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Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

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Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#41

Post by spiderxxxx »

slashdev wrote: post #8
OJFord wrote: post #5

It's crazy to prefer a natural diamond for anything other than a collectors' item. It's not about being 'cheap' - whatever your budget is, if you're picking an engagement ring say, why not get a technically superior (or larger) stone for the same price tag?

I pitched this to my wife a few years back. She insisted she’d rather have a smaller natural diamond. It makes no sense to me. Shiny carbon is shiny carbon to me. There’s no real logic in it. But given it’s a status symbol that derives its value from its rareness, I suppose it’s no different than a Luis Vutton or a Rolex. It’s not about the function, it’s about the fact that you can afford one. I hate that mentality,…

Diamonds are not that rare. They're durable, so it's not like an old diamond is going to break or something. So, there should be plenty of diamonds for everyone who wants one. Rings made in the 1920s and up probably have some sort of diamond in it, and if you don't like the ring, keep the gem and craft a new ring around it. I prefer more rare stones, such as a padparadscha sapphire, or Alexandrite. I prefer to give my woman a gemstone as rare as she is, and as colorful as she is, not something which has virtually no color, and is definitely not rare.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#42

Post by Trias11 »

OJFord wrote: post #5

It's crazy to prefer a natural diamond for anything other than a collectors' item. It's not about being 'cheap' - whatever your budget is, if you're picking an engagement ring say, why not get a technically superior (or larger) stone for the same price tag?

..and add here technically superior plastic flowers with a selection of natural scent sprays :)

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#43

Post by londons_explore »

TheDudeMan wrote: post #37
jewelry wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a product that's not required for day-to-day.

Unless you have to cut really hard things.

Which conveniently can be done with tiny dust-sized diamonds.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#44

Post by linuxftw »

paxys wrote: post #22
threadweaver34 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> derives its value from its rareness Hah! The big issue with choosing a smaller, natural stone is you can't really be sure it's actually natural. The industry has so many unethical practices I wouldn't be confident in any "certification" that comes with a stone's origin. Even lower-grade stones might just be from lab rejects, or labs intentionally growing good, but not perfect stones.

As opposed to the diamond mining industry which is a paragon of ethics...

I call them 'slave stones' because the miners are often times literal slaves.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#45

Post by paxys »

londons_explore wrote: post #40
paxys wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good Rolex at least has a thriving resale market, and can actually increase in value over time. Same for a lot of other luxury goods as well as other stores of value (like gold or Bitcoin). Diamonds on the other hand are effectively worthless the moment they leave the store. Their high prices are a product of marketing and social pressure, nothing more.

> effectively worthless the moment they leave the store I hear this a lot... But where can I buy a massive diamond 2nd hand for a few bucks?

Look at it the other way. If you have a diamond in good condition, can you sell it anywhere for "market price" the same way you would gold or silver? No, because the rock is not rare, and there's basically no way to verify its origin outside of the store.

Look up Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace in your area and you'll find plenty of cheap listings for diamond jewelry. Will you really take a chance on any of them though?

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#46

Post by hutzlibu »

slashdev wrote: post #8
OJFord wrote: post #5

It's crazy to prefer a natural diamond for anything other than a collectors' item. It's not about being 'cheap' - whatever your budget is, if you're picking an engagement ring say, why not get a technically superior (or larger) stone for the same price tag?

I pitched this to my wife a few years back. She insisted she’d rather have a smaller natural diamond. It makes no sense to me. Shiny carbon is shiny carbon to me. There’s no real logic in it. But given it’s a status symbol that derives its value from its rareness, I suppose it’s no different than a Luis Vutton or a Rolex. It’s not about the function, it’s about the fact that you can afford one. I hate that mentality,…

The difference would be, that one was made artificial in a human machine in a lab - and the other by raw natural forces in the wild.

There is no practical value in jewelry anyway, it is a status symbol and the context of coming from the wild extracted under wild conditions (and maybe violently, ooh, blood diamonds, how exiting, erm shocking) has of course a higher symbolic value. So a artificial made one would be considered "fake".

Romanticism is not attached to logic. But it is still a real factor in human decision making. And to be honest, if I would be into jewelry, I probably would prefer the "real" one, too. But I am rather into extreme sports and any rings or alike are just dangerous baggage there (a friend of mine allmost lost a finger, while climbing over a fence and his ring got stuck on some metal piece).

But if your wife happens to be into it - applying logic here will be probably seen as a cheap way to save money.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#47

Post by blacksmith_tb »

OJFord wrote: post #5

It's crazy to prefer a natural diamond for anything other than a collectors' item. It's not about being 'cheap' - whatever your budget is, if you're picking an engagement ring say, why not get a technically superior (or larger) stone for the same price tag?

But if we're being logical then you might as well go with Moissanite (lab-grown silicon carbide) instead of diamond, which is cheaper, nearly as tough, and also has better fire?

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#48

Post by jncfhnb »

ethanbond wrote: post #27
jncfhnb wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it not a character flaw ?

Because all of us want stupid shit? Unless you’re willing to bundle everything beyond pure Buddha-tier equanimity as “character flaws.” it’s unfair to draw the line between “useless thing you were socialized to spend money on” and “useless thing someone else was socialized to spend money on.”

Eh… stupidly expensive, unethically sourced, low store of value, easily substituted by superior cheaper alternatives feels like the height of “bad” materialism if there is such a thing.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#49

Post by 0cf8612b2e1e »

paxys wrote: post #35
gnicholas wrote: post #31

I wonder what the second-order consequences will be. That is, people will still want to signal their commitment/ability to provide when proposing, so the drop in the price of diamonds won't necessarily reduce the overall outlay. Instead, it would shift the expense to another category (platinum or other expensive metals) or simply lead people to buy more carats (4 is the new 2!). In some ways, these moves could help l…

Rings will get bigger/more extravagant and get mixed with other precious gems or metals. What is not going to happen is stores selling cheaper jewelry.

My naïve assumption is that outside of geologists and jewelers, it is impossible for a layman to identify natural, synthetic, or even a different gemstone.

Re: Diamond prices are in free fall in one key corner of the market

#50

Post by paxys »

slashdev wrote: post #8
OJFord wrote: post #5

It's crazy to prefer a natural diamond for anything other than a collectors' item. It's not about being 'cheap' - whatever your budget is, if you're picking an engagement ring say, why not get a technically superior (or larger) stone for the same price tag?

I pitched this to my wife a few years back. She insisted she’d rather have a smaller natural diamond. It makes no sense to me. Shiny carbon is shiny carbon to me. There’s no real logic in it. But given it’s a status symbol that derives its value from its rareness, I suppose it’s no different than a Luis Vutton or a Rolex. It’s not about the function, it’s about the fact that you can afford one. I hate that mentality,…

I personally find the decision to buy lab grown diamonds to be weirder, because if you are already thinking logically rather than emotionally and can resist the social pressure then why waste money on a diamond at all? There are plenty of gems or metals out there that are cheaper, prettier, more rare and hold their value better than diamonds (whether natural or lab grown).
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