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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

#501

Post by atleastoptimal »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #378
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…

Sure - I understand that you have your particular opinions on what communication is ok, I obviously have my own opinions on things that I find ok or not as well, but I also consider what things may be considered out of line by other people before communicating with someone and I think - I love my wife! - Well, I wouldn't marry her. Might be the kind of communication (obviously, broken down here to its base level here…

Well the breaking it down to the base level itself is part of what makes it objectionable, as well as the removal from context. Obviously I wouldn't say that if it were as distilled to what you paraphrased. I imagine the mode of what is permissible is slightly different in anonymous forum threads vs. real life. Even if it wasn't and I crossed the line a lot of people agreed with me, though maybe on net and only despite the first line of my comment.

> when buying a gift for someone it is probably good to consider and value the agency and right to an opinion of the receiver.

Which was obviously considered in the situation. But buying any gift of course is not a 50:50 affair. One person is spending all the money. By principle I think that person should have more finality in the decision than the person only receiving the gift.

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

#502

Post by atleastoptimal »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #446
atleastoptimal wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ok so don't use computers? And if I do I must accept and condone any amount of inhumanity in business practices otherwise I'd be hypocritical?

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

#503

Post by pie420 »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #446
atleastoptimal wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You criticize society, yet you live in society. Makes you a bit of a hypocrite, no?

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

#504

Post by bevesce- »

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…

On the other hand, I wish my happiness could be bought so easily too

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

#505

Post by cpursley »

snvzz wrote: post #427
cpursley wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure the main advantage is passing on your genetics.

Having children and marriage are independent concepts. Marriage is a concept humanity made up, and in another era might have made sense.

Sure, we're not naturally monogamous. Marriage is something that we developed over time because it leads to more stable societies with less violence (no fighting over breeding rights, inheritance, etc). It makes sense now just as much as it did 5,000 years ago. Plenty of research shows that children from two parent households end up living more successful lives with more opportunities. And I'm a proponent of not getting married for any reason other than having children.

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

#506

Post by BlueTemplar »

dublinben wrote: post #62
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.

It’s pretty clear how existential of a threat lab-grown diamonds have become to the traditional diamond industry. Today you can buy a lab-grown diamond for ~$550 that’s equivalent to the $4500 natural diamond or $400 moissanite mentioned in that article.

You can see some of that impact on this chart :

https://www.pricescope.com/diamond-prices/diamond-prices-cha...

That (crappy) $4.6k diamond would be from $3.3k on now :

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search/?CaratFrom=0.9&Carat...

So that's a -28%, and assuming no change between 2006 and 2008, this does seem to fit the recent drop in 0.5 to 1 carat prices seen on the chart ? (Note that all of the drops happened since early 2022.)

Meanwhile, the lab grown equivalent is around $1.6 k :

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search/?CaratFrom=0.95&Cara...

(Where did you get the $550 figure from ?)

----

More interestingly, looking at diamonds that aren't crap (why would you settle for that when it's their optical properties that you are after ?), you have in the same size of 6.5 mm :

From $3.5k-3.9k for natural ones :

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut?carat=0....

(Clarity doesn't seem to matter that much, because it has not much effect as long as it can't be seen to the naked eye, which in these except the worst one it probably won't be ? https://beyond4cs.com/clarity/ )

From $1.3k for the lab-grown ones :

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/lab-created-diamon...

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

#507

Post by cpursley »

snvzz wrote: post #422
sasaf5 wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a loving person to share a personal history with is an advantage that's difficult to outweigh.

Marriage is well-known to work counter to that goal. It destroys families.

There's a vast body of peer reviewed research that disagrees with your opinion.

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

#508

Post by snvzz »

UncleMeat wrote: post #468
snvzz wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marriage is well-known to work counter to that goal. It destroys families.

I have an extremely hard time understanding how marrying my wife made me more likely to break up with her.

Divorce court is the incentive.

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

#509

Post by CalRobert »

jonkho wrote: post #462
CalRobert wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get a visa more easily.

As an American, it’s pretty much visa-free everywhere - and my comment is directed towards Americans.

I am an American (living abroad), and while your comment is technically correct, permission to remain long term and work in a country is one of the benefits to a legal marriage.

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

#510

Post by snvzz »

cpursley wrote: post #505
snvzz wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having children and marriage are independent concepts. Marriage is a concept humanity made up, and in another era might have made sense.

Sure, we're not naturally monogamous. Marriage is something that we developed over time because it leads to more stable societies with less violence (no fighting over breeding rights, inheritance, etc). It makes sense now just as much as it did 5,000 years ago. Plenty of research shows that children from two parent households end up living more successful lives with more opportunities. And I'm a proponent of not gett…

>Plenty of research shows that children from two parent households end up living more successful lives with more opportunities.

Exactly. Two parent household.

Once divorce happens (which will, statistically), it'll be a monoparental or otherwise unstable household.

And the children will, too, suffer. All because of someone's irresponsible (done against hard data) decision to marry.

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