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The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

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Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#211
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The diamond ring has no utility, so there’s no calculation to make. It’s an irrational proof of commitment.

Proof of commitment can have utility. And status symbols can have utility. (Going on a tangent: compare Bitcoin's proof-of-work, which also has utility. Of course, that doesn't mean diamonds nor proof-of-work are the best bang-for-buck. For the latter, you can use proof-of-stake or avoid cryptocurrencies altogether. For the former, there are plenty of other social arrangements that avoid diamond rings.)

Yes, but giving something worthless but expensive is not a real tangible proof of commitment. "Here is something I paid too much for" is less meaningful than "here is something very valuable." Something valuable says if you are bad to her you'll lose out and she will have something to show for the commitment she reciprocated, something expensive that isn't valuable says I'll behave how you want to keep you around.

In India they give gold jewelry, that makes a lot of sense. Their cultural reasoning about it is very different (it's a financial investment that ties families together) but the act is better IMO.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#212
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like if you're in a situation where you're reduced to bartering with someone with your gold wedding ring, chances are reasonably high that you're also in a situation where you don't get a say in whether they take your gold wedding ring.

Tell me you don't play poker without telling me you don't play poker?

The irony is pretty intense.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using the plural of wife might be unintentionally adding context here.

If you're racking up wives, all the more reason to save money. Alternatively, I could imagine a new wife becoming quite upset upon learning that her engagement ring was from a pawn shop...possibly upset enough to leave!

I might sound like an asshole, but if she's upset enough to leave you over that you should let her go. I wouldn't want a wife like that, personally.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#214
post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People with wives should tie their own happiness to their wife's, shouldn't they? No, this invites emotional manipulation and abuse: "do/don't do this or you'll make me unhappy".

Loving someone means wanting them to be happy. The type of emotional abuse you describe is available to anyone in a loving relationship.

It's not necessarily about manipulation, it's about not being codependent. If every time your partner is unhappy, you freak out, your ability to be a good partner is diminished. Couples need some buffer between their emotions to dampen extreme lows.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#215
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gold jewelry is very easily an investment. The artisan work on them only increases the cost by 10-15% on the underlying value of the gold (at least in India).

Gold, just gold, is an investment simply because people value it - it's a shiny noble metal that stays "pure", ergo percieved value. From a resource utility PoV it costs more to source than copper or aluminium which are nearly as conductive - so they win out for electronic and power transmision applications. There are applications where gold is the clear winner - "forever" circuits and switches that are worth the ext…

Being a good store of value, is itself - a value. It's not entirely arbitrary because you need quite a lot of characteristics to make it fit. It needs to be relatively widespread to encourage widespread acceptance of its value (rather than just granting Goldland a defacto king-maker style monopoly on wealth, which nobody beside allies of Goldland would recognize), relatively scarce so you're not requiring hundreds of tons of it to cover even a moderate national level transaction, it needs to be safe to handle, stable, solid at any practical temperature, and somehow relatively easy to verify the authenticity of. I can't really think any other element that fits the bill as nicely as gold.

Put another way, if we look at all the parallel realities of Earth, even prior to the discovery of gold, I suspect the overwhelming majority of them would end up using it as a major store of value. It's just really perfect for it! We may even find alien civilizations, assuming a comparable elemental distribution to Earth, doing the same!

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#216
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Splurging every once in a while does not inherently make someone “fiscally irresponsible.” For many people, especially on this forum, $3k-$5k for a ring is literally a few days work or less worth of pay. (Please no one get pedantic on ring cost to me, absolutely not the point of this comment)

It’s not the cost that’s the issue, it’s the underlying desire. Belief in astrology is seemingly harmless, but it’s a sign of underlying irrationality that I find unacceptable. The ritual around a hunk of carbon is the same category of thinking IMO. Also, ‘a few days salary’ rather defeats the rituals purpose.

Eh, I’m fervently anti-diamond (they’re silly imo), but I can acknowledge that, to some, they represent (I think?) a lasting commitment and are a cultural tradition.

If the desire is emotional, then there’s no reasoning with it anyway. (And not everything in life need be logical.)

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#217
post #49

These threads are always great for men posting about how their wives love the imitation stones “just as much” and “I didn’t foolishly spend money.” As always, if it worked for your marriage, it worked, but many of us can sniff out a fake from across the room. And it will always look tacky and cheap and she will be wearing it, in theory, the rest of her life. I have visited exactly one jeweler in my life that set man…

Lab grown diamonds are not imitations. They are 100% real diamonds.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#218
post #8
post #4

Has anyone ever tried to sell an engagement or wedding ring with diamonds? You get cents on the dollar. Even or I should say especially brand names like Tiffany. The whole thing is a scam from start to finish and I wish I could go back in time and avoid the entire thing.

Jewelry isn’t an investment, it’s conspicuous consumption. That said there’s really no reason to buy new unless it’s a custom made piece.

Jewelry can be an investment, or a way to save capital. Gold jewelry is pretty good for that, actually rare gemstones (as opposed to diamonds) can also be, silver is alright in this regard.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guys, buying diamonds, can complain all day about what a rip off it is (it is). But if you apprise your fiancé of the alternatives / opp costs (moissanite, man made, second hand, etc) and she still wants a new diamond, just get her a new diamond. It will make her happy for years. My wife had her heart set on a pink diamond, so that’s what I got her. I made it clear though that if I got this, she is not getting a new…

I tend to agree. This falls in the same realm as a fancy wedding versus a trip to a courthouse to get married. Some couples are fine with going to a courthouse, others will never accept it even if they have to borrow to accomplish it. When it comes to big weddings there is no such thing as a smart expense. Most couples would be better off by going to a judge to get married but that just can't be accepted by many. Dia…

Your wedding and funeral are the only two times everyone you care about will be in one room. And you only get to experience one of those.

It's one of the few smart things to spend money on.

Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge

#220
post #21
post #4

Has anyone ever tried to sell an engagement or wedding ring with diamonds? You get cents on the dollar. Even or I should say especially brand names like Tiffany. The whole thing is a scam from start to finish and I wish I could go back in time and avoid the entire thing.

The origin of diamond engagement rings was insurance: with the decline of "breach of promise" suits, the fiancée at least had something to sell as a settlement if the fiancé reneged on the promise of marriage. All of that nonsense is long gone; the fetish for engagement rings is just a residual and empty metaphor. Good riddance. My US gf was astonished and dubious that my relatives (in various other countries) didn't…

Nitpick, not diamond engagement rings. It was valuable engagement rings, it didn't have to be diamonds. The PR men created the diamond specific thing, and gutted the entire meaning of the tradition.
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