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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

#321

Post by RandomLensman »

atleastoptimal wrote: post #310
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I wouldn't marry anyone... yeah but I wouldn't tell someone that seems reasonably happy with the person they married that I wouldn't marry them. As long as we're listing the things we wouldn't do.

I wouldn't care if someone said they wouldn't marry whomever I married for some deal breaker unique to them. If I disagree with it, I'd think "their loss, sucks to have weird arbitrary standards" If I agreed then I'd have been lying about my happiness with the relationship. Either way some things need to be said. I haven't seen any good arguments in favor of purchasing a diamond ring which don't seem to dismiss and d…

A large diamond actually looks pretty nice (and very different from mossianite), not sure why that is devaluing the agency of anyone (provided the costs are relatively easy to afford).

Even uncut diamond crystals have a very particular "fatty" shine to it that some people might like and enjoy.

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

#322

Post by hackideiomat »

jonkho wrote: post #153
cactusplant7374 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess if they are desperate to get married they do whatever. Of they can discuss expectations at the beginning of the relationship like they do with other goals (i.e. kids or no kids).

They literally paying to go to the clink. Nothing that a marriage license permits you to do that you can’t do without one. Except you can be liable to get sued when the relationship ends. Literally the only differentiator of significance.

It's good for taxes here to be married officially

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

#323

Post by amrocha »

lelanthran wrote: post #297
amrocha wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If she wants a diamond despite knowing all the misery the diamond industry spreads, then you should probably just break up

> If she wants a diamond despite knowing all the misery the diamond industry spreads, then you should probably just break up Doesn't it matter what he thinks? Does "If she wants to eat meat despite knowing all the misery the food industry spreads, then you should probably break up" sound like a good idea to a guy who isn't vegan/vegatarian/etc?

Most people eat meat, asking someone to change their lifestyle is very different from asking them to get a synthetic diamond instead of a natural one.

And yeah of course what he thinks matters too. If you're both awful people then you deserve each other.

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

#324

Post by hackideiomat »

wolverine876 wrote: post #262
xivzgrev wrote: post #46

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…

> if you apprise your fiancé of the alternatives / opp costs What a romantic! I recommend not apprising your fiance of anything, but working to understand them and make your engagement as joyful and loving as possible. > I made it clear though that if I got this, she is not getting a new one for a long time (she has a tendency to want to rent / sample / change things up). Is she 12 years old? Is it legal to marry som…

But I can use the car and it's not like Toyota can make the same car for way less... oh and less people died in the process, maybe

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

#325

Post by mk3 »

Buy Whatever you like! On a Maslows scale of humans needs. Jewellery is in Self Esteem, or in some cases Self-Actualisation step, so If you want buy diamonds if you don't want don't buy diamonds. Tbh I'm kinda tired to see this COSMO type rants on the front-page of hacker news.

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

#326

Post by RandomLensman »

amrocha wrote: post #295
defrost wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of diamond mines, many in Canada, a number in Australia, there are a number that are mobile marine based ventures with state of the art ships sucking in sediments and sifting for diamonds. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/03/africa/marine-diamond-min... None of your comments applies to any of the mines mentioned; Canada, Australia, and the marine operations all abide by OSHA regulations and pay good wa…

If you think that just because a mine isn't in Africa that means it's a good place to work then I disagree

Have you been to any diamond mine and compared the working conditions to something like a gold or iron ore mine?

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

#327

Post by tromp »

brink wrote: post #3

I would like to take this moment to thank https://diamondssuck.com/ for preventing me from buying my wife a diamond, and getting her a much prettier moissanite instead. It's been on hn's front page several times.

An extensive comparison of diamond alternatives Moissanite and the much cheaper Cubic Zirconia: https://www.thepeachbox.com/blogs/diamonds/moissanite-vs-cub...

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

#328

Post by atleastoptimal »

RandomLensman wrote: post #321
atleastoptimal wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't care if someone said they wouldn't marry whomever I married for some deal breaker unique to them. If I disagree with it, I'd think "their loss, sucks to have weird arbitrary standards" If I agreed then I'd have been lying about my happiness with the relationship. Either way some things need to be said. I haven't seen any good arguments in favor of purchasing a diamond ring which don't seem to dismiss and d…

A large diamond actually looks pretty nice (and very different from mossianite), not sure why that is devaluing the agency of anyone (provided the costs are relatively easy to afford). Even uncut diamond crystals have a very particular "fatty" shine to it that some people might like and enjoy.

I agree, diamonds are cool.

However I've seen demands that a fiancé purchase a real diamond, not a much cheaper "synthetic" one, even though it's structurally identical. That this was even a notion affirmed my assumption that the psychological importance of purchasing a diamond is tied to the price itself.

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

#329

Post by TeMPOraL »

serf wrote: post #298
blindhippo wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yikes, that's quite the binary distinction... Surely there is room between those subjective descriptions of people for "hey, I like this thing even though it's irrational, ok?" Let people live their lives and you do you. People aren't a "provider mannequin" just because they like to make their partner happy.

acknowledgement of irrationality, especially one that isn't accompanied with a wish to better themselves away from that irrationality, would be a major red flag for me personally entering into a long-term relationship. there is also a great distinction between "Yeah I know another helping of chocolate syrup on my ice cream is a bad decision, but it'll make me feel good today.", and "You need to make a 10kUSD+ purchas…

> "You need to make a 10kUSD+ purchase on a totally arbitrary piece of jewelry that very well may have incited real human suffering and violence, even though I know that desire is irrational and poorly balanced."

That's a tricky topic to broach. Drop one zero from the price tag, and this definitely applies much more to your smartphone and computer than it does to gems. Drop one or two more zeroes, and this covers the clothes you wear just as much.

I'm not denying you have a point here. The suffering and violence are real. But my wife and I both went down the road of paying attention to that, and we've learned one has only so much attention to pay before you can hardly purchase anything at all. Nearly everyone has a cut-off point, past which they stop digging into those issues, otherwise it becomes debilitating.

Call this irrational, but the amount of personal responsibility one should feel for some injustice they benefit from, among with a billion or two other people, is an unsolved philosophical and ethical problem.

Or, my point in short: cut people some slack.

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

#330

Post by jojobas »

habitue wrote: post #257
jojobas wrote: post #134

Oh no, a cartel poised on a scam is losing money! Won't somebody please think of the hedge funds!

Not to defend hedge funds, but what does it have to do with them? DeBeers is a privately owned corporation

>On 4 November 2011, Anglo American plc and CHL Holdings announced their agreement for Anglo American to acquire an incremental interest in De Beers, increasing Anglo American's 45% shareholding in the world's leading diamond company to 85%.

Anglo American is publicly traded with all it entails.

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