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Diamonds Are Bullshit

blog.priceonomics.com

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Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#91

Post by jamesaguilar »

Zimahl wrote: post #72
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe 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.

I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. Karma be damned but women as a whole are swayed more by marketing then men are. They've been sold the princess wedding, the diamond ring, the brand-name clothing, etc. It's difficult to break them of this so sometimes the fight isn't worth it. I didn't pay for my wedding so that was my in-laws problem although it wasn't grandi…

> Karma be damned but women as a whole are swayed more by marketing then men are

To make a claim like this, I'd normally expect data, not a bunch of anecdotes. Men I know are highly swayed by marketing as well. They want expensive cars, tools, games, alcohol, and other toys. It is hard to reason about the degree to which each is influenced solely from the products that are marketed to them.

It is quite a stretch for me to believe that women are fundamentally more susceptible to marketing of frivolous luxuries than men. My guess is that you just don't think the things you want a frivolous.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#92

Post by djloche »

niggler wrote: post #45
steveklabnik wrote: post #4

It'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 )

From my perspective (as someone who spent 2 years running a startup that tried to disrupt the diamond industry), I think the most difficult thing to do is to change the entrenched consumer sentiment. Without a shift in how they view these expensive purchases, there won't be disruption. This usually means spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing the idea.

I've studied and analysed what we did wrong / why we failed to gain traction - and might try to attack the problems from a different angle if we decide to give it a second shot.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#93

Post by czr80 »

Zimahl wrote: post #72
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe 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.

I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. Karma be damned but women as a whole are swayed more by marketing then men are. They've been sold the princess wedding, the diamond ring, the brand-name clothing, etc. It's difficult to break them of this so sometimes the fight isn't worth it. I didn't pay for my wedding so that was my in-laws problem although it wasn't grandi…

Yeah, they should spend money on something sensible, like a Porsche.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#94

Post by Zimahl »

jpdoctor wrote: post #65
3pt14159 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> But in all seriousness this would have ended in the 70s when feminist protests started. I started dating in the 70s: I thought it was a period of bizarre contrasts. But then as time went by, I realized dating has been bizarre since the time we were all living in caves.

Let's just all agree that we can send a man to the moon but there will never be an algorithm that can help you figure out even 1% of the female psyche.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#95

Post by evilduck »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe 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.

I short circuited this and married a geologist. She picked out a cheap diamond ring because diamonds are still "what goes on your wedding ring" but we only spent about $200 on it.

Now, the misstep in marrying a geologist is that she owns many other rocks worth much more.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#96

Post by VeejayRampay »

clicks wrote: post #52
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe 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 sister is still mad as hell at her husband for not having spent enough for their wedding (he spent about $25k), and I've heard her once or twice complain about the ring. I'll occasionally take shots at my sister for this (because, well, she's my sister and she loves taking shots at me too so it's fair). But my God I don't dare challenge the issue of spending extravagantly on rings/weddings with another woman (I on…

False dichotomy though, the chair is good for your health, the keyboard enhances productivity. The diamond on the other hand is just an outdated symbol of wealth that you flaunt around like it matters and brings nothing to the table but suffering and economic exploitation.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#97

Post by guelo »

Zimahl wrote: post #72
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe 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.

I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. Karma be damned but women as a whole are swayed more by marketing then men are. They've been sold the princess wedding, the diamond ring, the brand-name clothing, etc. It's difficult to break them of this so sometimes the fight isn't worth it. I didn't pay for my wedding so that was my in-laws problem although it wasn't grandi…

> women as a whole are swayed more by marketing then men are

Either you provide a scientific cite for that claim or that is a straight up sexist statement. In case you haven't heard there's a lot of stupid irrational purchasing behavior by guys too.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#99

Post by jld »

joeblau wrote: post #48

This 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 as…

I did a fair amount of research on this when shopping for my wife, and couldn't find any decent sized (say, larger than ~1/2 carat) clear synthetic diamonds. There were some options in yellow or pink, but I didn't find a thriving manufactured diamond industry I thought I would find.

Regardless, even if I had, manufacturers of gem grade diamonds wouldn't need to undercut the price of natural diamonds by much. The cartel has done all the hard work raising the price for them already. Market them at 90% of natural diamonds and reap the rewards.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#100

Post by rwhitman »

MostAwesomeDude wrote: post #87
rwhitman wrote: post #61

Please don't remind me about this. I'm pretty sure every guy knows all this already and unless you have a super hippy / progressive girlfriend (and even then..) you will ultimately find out that even the most rational women could give a crap about the economic / social realities of the diamond market and still " need " a diamond of X carat in order to impress their family and friends. DeBeer's wins. Either you get ov…

Why not eschew marriage altogether?

Because listening to your girlfriend sob herself to sleep every other night is not so fun
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