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Diamonds Are Bullshit

blog.priceonomics.com

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Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#621

Post by Nursie »

n09n wrote: post #496
slavak wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is why many women will accept, at the rational level, that diamonds are horrible and stupid and even evil (since they fuel all kinds of violence in Africa, where they are mined). But most of them will not be able to bring themselves to accept substitutes such as sapphires, rubies, or emeralds. Because that would make their female friends think that the guy does not value them as much (or that they weren't able…

Wanting the respect of others in your peer group is sad now?

Respect for something you are or something you do is not the same as respect for something you buy.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#622

Post by glenntzke »

n09n wrote: post #496
slavak wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is why many women will accept, at the rational level, that diamonds are horrible and stupid and even evil (since they fuel all kinds of violence in Africa, where they are mined). But most of them will not be able to bring themselves to accept substitutes such as sapphires, rubies, or emeralds. Because that would make their female friends think that the guy does not value them as much (or that they weren't able…

Wanting the respect of others in your peer group is sad now?

It's important to think about how this is a product of the people with whom one surround oneself.

I think my SO would be happy with an alternative stone (or perhaps no stone at all!) and that's because her and my friends largely aren't the type to ogle a ring, a watch, or a car. Friends that do fancy material things are able to recognize it and laugh at their own materialistic tendencies because they are the outliers in our circles. Watches are cool but experiences are cooler (plus my g-shock from '98 happily survives the abuse travel and hobbies give it).

Now, we aren't a couple that will settle for tying human hair around our fingers and calling it a wedding band, but I sure as hell won't be spending 20 grand on a rock. And my friends will happily accept the free rounds that savings can cover over the next xx years.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#623

Post by [deleted] »

gfodor wrote: post #497

Ah, another thread full of bitter men who do not want to buy a diamond because they are "worthless." I bought the girl a diamond because she wanted a diamond. It makes her happy. She says it makes her smile every day. That's "worthless", huh? If that is worthless then find me something that makes her so happy that isn't worthless and I would have bought that instead. But there is no such thing, for her. For some girl…

[deleted]

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#624

Post by sp332 »

gizzlon wrote: post #604
mistercow wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[citation needed]

All the boring but stable and decently successful men that get laid like crazy.. oh, wait..

We're not talking about getting laid, we're talking about getting married. Fact is, married people get way more sex than single people.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#625

Post by sp332 »

dreamdu5t wrote: post #425
kyrra wrote: post #132

(person I know) worked for GE (General Electric) on their industrial diamond production process back in the 90's, and I got to hear lots of fun stories from this. Diamonds that are man-made[1] are stronger (fewer imperfections) than those that are mined from the earth. Because of this, industrial diamonds tend to be man-made. (for reference, industrial diamonds when cutting hard materials, such as metals). While work…

It's not an artificial market, it's a real one, for real diamonds. Nobody has to buy them.

It's artificial because it's very difficult to sell diamonds. If the market wasn't so messed up, dealers would be willing to buy diamonds from individuals. But in general, they aren't.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#626

Post by Nursie »

chiph wrote: post #590
slavak wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the price of diamonds in the U.S. really that high? I spent quite a chunk of change on an engagement ring for my fiancée, but it was closer to a week's salary. I think if I'd spent three months salary on it the rock would be so big she wouldn't be able to lift her hand. I'm making good money, but we're not exactly talking Fortune-500 CEO levels here.

For a senior developer in SF area, 3 months salary could get you a loose diamond in the 3-4 carat range off a site like bluenile.com. That's enormous for a ring. In fact, probably so large that disbelief becomes a problem: "That can't be real!"

Wowsers. 1.5 carat solitaire rings look quite huge, 3 carats would be enormous.

I'd be kinda tempted buying one that big for a woman because, you know, if we're going to go for a vulgar display of wealth, then let's make it really f*cking vulgar :)

(I still have better things to do with the money...)

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#627

Post by jessaustin »

mgcross wrote: post #600
lxwang wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are seriously worried about that, it's a huge sign you're not committed. Tiny resale value is preferable here.

I don't know why everyone assumed "hard times" as referring to the marriage... I interpreted it as hard financial times, even in a good marriage.

Although it's at least implied in most vows, many people can't imagine a marriage surviving hard financial times.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#628

Post by overgryphon »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #469
kamaal wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Basically came down to some variation on "I don't ask for a lot (she doesn't), but I want the diamond ring." As some one newly married, I have observed the following. 1. See . Demand for it. 2. When rationally explained why we can't buy it. 3. Simply state.. "I don't ask for a lot, but I want the ." 4. I buy it. Repeat steps 1 - 4 endlessly.

"actually I decided that I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone who wants this badly to manipulate me to buy them something useless." There are a lot of girls out there you haven't met yet. Go find one who gets you.

Interesting assumption there that he is buying her something. Agreeing as a married couple whether to spend money on something doesn't indicate that it is his or her money, the discussion implies that money is shared. For all you know if could be all her money in terms of income.

Of course if she wants it, it's useless.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#629

Post by darkarmani »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #446
astrodust wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are better ways to demonstrate your capability as a provider and evidence of financial security than buying diamond rings. For example, demonstrate you can care for a dog goes a long way. Owning and maintaining a house even further. A friend of mine got married. He could've bought his wife an extravagant engagement ring, but he put it to her in different terms, along the lines of: "Would you like an expensive r…

Why do people insist on citing outliers as if that somehow negates the trend? It really derails and otherwise productive discussion. Yes, for every general rule there are always outliers. It's so obvious that it serves no useful purpose to state it explicitly.

He wasn't negating the trend. He was saying there are better ways to satisfy the evolutionary pressure than buying diamonds.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#630

Post by uvdiv »

triplesec wrote: post #527
TeMPOraL wrote: post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is because there are better wines, but you can't tell the nuances until you hone your palate... practice a lot! How do you know that after "honing your palate" you you'll calibrate your sense of taste to actual quality of wine, rather than to whatever the difference is between more and less expensive ones? People can learn to see any kind of patterns if they try hard enough, but that doesn't mean those pattern…

It happens in a similar way to anything: you see what works, and create sense with symbols and consistent repetition as in any semantic field. Why is one burger better than another, or one steak? I can't say we have the science yet for exact measurement, but it may come. Sometimes it's obvious: cheap industrial plastic supermarket cheddar really is full of less decent chemicals for your senses than pricier artisan on…

So far you can realise why that cheap Zin blend from Lodi doesn't really do it for you with the most obvious of measurements: yield! They get even 10 tons per acre there rather than 1-3 tons in a high-quality vineyard. Fewer nutrients and flavours to go around, and more water, sugar and untasty components have to flesh it out (poor overburdened vines, eh!),

I don't understand this. Flavourful chemicals aren't a scarce resource to "go around" -- they're organic compounds plants synthesise "from scratch" (or their reaction products, after aging). Perhaps scarce soil nutrients influence this, for better or worse (I don't know), but this isn't a priori obvious.

Wikipedia didn't help me resolve this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_(wine)#Yield_as_an_indic...

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