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Consider aluminium. At one point it was more expensive than gold (due to mining+refining challenges). When those were overcome the cost plummeted to it's curren
by michaelbuckbee 9y ago
Consider aluminium. At one point it was more expensive than gold (due to mining+refining challenges). When those were overcome the cost plummeted to it's current "cheap" level.
Personally, I think a better comparison is to the diamond trade. Through a series of machinations (price fixing, artificial supply constraint, marketing) diamonds are deeply overvalued if you consider just the fundamentals of them - aka they're in a bubble. However, due to those same expertly administered steps they've maintained a high retail value for decades.
- katastic 9y ago>decades Centuries.
- vkou 9y agoBut only a one-way retail value. No diamond dealer will give you anything close to their retail price, when you try to sell them diamonds.
- Brockenstein 9y agoMadden games have the same problem.
- emodendroket 9y agoI always wonder about this when I see films where criminals mastermind a plan to steal diamonds.
- kaybe 9y agoMaybe they have a diamond shop somewhere.
- emodendroket 9y agoI found that sequel to The Asphalt Jungle a bit less interesting than the original.
- Trundle 9y agoSignificant diamonds still hold their value when resold. It's kind of like art. Spend $5k on some locals work and you might get $50 at a garage sale later on if you're lucky. Spend $5mil on a big name and you'll likely make it back, maybe profit, when you move it. The high and low end are basically different products that function differently in the market. It's only shmucks overpaying for mediocre diamonds that lose out.
- vkou 9y agoFilms also have criminal masterminds ask undercover police officers "Are you a cop?", followed by a tense musical score, and a close-up shot of the cop's face... And a "Ha, ha, just kidding, of course you're not a cop." Crime dramas and action films tend to have an incredibly poor understanding of money, crime, policing, and Newton's laws of physics.
- caf 9y agoKind of makes you wonder if some of those films are marketing for the diamond industry.
- jtbayly 9y agoFascinating point. Could this hold true for Bitcoin in some way, in the future?
- emodendroket 9y agoYes, I had the same thought about aluminum. Another example is, in older parts of the Iliad, iron is considered a precious metal, while in other parts it is not.