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Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

bbc.co.uk

251–260 of 686 posts

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, although the question-asker is being downvoted, your response does actually cover interesting discussion topics, and to summarise, the answer could be that the systems and conventions need to change? - I believe in the UK (where I live) one has all of the legal and financial implications automatically when a relationship reaches a certain age (3 years I believe). Legally you would be treated the same way as if yo…

> I believe in the UK (where I live) one has all of the legal and financial implications automatically when a relationship reaches a certain age (3 years I believe). Legally you would be treated the same way as if you were married. That's not true https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-to-sor... The sibling comment mentions family visas, and indeed those are not restricted to your married partner, but…

Not an expert on the UK, but here in Canada common law marriage is absolutely a thing. Just filled in my 2021 census yesterday and one of the selectable marital status was "common law" and many government documents refer to the status. Common law relationships are generally much easier to dissolve, but courts have held them as strong as legal marriages, especially if the relationship lasts decades and includes children. They form without any specific action beyond time spent living together.

property on dissolving: https://www.ontario.ca/page/dividing-property-when-marriage-...

employment benefits must extend to common law partners: https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standa...

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The societal answer is at least two months. Might be an American thing? My parents spent about 1 month worth of my dad's salary on two wedding rings a long time ago. My dad actually wanted to buy a far more expensive ring for my mom, but she insisted to keep it simple and "cheap" and "unproblematic" to wear. Same story in the rest of the family. Friends (usually a lot younger than my parents) spend even less on ring…

It's an American rich person thing.

It's the opposite in my opinion. The richer the social circle, the less people care about stuff like diamonds or 2 months salary (which I never even heard of outside of online discussions). A diamond ring is barely a notable expense for a dual six figure earning couple.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#254
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a positive or a negative correlation?

Positive, the more you spend the more likely divorce.

The more you spent, the richer both of you are. The richer both of you are, the easier it is to afford getting divorced.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#255

I wonder how well this Reddit-famous commentary about the diamond industry has aged: https://reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8pb8d5/i_grow_diamonds_i_...

The comment predicts a precipitous fall in price. A gem-quality diamond price index [1] shows fluctuation but nothing precipitous:

Jun 7 2018: 124.79 (day of Reddit comment)

May 4 2021: 124.27 (today)

The reddit comment ignores obvious macroeconomic trends. Growth of middle class in China and India are adding to the diamond demand (a lot), in addition to general global population growth and greater purchasing power.

[1] http://www.idexonline.com/diamond_prices_index

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#256
post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. Nope nope nope nope.

In the alternative universe women who can't afford diamonds, buy diamonds for men. In the same alternative universe, the families of men look at the Cs of the ring and judge if "she is good enough for him". In the same alternative universe, men get together, pull out their diamond rings and discuss if those rings are worth the sacrifice. And in the same alternative universe the commercials on TV are "She went to Jare…

>In the same alternative universe, the families of men look at the Cs of the ring and judge if "she is good enough for him". In the same alternative universe, men get together, pull out their diamond rings and discuss if those rings are worth the sacrifice.

You might need to take a break and take a walk away from media. Do you honestly think this is a thing for all women? Do you honestly believe life is like a television sitcom or romantic comedy?

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#257
post #65

Random diamond story! As a freshman in college, I took a geology class and our teacher asked all of the women in our class to raise their hand if they would rather have natural or human-made diamonds. Most of the women (over 80%) raised their hands for natural. The reasons they gave all seemed to tie back to branding and natural diamonds being “real.” Then our teacher gave another analogy. He asked if people would ra…

> at a fraction of the cost That might also be the reason. If something is cheaper, it feels inferior. Also with diamonds it's probably a factor that the fiancé is expected to present serious intents with a deeper monetary investment. "Look honey, it's an ethical, clean diamond and only cost 1/20th of a dirty one" sad, but feels wrong. Edit: I also remember a guy at dinner party bragging about buying a 5000EUR ring,…

> A Veblen good is a type of luxury good for which the demand for a good increases as the price increases, in apparent contradiction of the law of demand, resulting in an upward-sloping demand curve. The higher prices of Veblen goods may make them desirable as a status symbol in the practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure. A product may be a Veblen good because it is a positional good, something few others can own.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

Also:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffen_good

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#258
I remember a guy exposing the Canadian diamond industry on YouTube. I tried to search for him but he apparently disappeared from the surface of Earth.

All I could find is this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An76-kLVvZI

(I think the guy had some conflict of interest since he owned a diamond shop or something but still really intetesting research)

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#259
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I've never met anyone that talked about it at all. Maybe I don't have conversations about diamonds very often, but people only ever seemed concerned that they were 'real', and latterly that they were conflict-free. > People want to believe that they’re buying something special. What if it turns out they're not?

Jewelers provide certifications when buying diamonds. They'd be a) on the hook if they sold counterfeit products, and b) they wouldn't be able to sell anymore because of a tarnished brand.

What I meant was what if it turns out diamonds are not special after all?

Lab grown diamonds are diamonds. Whether one comes out of the ground or from a lab, maybe they aren’t that special.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#260
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's mostly about the emotional attachment. If you find two identical pens, and one of them was used by a famous writer, you would expect a price difference. There is no difference in the quality of those pens. They both work the same, and using the writer's pen will not make you a better writer by itself. I personally would not buy a natural diamond because of the ethical issues, but I do understand the students who…

"Okay class, child labour, a few thousand poor people dead, terrorist groups starving hundreds of thousands, destroying schools and libraries. That is where diamonds come from. How many would still want a natural diamond because diamonds are forever?" The elephant in that lecture hall was probably the hypocrisy. I think if you still raise a hand after hearing all that, the issue isn't branding at all. It's narcissim,…

People value (perceived) scarcity. They are not willing to pay for a reprint of painting (that might have better quality compared to the original), but they are willing to bid on the original.

Does it make sense? No, but humans are emotional animals that seek for differentiation.

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