The brand value of diamonds are very high. So it is valuable. Like coca-cola.
Diamonds Are Bullshit
41–50 of 774 posts
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#42"So here is a modest proposal: Let’s agree that diamonds are bullshit and reject their role in the marriage process. Let’s admit that as a society we got tricked for about century into coveting sparkling pieces of carbon, but it’s time to end the nonsense." Hear hear, but good luck convincing zillions of single women that they'll be the first generation in living memory to miss out on their carbon.
The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood?
So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources?
It sounds like it has barbaric roots -- who can provide the most food / kill the biggest animal / lift the heaviest rock / travel the fastest / find the rarest material / pay someone else the most money to do so.
You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#43Gah! The writer needs to read this: http://www.its-not-its.info/
I used to make posts like this. I'm starting to feel like these words will merge in the next 100 years, and either form will be correct for all usages. This kind of errata in our language doesn't help us do anything and it just causes confusion and frustration.
I don't agree. Having specific words in these cases reduces the cognitive load associated with reading - a simple find-and-retrieve in your brain for what the word means, rather than a context-sensitive compare with the last sentence or next few words to determine which form of its/it's is being used.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#44Maybe I'm spoiled as a nerdy (and interested in nerdy) gay guy, but I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. It slays me that "tradition" is so important to people that they will waste such vast amounts of money and prop up such a gross, violent industry in the face of reason.
My wife was obsessed with not spending much money on the wedding or ring. She's a keeper.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#45It's linked within the article, but it's worth pointing out that "Have you ever tried to sell a diamond"[1] is very much worth your time, and has been discussed here many times. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4535611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1405698 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1110283 1: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you...
There have been some interesting discussions about disrupting the diamond market as well e.g.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4522922
It's funny to see how that article recirculates. One of my first comments on HN was a link to the same The Atlantic article (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4523063)
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#46"So here is a modest proposal: Let’s agree that diamonds are bullshit and reject their role in the marriage process. Let’s admit that as a society we got tricked for about century into coveting sparkling pieces of carbon, but it’s time to end the nonsense." Hear hear, but good luck convincing zillions of single women that they'll be the first generation in living memory to miss out on their carbon.
The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood?
Like coloured feathers on a bird. Could you imagine if the story was just slightly changed:
"Let's admit that women buying sports cars for their fiancé-to-be is bullshit."
Hmmmm... Now I want a Z4 Zagato.
But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anecdotally my fiancé specifically did not want an expensive ring and very much did not want a diamond. We're also trying to have the most cost effective wedding we can. We'd rather spend the money on a trip or a down payment on a house than on the wedding.
(I didn't realize someone would reply. Here's my deleted post:) Are young couples foregoing the rest of the expensive ceremony along with avoiding the ring? Could the price of wedding and engagement rings be one cause of the declining marital rate in the US? What happened to the price of engagement rings over the past 10 years? How well does it mirror the prices of houses in the US?
I don't know about your last three questions, but my wife and I did forgo the expense. Our entire wedding and honeymoon, including reception decorations, food, flowers (lots of flowers...), photos, dress (with alterations), and rings cost around $3000.
I don't even know how some people are capable of spending as much money as I've heard of them spending $20,000+ for a wedding? What in the world are you spending it on? It would've been easy to spend a couple thousand more, but it wasn't that hard to keep costs down. You just have to realize that it is OK to comparison shop, and you don't have to go with the high-status, first-advertised options for everything; if you look at more than just billboards and TV ads, you can still put together a really nice event for far less money.
When we went ring shopping, we decided on a budget ahead of time, and it turned out that our budget wasn't even the determining factor in which vendor we ended up buying from- it was who had the rings we liked the best. Tip, though- don't tell the salesmen that you're looking for a wedding ring; if you do, they will only show you a small, high-priced fraction of their total selection. My fiancee also decided ahead of time that she didn't want a diamond (diamonds are boring, green amethyst is much prettier), so it was very amusing when we found a genuine diamond ring on sale for only $90- much less than what we ended up spending on the rings we liked!
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#48This article is interesting. I remember in Geology class when our teacher explained that you could make synthetic diamonds for a fraction of the price of a real diamond. He then asked all the women if they would rather have a natural diamond or a synthetic diamond, and almost all of them raised their hands. He then went on to explain that it was like the difference between natural ice and ice made in a freezer. He asked the question again and almost all the women still voted for natural.
That day I realized the power of the diamond marketing engine.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#49Sure, and we all know it. But from her perspective, you probably waste all kinds of time and money on other inane bullshit for yourself. So if you actually cared, you wouldn't mind spending a bit so she gets a shiny rock to wear around. Why shouldn't she get this one thing?
Also, how is this any different from fashion? Both are nearly useless raw materials that have been transformed and shaped into something people will pay money to own and wear (signaling). For diamonds, you get conflict in Africa. For fashion, you get sweatshops in Asia.
Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit
#50It doesn't just pertain to diamonds. It's the same thing with expensive clothes, bags, shoes, wines, cars, gadgets, etc. It's just a way to flaunt one's wealth. It's unfortunately a side effect of our consumption-oriented society.