Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is not.
Prove it.
One can't prove a negative. The burden of proof is on you here.
The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
561–570 of 619 posts
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#562Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#563I 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.
I love diamondssuck.com, but it seems the article they link https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/198202/diamond/ is 404-ing (not available). Likely De Beers did what cartels do and threw their lawyers to take it down? diamondssuck should instead link to https://web.archive.org/web/20130522104756/http://www.theatl... which is a working link. The long article is truly worth a read.
What I don't understand is how De Beers hasn't gone bankrupt yet :
> According to industry estimates, the average one-carat flawless diamond had fallen in value by 50 percent since January of 1980. In March of 1980, for example, the benchmark value for such a diamond was $63,000; in September of 1981, it was only $23,000.
> Diamond: Via Blue Nile: 1.00-Carat Round, Very Good-cut, I-color, and VS1-clarity diamond comes accompanied by a diamond grading report from the GIA. Price: $4,565
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38252743
So, converting to today's dollars, that's :
1980 : $235.3k/1ct
1981 : $ 77.9k/1ct
2006 : $ 7.0k/1ct
2023 : $ 3.5k/1ct (and 1.3k/1ct for lab-grown)
Also, why the HELL would investors think that's a store of value, like here ?!?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37508058
I guess it's more «investors» + speculators instead, which only looked at recent values ??
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#564Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 one for a long time (she has a tendency to want to rent / sample / change things up). So to her credit she did her homework and spent a few months picking the best one. Sounds like me talking about my toddler and his Legos
If you think that as a guy you don't do the same, you're sorely mistaken and you probably haven't been digging around your own history.
But, my Warhammer figs really have value!
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#565Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not hard to tell the difference between moissanite and diamond, but a lot of normal people won't really know what to put their finger on or if it's a good or bad thing. Whenever my wife gets comments about her moissanite, people notice it's different. Due to it's refractive index, it breaks light more and leads to a lot more colors seen when reflected back out of the stone. Loads of people just think it's a fanc…
You could replace that CZ every year and still spend half the amount of a diamond ring.
I'm not a fan of jewely, but permanency should be a important feature for it
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#566Earlier 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…
And she may be looking for someone who can afford to purchase a single luxury good without going broke? Of course these days by the time you get to the jewelry phase, this kind of matchmaking is usually resolved anyway. I suspect the tradition started much longer ago when folks got married very quickly (compared to today’s standards).
> And she may be looking for someone who can afford to purchase a single luxury good without going broke?
That variety of woman is best rented.
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#567Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Divorce happens after a failed relationship. Are you seriously saying that my wife is made more likely to end a happy relationship because of the outcomes of a divorce proceeding?
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#568Has anyone ever tried to sell an engagement or wedding ring with diamonds? You get cents on the dollar. Even or I should say especially brand names like Tiffany. The whole thing is a scam from start to finish and I wish I could go back in time and avoid the entire thing.
Funny you should ask: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... Lots more here! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38246406
Hahaha wow! That struck an HN nerve for sure, so many posts!
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#569Earlier 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…
It's not about that man.
It's about the sacrifice, and what that represents. It's about the tradition.
I would do (just about) anything for my wife, up to and including working arbitrarily hard for an arbitrary rock that she arbitrarily thinks is meaningful and awesome. I don't care about any of those details, and neither should any partner. You should be caring about what she wants.
If your partner wanted a diamond for all those other reasons, and you explained they aren't those things, then your partner wouldn't want a diamond anymore. That's not the case in this hypothetical example.
As the commenter upstream said, be aware of what you are buying, do your research and be knowledgeable, but for God sakes get her what she wants!
Re: The diamond world takes radical steps to stop a pricing plunge
#570Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are plenty of perfectly legal scams. You can buy "quantum radiation remover stickers" on eBay, have been there for years. Apple stores get overnight queues of people on release dates. Homeopathy is paid for by the German public health system.
You can buy lots of "quantum radiation remover" and "negative ion quantum shield" products which purport to create negative ions and shield you from radiation on all platforms. Most of them do actually generate ions if you measure air around them with a legitimate calibrated ionometer. But of course, that takes energy. Where is a rock or a sticker going to obtain the energy to constantly ionize the air around it? Rad…
I'm still not 100% sure about whether catalyst is a scam or not