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Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

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Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#231

Post by WiseWeasel »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #228
WiseWeasel wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until work in theoretical physics yields practical or verifiable results, I am content to consider it fantasy rather than reality. Not to denigrate those who spend their time on such matters, and the social considerations those people have for their peers might make such pursuits somewhat practical for them, but you cannot expect a randomly selected person to consider such knowledge a part of their reality until it h…

Lol. Simple example that many people use day-to-day is relativity and GPS (eg http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.... I guess things like transistors, fibre optics, nuclear power, and lasers are so far removed from everyday life that theoretical physics simply has no application to reality. /sarcasm

I meant until a particular theory in theoretical physics is found practical, or at least verifiable, it's more fantasy than reality as far as most people are concerned. I never meant to imply that the entire field of theoretical physics is impractical or irrelevant, or that it hasn't yielded any results. At that point, I might expect the physics to fall less in the domain of the theoretical however, and more in applied.

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#232

Post by groby_b »

deveac wrote: post #180
HorizonXP wrote: post #26

Wow, absolutely brilliant. I can't believe this article popped up on HN's front page tonight. I just got back from looking at engagement rings with my girlfriend. I've known about this monopoly for a while, and so has she. Heck, one of the first movies we watched together when we first started dating 7 years ago was Blood Diamond. Here's the conversation we had while in the jewellery store tonight. Me: "Sweety, I rea…

I recently purchased a diamond engagement ring for my fiance. That shopping experience perfectly encapsulated everything there is that I could possibly hate about making a consumer purchase: 1)Product is monopolistic, with supply artificially constrained in order to generate prices that reflect that. Actual value of say, a one carat diamond, is probably a few hundred bucks max. 2)Cultural demand was artificially craf…

#3: It takes you roughly six months to get decent at it. If you're willing to spend a solid week with somebody who can show you what to look for, you'll be able to take decent guesses.

And with about 15 minutes of reading you'd know there's no WS1. Or VS3. At least not according to the GIA scale, which is the most common in Northern America. VS3 is a marketing term to make an SI1 sound better. I'd assume WS1 is really VVS1 - and I guarantee you'll be able to spot the difference between a VVS1 and an SI1.

(Sorry, I happen to live with somebody who's a certified gemologist. I assume I have been affected by gem nerdery via Osmosis ;)

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#233

Post by deveac »

groby_b wrote: post #232
deveac wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently purchased a diamond engagement ring for my fiance. That shopping experience perfectly encapsulated everything there is that I could possibly hate about making a consumer purchase: 1)Product is monopolistic, with supply artificially constrained in order to generate prices that reflect that. Actual value of say, a one carat diamond, is probably a few hundred bucks max. 2)Cultural demand was artificially craf…

#3: It takes you roughly six months to get decent at it. If you're willing to spend a solid week with somebody who can show you what to look for, you'll be able to take decent guesses. And with about 15 minutes of reading you'd know there's no WS1. Or VS3. At least not according to the GIA scale, which is the most common in Northern America. VS3 is a marketing term to make an SI1 sound better. I'd assume WS1 is reall…

>And with about 15 minutes of reading you'd know there's no WS1. Or VS3. At least not according to the GIA scale, which is the most common in Northern America. VS3 is a marketing term to make an SI1 sound better. I'd assume WS1 is really VVS1

I did far, far, far more than 15 minutes of reading. I think this just underscores my point ;)

While I was able to easily identify higher quality stones compared to others under the lens, I was wholly unable to rate them other than comparatively to each other. Unfortunately for consumers of these products, we don't have access to 6 months of time and a slew of 'practice diamonds' to check out.

I wonder what the variance in ratings for a typical gem is if you were to have it independently appraised many times over?

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#234

Post by coloneltcb »

jquery wrote: post #53
MikeCapone wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless I'm misremembering, I think there are lots of recently made up holidays that are basically just marketing ploys (Mother's Day and Father's Day).

Every holiday is made up.

Summer/Winter Solstice?

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#235

Post by chrisbennet »

katabatic wrote: post #72
philwelch wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Even Christmas was controversial in early America because it was seen as a chiefly Catholic holiday that represented excess, decadence, and gluttony. Now it's the cornerstone of the entire retail industry.

And still represents excess, decadence, and gluttony.

You say that like its a bad thing. :-)

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#236

Post by groby_b »

deveac wrote: post #233
groby_b wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

#3: It takes you roughly six months to get decent at it. If you're willing to spend a solid week with somebody who can show you what to look for, you'll be able to take decent guesses. And with about 15 minutes of reading you'd know there's no WS1. Or VS3. At least not according to the GIA scale, which is the most common in Northern America. VS3 is a marketing term to make an SI1 sound better. I'd assume WS1 is reall…

>And with about 15 minutes of reading you'd know there's no WS1. Or VS3. At least not according to the GIA scale, which is the most common in Northern America. VS3 is a marketing term to make an SI1 sound better. I'd assume WS1 is really VVS1 I did far, far, far more than 15 minutes of reading. I think this just underscores my point ;) While I was able to easily identify higher quality stones compared to others under…

The Wikipedia page on Diamond Clarity points out the possible grades :) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_clarity)

But even if it didn't: Yes, doing some things requires specific training. The same is true for any kind of appraisal system. You won't be able to judge antiques with 15 minutes training, either. Or paintings. Or even something as common as cars.

As for the rating, diamonds are usually rated comparatively, so you had the right approach. If you're a professional diamond grader, you often have a set of reference diamonds. (Yes, that's kind of hard to come by. But diamond grading is hardly the only job that requires specific tools)

The variance should be very low. Part of the certification process from GIA is that you grade a bunch of stones, and you better get it right, or no cert for you. Yes, you can occasionally squabble over a stone that's right on the borderline between two grades.

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#237

Post by HorizonXP »

boyter wrote: post #47
HorizonXP wrote: post #26

Wow, absolutely brilliant. I can't believe this article popped up on HN's front page tonight. I just got back from looking at engagement rings with my girlfriend. I've known about this monopoly for a while, and so has she. Heck, one of the first movies we watched together when we first started dating 7 years ago was Blood Diamond. Here's the conversation we had while in the jewellery store tonight. Me: "Sweety, I rea…

I actually had this argument as well recently. She however did agree with me and is now sporting a Sapphire engagement ring. It does have some diamonds on it but the main stone in Sapphire. She wanted it because she didn't want what everyone else had. Not sure how old you are, but I have also noticed this trend in Gen Y (friends like myself) starting to get colored gemstones. Of course this is totally anecdotal but m…

So I presented the sapphire option to my girlfriend. She was hesitant at first because she wasn't sure what it would look like on her hand. After scouring Toronto, I found the Fair Trade Jewellery Co. (http://ftjco.com/). I'm linking to them because they are fantastic.

They stayed open past their normal hours so that my girlfriend and I could make it down. They sourced 3 purple sapphires for us so she could see, and 1 of which was absolutely gorgeous. My girlfriend loved it, and it's what I ended up going with. Putting a payment down next week.

But the best part appeals to the nerd and engineer in me. They do bespoke rings, fully in-house. They will customize the ring to any design you want, to fit your finger and the gem. That way, it's not only designed the way you want, it's made to uniquely fit you.

They design everything in CAD, and iterate with you via e-mail. Then they print it on their 3D printer, where you have a chance to go in, see it in person on your finger and with the gem. If changes are needed, they can iterate again. Otherwise, they go ahead and make a plaster mold. Then they melt the metal (i.e. gold, platinum) and cast it. They have all the equipment for this in-house in the back of their store. Honestly, I haven't been more excited about buying a ring than now. I'm super happy I found them.

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#238

Post by jcr »

HorizonXP wrote: post #26

Wow, absolutely brilliant. I can't believe this article popped up on HN's front page tonight. I just got back from looking at engagement rings with my girlfriend. I've known about this monopoly for a while, and so has she. Heck, one of the first movies we watched together when we first started dating 7 years ago was Blood Diamond. Here's the conversation we had while in the jewellery store tonight. Me: "Sweety, I rea…

There are two ways to avoid cartel diamonds. The first you probably know about, namely, man made diamonds, but I've got a hunch her "fake" complaint might apply here too.

The second is "Polar Diamonds" from Canada. They are the only source of natural diamonds that I know about that isn't controlled by the cartel.

Re: Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? (1982)

#239

Post by dredmorbius »

stuaxo wrote: post #185
deveac wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently purchased a diamond engagement ring for my fiance. That shopping experience perfectly encapsulated everything there is that I could possibly hate about making a consumer purchase: 1)Product is monopolistic, with supply artificially constrained in order to generate prices that reflect that. Actual value of say, a one carat diamond, is probably a few hundred bucks max. 2)Cultural demand was artificially craf…

Ha, the rationality thing is so true - just finished reading 23 things they don't tell you about the free market - it covers just this.

Did you mean 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang? That's what I find searching for your title.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/1...

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