Earlier quoted context omitted.
More snow, really.
Neither rain nor snow. Both don't form from pressure, and require some kind of particulate nucleus thing, which isn't water. Closer to a mesospheric cloud?
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The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
241–250 of 619 posts
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure, but calling them your spouse then not giving a crap about their feelings is not fair. You were free to marry someone else, who thinks more in line the way you do.
You are making unjustified assumptions. I am a person who doesn't wish to spend $20,000 on a rock so that my wife won't be embarrassed in front of her friends. And that is why I chose to marry a woman who thinks that spending $20,000 on a rock is a silly thing to do.
> that is why I chose to marry a woman
That was my point. If you married someone who doesn't like diamonds, fine.
The original comment was about "shenanigans like buying something else and passing it off as a diamond". Isn't there anything your partner likes? Would you buy something else because you don't wish to spend $X on Y, "passing it off as Y", and embarrass her in front of her friends?
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#243I used to live in Antwerp, Belgium, the self-proclaimed diamond capital of the world. Lodewyk Van Bercken, some 15th century dude who was able to cut diamonds to their stereotypical shape, used to live here.
In 2023, the city seems to think that diamonds are cool, with a diamond museum, public transport stops named after diamonds, tax cuts and promotions. In reality, however, it's mostly a bunch of very shady looking shops, the occasionally robbery, embargoed Russian imports, and a fair bit of crime. It's entirely unclear why the city is so seemingly proud and obsessed with diamonds.
Instead of realising that this trash is worthless, and this industry would be better off dead, they're spending money on tracing systems (an actual block chain implementation!), including microscopic laser etchings to identify diamonds.
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#244Earlier 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 guess that works for most men. Personally, one of my criteria is that she can't want a diamond, that might sound crazy but I want a partner in life that is financially sensible and fiscally responsible, we have to leave our children with more than we were left with or we have failed, that is a core part of my philosophy of family building. Thankfully I found her. I also had a talk with her dad about it after I met…
> we have to leave our children with more than we were left with or we have failed
You’re being pretty harsh on yourself there. Wealth doesn’t only depend on your own efforts and behavior, but a myriad other things. Also, how do you calculate whether they are left with more than you? Is that about inflation adjusted wealth, or other things like education, resilience, number of hours spent with their dad, physical and mental health?
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess that works for most men. Personally, one of my criteria is that she can't want a diamond, that might sound crazy but I want a partner in life that is financially sensible and fiscally responsible, we have to leave our children with more than we were left with or we have failed, that is a core part of my philosophy of family building. Thankfully I found her. I also had a talk with her dad about it after I met…
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)
I am also against buying expensive stones, but for a different reason. If you view diamonds as status symbols, buying them is not irrational. It's just an approach to life that I don't follow.
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
Finding irrationality unacceptable is also irrational.
This isn’t some random person off the street, this is someone you’re hopefully spending the majority of your life with. It’s ok to be picky.
The point is there's no one who is not irrational. It's foundationally human.
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#247Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#248There was a time when diamonds were rare. That's not the case anymore. What's amazing is how successful de beers controlled the supply and, by effect, the price. They completely controlled it for at least 80 years. Looks like man-made diamonds finally broke the weakening lock and I doubt they will ever regain it. Eventually, they will fall to the point of cost of making or mining them plus a small margin. Name brands…
Aluminum was once rare too. It was considered a precious metal. The obelisk at the Washington Memorial is capped with Aluminum... I've heard stories that it was used for engagement rings in that era as well!
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#249[deleted]
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
If she wants a diamond despite knowing all the misery the diamond industry spreads, then you should probably just break up
What misery does a Chinese lab grown diamond really spread?
The point of the comment I'm replying to is that if your wife wants a blood diamond you should get her a blood diamond