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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

#441

Post by 20after4 »

ako wrote: post #392
TeMPOraL wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Part of the comparison here is that the alternatives are both cheaper and practically better. It's not the case here, because you're not buying gems for their practical value. If you were, then there would not be an issue - lab-grown diamonds for cutting things would be even cheaper than they are, and you wouldn't care about other gems unless you were playing with lasers or something. As much a I hate it, the entir…

Jewelry is not unpractical, it's like an insurance for bad times. When shit hits the fan you still have your jewelry to sell.

Unfortunately, the diamond doesn't fetch much when you go to sell it.

You'll get the value of the gold in the ring but not much for the gemstone.

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

#442

Post by oblio »

Retric wrote: post #426
oblio wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't recall where I read it, but: > Yes the tradition spread, but people don’t live in the same place our ancestors did 600 years ago either. Yes, they do :-) The vast majority of people, especially in underdeveloped or developing countries, DO live in the general area where their ancestors moved during the last migration, which for some was thousands of years ago. People really don't move away unless it's easy or…

Most people have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 16 great grandparents, etc out to several generations before incest kids in. Many of those people stayed in place, but when you’re talking hundreds of thousands of people they aren’t all sedentary. Even just within Africa there’s been a huge amount of migration recently. Not all of this was even voluntarily. I have ancestors that trace back to Spanish Armada in 1588 getting…

Spices are new to most of the world outside of elites. Food used to be very bland for most people.

Meat was super expensive for most people, it was hardly a mass market thing to be eaten every day.

I could go on and on :-)

Thomas Jefferson was an American elite. Americans have had it much better, or at least richer, than most of the rest of the world, for far longer.

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

#443

Post by meiraleal »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #409
meiraleal wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or, my point in short: cut people some slack That's what we are doing here! But in this case most people seems to be sympathetic to the people that suffered to get you and your wife a diamond? I don't think rich people with frivolous desires need any more "empathy"

Diamonds aren't rich people game, they're middle-class and above game. Hell, probably even below. That's what makes the arguments about being associated[0] with violence fall on deaf ears - approximately everyone in the west is participating. Not the Evil Bad No Good Rich One-Percenters. It's all the 90-percenters. -- [0] - It's always "some of them", "could be". The industry has blood on its hand. The particular roc…

> The particular rock you might buy your wife? Unclear

Not unclear: as the not-blood diamond is more expensive, buying it is morally the same as buying the blood one. Now that is similar with many things that is produced and sold around the world, the problem with diamonds (and other luxury goods) is that we definitely could have a better society without it. It is not the same as giving up on iphones (which also shouldn't be produced by kids or starving people btw)

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

#445

Post by tsimionescu »

saiya-jin wrote: post #394
tsimionescu wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diamonds were desirable jewelery way before anyone had the idea of using them in industry. It's true that the association with engagement rings is a new "tradition" invented by advertisers, but wearing diamond jewelery is not.

Not this level of worship, they were worn because they were shiny, and so were all the other precious stones, so was silver and gold. Diamonds had no real elevated value globally as jewelry before debeers marketing came along.

Absolutely.

I'm just saying it's not fair to say they were industrial abrasives before debeers marketing came along.

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

#446

Post by averageRoyalty »

atleastoptimal wrote: post #261
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…

I wouldn't marry anyone whose happiness is dependent on a artificially expensive hard and shiny rock whose prestige was inflated for years by an industry built on slave labor, especially when far less expensive alternatives exist. If she is apprised of the alternatives and still demands "No I want EXPENSIVE shiny thing" then it's cultural shaming factoring into the decision making. You have to reevaluate what she see…

The irony that you definitely typed this on a device that was partially or fully made in inhumane conditions by people below the poverty line.

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

#447

Post by fsflover »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #412
ako wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having children is not financially nor fiscally sensible. And it's also bad for the environment.

On the contrary. If you care about the environment, it is your duty to have kids and raise them caring about the environment.

There are already enough people on Earth, such that our civilization is very unsustainable. Consider adopting existing children if you actually care for the environment.

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

#448

Post by Horffupolde »

makeitdouble wrote: post #354
Horffupolde wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> It’s an irrational proof of commitment. I think that's a bridge too far. There's many clear reasons why people want a diamond, and even an angle like "I want to follow society's expectations" is to me far from being irrational when you're prepping yourself to build a whole life with someone else. A couple can discuss these matters and come up with alternative paths, people are referencing other materials and I'd in…

I agree. For reference, by irrational I mean that it goes against a utilitarian calculation as proposed by the linked article. I don’t mean that it’s “dumb” or lacking any reasoning.

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

#449

Post by soco »

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 seriously doubt any regular person can tell the difference between diamond and moissanite, or even cubic zirconia. Of course it's bad policy to lie to your wife-to-be but technically I feel safe saying you could buy any of these and still claim it's a diamond - at least until they decide to pawn it but by that time it's also less important for your relationship I guess.

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

#450

Post by toomuchtodo »

LemmyInThePub wrote: post #424
toomuchtodo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought my partner's diamond and wedding ring set before we were hip to the shenanigans around diamonds. We had the ring melted down to make a pendant for our child with the diamond (which they'll receive when they're an adult) and no longer wear wedding rings (mine was a ~$20 tungsten ring from Amazon luckily). Thousands of dollars wasted in hindsight. Hot take: Diamonds are scams, don't buy them! Take a trip, buy…

> tungsten ring You do realise that in the (admittedly unlikely) event of that needing to be cut off, you won't stand a chance?

Nah, I checked with the local fire department before buying. They’ll apply directed force and fracture the ring to remove it in an emergency. A friend is an electrical lineman, so digit safety is top of mind.

Example: https://youtu.be/eKxUYvKR-jw

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