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Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#531

Post by dijit »

globular-toast wrote: post #512
dijit wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jarring worldview to hold. Buying rings isn't the problem- you stated "the value of a ring is how much a man is willing to pay for access to sex". Without a further breakdown of why you think that's a reasonable statement to make it just sounds weirdly myopic. People pay more because of status "I am a good provider and I can prove it", or because the woman wants to feel valued. It doesn't go back to sex, not for a lo…

There is a name for a relationship that begins without sex. It's called a business partnership and I can assure you they don't involve diamond rings. Give me one reason why a man would enter a sexless marriage.

I wouldn't marry a person who _only_ had sex with me though, so your logic is largely flawed.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#532

Post by chaostheory »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #478
washadjeffmad wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through this not that many years ago buying a ring for my SO. My biggest mistake was including her in the decision. She described what she wanted exactly– nothing gaudy or ostentatious, just a singular, tasteful stone on a plain band. Couldn't be simpler, could it? Finding stones that met her criteria was easy. Some were natural diamonds, some lab grown, many moissanite. From the outset, she said the meaning o…

Look at it as a proof of work. What matters is you burned a certain chunk of your life for her.

This is the best and most succinct explanation.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#533

Post by sneak »

woofcat wrote: post #469
sneak wrote: post #421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Life is expensive, and between cars, house, the actual wedding, kids, etc. The money I spent on my wives engagement ring seems like child's play. I wonder if your literal children would feel like that if you'd taken the same money for a ring that will (presuming you proceed with marriage) pretty much never get worn, and invested it in an index fund until their 21st birthday. "child's play" indeed is what I would ca…

>I wonder if your literal children would feel like that if you'd taken the same money for a ring that will (presuming you proceed with marriage) pretty much never get worn, and invested it in an index fund until their 21st birthday. I don't know what culture you're from. But in North America engagement rings are worn as every day jewellery. So it gets used daily. >I wonder if your literal children would feel like tha…

> I don't know what culture you're from. But in North America engagement rings are worn as every day jewellery. So it gets used daily.

After the wedding?

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#534

Post by chaostheory »

hnfong wrote: post #510
washadjeffmad wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through this not that many years ago buying a ring for my SO. My biggest mistake was including her in the decision. She described what she wanted exactly– nothing gaudy or ostentatious, just a singular, tasteful stone on a plain band. Couldn't be simpler, could it? Finding stones that met her criteria was easy. Some were natural diamonds, some lab grown, many moissanite. From the outset, she said the meaning o…

When looking for a mate, animals often engage in so called "irrational" behavior to signal to the other party of their readiness and seriousness for mating. This is how, for example, peacocks get their ridiculous plumage. And thus, when somebody "irrationally" buys a "worthless" ring for a hefty amount, it signals to some extent that one is serious, committed and financially capable of the proposed marriage. It's oft…

If we’re talking about the animal kingdom POV, then an expensive diamond is physical proof of the male’s resourcefulness and ability to provide for young. I would argue that if the diamond was displaced as this proof then it would shift to another physical object that’s publicly displayed such as a house or car.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#535

Post by Judgmentality »

toast0 wrote: post #492
saberdancer wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's like typical "I don't need anything for my birthday". Even the most rational people tend to get disappointed if they really get nothing.

I try to tell people I don't have a birthday anymore. Because if I tell people not to get me anything, sometimes they hear please get me something. Ugh.

> I try to tell people I don't have a birthday anymore.

Never thought of that. I'd imagine the ensuing conversation is even more problematic though? "What do you mean you don't have a birthday? That makes no sense!"

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#536

Post by [deleted] »

RobertKerans wrote: post #529
jbay808 wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Real diamond" as opposed to zirconia, or did you mean natural diamond (as opposed to a real artificial diamond)?

Natural, as in what would commonly be referred to as a real diamond (yes, I realise they're they're chemically and structurally the same). Edit: As I said in another reply, there's nothing illogical about it. If value is placed culturally and socially on natural diamonds, then they are valuable, regardless of if that value is "artificially" created via advertising of whatever. Lots of stuff is quite stupid if you loo…

[deleted]

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#537

Post by Judgmentality »

RobertKerans wrote: post #529
jbay808 wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Real diamond" as opposed to zirconia, or did you mean natural diamond (as opposed to a real artificial diamond)?

Natural, as in what would commonly be referred to as a real diamond (yes, I realise they're they're chemically and structurally the same). Edit: As I said in another reply, there's nothing illogical about it. If value is placed culturally and socially on natural diamonds, then they are valuable, regardless of if that value is "artificially" created via advertising of whatever. Lots of stuff is quite stupid if you loo…

I truly mean this to be thoughtful and not antagonistic, and your notion of value being subjective is accurate. But I think I can somewhat snarkily summarize a lot of the doubt some HNers are feeling (I'm not saying I agree or disagree): it's basically saying diamonds are like NFTs.

EDIT: Just did a ctrl-f for NFT and I guess I wasn't the first to say that, although those comments are much lower on the page.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#538

Post by PoignardAzur »

humanrebar wrote: post #181
coddle-hark wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does anyone, other than geologists of course, really care about the back-story of the diamond, how it was created and how it was mined? Yes, very much so, as is the case with all lifestyle products. People want to believe that they’re buying something special.

Someone should pay celebrities to wear specific jewelry with lab created stones to galas and awards ceremonies. Then resell the pieces, or even just the stones, at a premium since they were worn by . Then folks would be buying something ethical and more glamorous. Maybe philanthropic donations could be associated to revitalize areas hurt by the diamond industry to further tell a story for the celebrities and consumer…

They would need a catchy name, though...

Something like Naturally Famous Treasure, or NFT for short?

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#539

Post by throwaway_isms »

amalcon wrote: post #428
washadjeffmad wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went through this not that many years ago buying a ring for my SO. My biggest mistake was including her in the decision. She described what she wanted exactly– nothing gaudy or ostentatious, just a singular, tasteful stone on a plain band. Couldn't be simpler, could it? Finding stones that met her criteria was easy. Some were natural diamonds, some lab grown, many moissanite. From the outset, she said the meaning o…

I brought my now-spouse along for ring shopping, on her own theory that she'd be wearing the thing and should therefore have some input. She was actually more opposed to mined diamonds than I was at the time. We talked about this extensively, and considered both lab gems and corundum gems (ruby/sapphire). We went through over a dozen jewelry stores, each of them pushing mined diamonds so hard that it angered us. The…

>While the ring contains a mined diamond, it has quite a bit of sentimental value

If I said it once, I have said it a million times, if your SO insists on a diamond from the ground as opposed to a lab, say fine, but I am getting my shots flying to Africa and will mine it myself. It won't matter if you bring back a opaque brown rock, with 0 marketing your SO would wear it with pride and most others would be jealous when they hear the story behind it.

It goes hand in hand with your obtaining a stone from family and the sentiment of it. My Mom has 5 boys and my Dad gave her a ring with 5 diamonds, and she has made 1 available to each of us for an engagement ring, which she would replace with the birthstone of each son. As you say its not scalable, and no one ever marketed the idea, but the sentiment is extremely powerful.

Re: Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever

#540

Post by woofcat »

sneak wrote: post #533
woofcat wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I wonder if your literal children would feel like that if you'd taken the same money for a ring that will (presuming you proceed with marriage) pretty much never get worn, and invested it in an index fund until their 21st birthday. I don't know what culture you're from. But in North America engagement rings are worn as every day jewellery. So it gets used daily. >I wonder if your literal children would feel like tha…

> I don't know what culture you're from. But in North America engagement rings are worn as every day jewellery. So it gets used daily. After the wedding?

Yes, for the rest of your life.

Edit: As a random google you can get items like this which combine the wedding band with the engagement ring: https://www.kay.com/diamond-bridal-set-18-ct-tw-roundcut-10k...

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