Synthetic diamonds are now purer, more beautiful, and cheaper than mined

Post by red-iron-pine » Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 6:23 PM UTC

CatWChainsaw wrote: post #282

gwbas1c wrote: post #50

> A perfectly cut, flawless lab diamond costs a fraction of the price of a mined diamond of lesser quality. When I shopped for an engagement ring in 2012, there was a clear cohort of women who significantly valued a diamond from the ground. Fortunately, my (now) wife and I saw through the marketing gimmick, and laughed all the way to the bank.

On FM radio, Mervis Diamond Importers talks about how they offer both natural and lab-grown, but they make sure to mention that natural will "increase in value over time" (I assume because limited quantity + as lab becomes more common, natural becomes rarer). As cynical as I am, I'm sure they'd justify a high price for a natural diamond on those grounds, but also justify a similar high price for lab-growns because th…

Post by red-iron-pine » Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 6:25 PM UTC

dirtdobber wrote: post #268

chmod775 wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't see demand for real diamonds going anywhere. Calling one "real" and not the other is the wrong. Synthetic diamonds aren't an imitation. The distinction is "natural" and "synthetic". > Not because it's a "better investment" but because they can. From my experience it's to show off (that's the whole point of jewelry) and they'll be happy to tell you about their real diamond anytime the conversations ventures…

I use "real" and "natural" interchangeably in this context, but sure if we want to be pedantic I'll use natural instead. Regardless, I view natural diamonds as having "real" value in the luxury space and synthetics as... Not.

Post by hungie » Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 6:30 PM UTC

dirtdobber wrote: post #443

hungie wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because we accept it in one place doesn't mean we should blanket accept it everywhere. This isn't some inductive proof of human suffering where we can just k+1 cases where people do bad things. Whataboutism isn't a useful or helpful way to discuss an industry with unbelievable human suffering. Start a post about copper mining if you want to discuss copper mining. We're talking diamonds here, which have a demonst…

> Whataboutism isn't a useful or helpful way to discuss an industry with unbelievable human suffering. I think you're misunderstanding my point. My point was not that there's not human suffering in the diamond industry, nor that it isn't bad. My point is that you, a person that cannot afford expensive natural diamonds (speaking statistically here, I don't know you personally), probably should not cast moral judgments…

Post by plokiju » Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 7:05 PM UTC

dirtdobber wrote: post #440

Workaccount2 wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I've never met someone that bought a synthetic diamond that didn't immediately try to justify it What you likely to consider "trying to justify it" is more likely "trying to let someone know they are delusional." "My synthetic diamond is functionally identical, if not even better than your mined one" is factually true and not a justification...

> "My synthetic diamond is functionally identical, if not even better than your mined one" is factually true and not a justification... Except they're not functionally identical. Natural diamonds function in society as a luxury item. Synthetic diamonds have always functioned as a utility item (used in chainsaw blades, for example). Synthetic diamonds certainly do not function as a luxury item and they're not marketed…

Post by DoctorOetker » Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 7:55 PM UTC

user_of_the_wek wrote: post #370

dijit wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did however manage to get Sapphire on the watch display (at least on the stainless steel LTE edition of the apple watch series 4 and 8, which I'm aware of). The difference between my watch (which was 4 years old at the time) and a colleagues almost brand new apple watch (without the sapphire) was really telling, is his was lightly scratched on the edges despite him being quite careful, and I was exceedingly reck…

I have a Series 5 with the Saphire glass but my clumsy ass dropped it in the kitchen onto a stone floor. The edge of the glass shattered and while I still use it to this day, it's an ugly reminder of my clumsiness. The repair offer from Apple was to get a new one with a very slight discount. Long story short, it is more scratch resistant but also more prone to break. So be careful.