American cultural thing as far as I know, in Europe the props are different), but the whole dress code and the mandatory steps involved in the event. Wasn't the future supposed to free us from such conventions? I find it funny especially with people who laugh at religious functions as superstition, and then they embrace a totally arbitrary set of made up rules.

Re: Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?

#50

Post by derefr »

jacquesm wrote: post #48

Spending insane amounts of money on a clump of carbon molecules to declare your love seems to me extremely wasteful. If your s.o. really needs a display of conspicuous consumption over spending your - now joint - funds carefully and wisely you might want to talk it over. Easy come easy go, if you have money left over to throw it out more power to you but most people are not in a position to throw away money like this…

Your point certainly sounds reasonable, but it's not how the human mind works. The point of conspicuous consumption is to make believe that the man is "in a position to throw away money like this", because that (imaginary) man is considered to be a good provider/sexually attractive. Talking about it beforehand would be like telling your kids you were going to dress up as Santa Claus to put presents under the tree—the reality is no different, but the fantasy is ruined.

And DeBeers certainly didn't create the notion of conspicuous consumption as a romantic gesture—women have been receiving silver and gold trinkets for millennia, especially ones adorned with various gemstones. DeBeers just popularized diamonds as the gem to be specifically associated with such gestures—and they're a fairly effective/obvious one, too, since they're eye-catching, distinctive, and easy to adorn oneself with.

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