You need to factor in the game theory implications: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.200...
Diamonds Suck
91–100 of 171 posts
Re: Diamonds Suck
#92I, as a European, cannot fathom how anyone would spend a significant amount of money on an engagement ring! The engagement rings we got ourselves cost 18$ and were made from wood. After all, they only need to last a few months, or maybe 1-2 years, until the wedding. Regarding the wedding ring, I can understand slightly better how someone would put a bit more money into that, considering that you wear it for life. But…
But surely doing whatever works for you is OK? Some people love "creating memories", some people love to have more "social status", some love $4 wooden rings, some love $40K diamond rings; everyone is different, let all the flowers bloom. (De Beers are still the big baddies though)
> But surely doing whatever works for you is OK?
Externality exists. The 40K$ diamond ring goes to some of the worse people in our society.
Re: Diamonds Suck
#93Why not buy her a gold bar instead? They can be as expensive/ valuable as you like and she can see it as an investment. It can't be worn on a finger of course, but where I'm from, people only wear the engagement ring before their wedding.
Re: Diamonds Suck
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you have lots of money and like fancy rings, sure, go for it! If you just finished your college, sit on a big pile of student loans, work in your first job and then spend several months of income on a shiny rock, then that is a bad financial decision, no matter whether you love diamond rings or not. (And from what I hear, this situation happens a lot, due to social pressure and "desired social status".)
I personally would never even think of denying a poor graduate from trying, however clumsily, to impress the girl he fancies with some unaffordable ring. Bad financial decision? Maybe. Story of beautiful romance? Absolutely.
Do you seriously think that healthy relationships can be bought with money?
Re: Diamonds Suck
#95Reading this while listening to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"
Re: Diamonds Suck
#96Orrrr you can do what my wife and I did: just get those silicone rings. They come in lots of styles, you can wear them while working out or diving or any other physical activity, and they're much cheaper than actual jewelry.
Re: Diamonds Suck
#97The diamond tradition became a ridiculous cultural trait, buy lab-grown diamonds can help greatly mitigate the wastefulness of regular natural diamonds. I don't think Moissanite is the right replacement - they have too much of the so-called "fire", almost too sparkly as the article shows. I think Moissanites are inferior to diamonds in appearance in my personal, subjective opinion. Lab-grown diamonds, however, can be…
> She won't take it out.
What's the point then?
Re: Diamonds Suck
#98I have an even cheaper solution: just don't buy a ring. It all depends on what your partner wants obviously. If it's important for your partner to get a diamond ring and you value your partnership more than the cost of a diamond, then buy a diamond. If your partner wants a "I'm married" sign (as my wife did), just buy a simple wedding ring without a stone. If it's not that important for her, don't buy a ring.
Even better: just don't get married.
Very few advantages, if any, for most people (only big exception I'm aware of is for citizenship status).
Re: Diamonds Suck
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think GP was referring to that exact thing happening in The Abyss .
I forgot to add the reason why there's a moral imperative to wearing a titanium ring instead of a diamond one: after saving yourself from drowning with the titanium ring, you can then descend to the ocean floor in an experimental diving suit, disarm a nuclear bomb dropped there by some nutcase that threatens a bunch of ocean-dwelling aliens, and impress them with your intended sacrifice (since your suit only has enou…
Oh, I know. If I had a dollar for every time that's happened to me, I'd have $3, but it's weird that it happened thrice.
Re: Diamonds Suck
#100I, as a European, cannot fathom how anyone would spend a significant amount of money on an engagement ring! The engagement rings we got ourselves cost 18$ and were made from wood. After all, they only need to last a few months, or maybe 1-2 years, until the wedding. Regarding the wedding ring, I can understand slightly better how someone would put a bit more money into that, considering that you wear it for life. But…
> After all, [engagement rings] only need to last a few months, or maybe 1-2 years, until the wedding. I think this is the cultural distinction you're missing -- married American women typically wear both their engagement and wedding ring their entire lives, and the engagement ring is usually the more ornate/expensive one (which might be due to the De Beers marketing throughout the 20th century this article discusses…
So the "girl-math" is a $10,000 ring, is actually only 50 cent per day, if you wear it every day for 50 years, hence it's practically free?