3 ms·

I just don't get it. Who cares what the source of a diamond is? Isn't the point of a diamond its beauty in the eye of the beholder? If I had a big diamond I wo

I just don't get it. Who cares what the source of a diamond is? Isn't the point of a diamond its beauty in the eye of the beholder? If I had a big diamond I would definitely want the cheapest one possible with a visual aesthetic I like. Fortunately, my wife and I don't like diamonds and we have purple sapphires in our wedding bands.

struppi 9y ago
Yes, I also don't understand that "it must be a natural diamond" craze. With all the problems of natural diamonds, I would prefer a lab-grown diamond...
- sizzzzlerz 9y ago
  100% marketing. When two competing products have an intrinsic difference of nearly zero, the marketing boys have to start making up campaigns that focus on anything that can drive a wedge between the products.
sizzzzlerz 9y ago
My wife and I did a similar thing, not even bothering with precious stones but designing rings that featured some stunning turquoise set in white gold. Non-traditional? You bet, but neithor of us gave a fuck and we love them. Plus, we didn't go into debt to pay for them, using that money to entertain our guests.
lotsofpulp 9y ago
Jewelry has always served as an efficient way to show status, hence the effort behind trying to grade a diamond and verify its origin.
rhino369 9y ago
It's about rarity and authencity. You might as well ask why people buy first issue Superman Number 1 comics and not a reprint? Same shit pictures right?
AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago
There's a very philosophical question underlying this whole thing. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and is in pretty much all the ways that matter in any given context indistinguishable from a duck, is it a duck? Even if we know it's a robot? At any rate, at least we can rest assured in the knowledge that if it weighs the same as a duck it is definitely a witch.
Will_Parker 9y ago
> I just don't get it. Who cares what the source of a diamond is? Women's cultural conditioning and arguably human nature. It being a completely unnecessary but very costly sacrifice to the man is the feature, not a bug. It doesn't need to have intrinsic value, all that matters is that it is an accurate signal of excess wealth. There are those (like you and your wife) who see past this, which is great, and I hope this trend continues. I don't know why the equality crowd isn't vehemently against a high and essential cost from one gender to another, nearly unilaterally. (Well, cynically they like it because it affects mostly men, and indeed works as an accurate signal of affluence.) But it would be great, for causes like income equality and the wage gap, if this could be turned symbolic, instead of an actual costly sacrifice which is entirely a burden on men.
- antisthenes 9y ago
  Ironically, in countries which aren't so vehemently obsessed with equality, there are rarely traditions of 'engagement rings' at all, and especially with expensive diamonds. They just make do with wedding bands and wear nothing before the ceremony. Seems like the engagement ring is a phenomenon very specific to some western countries.

struppi 9y ago

Yes, I also don't understand that "it must be a natural diamond" craze. With all the problems of natural diamonds, I would prefer a lab-grown diamond...

sizzzzlerz 9y ago
100% marketing. When two competing products have an intrinsic difference of nearly zero, the marketing boys have to start making up campaigns that focus on anything that can drive a wedge between the products.

sizzzzlerz 9y ago

My wife and I did a similar thing, not even bothering with precious stones but designing rings that featured some stunning turquoise set in white gold. Non-traditional? You bet, but neithor of us gave a fuck and we love them. Plus, we didn't go into debt to pay for them, using that money to entertain our guests.

lotsofpulp 9y ago

Jewelry has always served as an efficient way to show status, hence the effort behind trying to grade a diamond and verify its origin.

rhino369 9y ago

It's about rarity and authencity. You might as well ask why people buy first issue Superman Number 1 comics and not a reprint? Same shit pictures right?

AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago

There's a very philosophical question underlying this whole thing. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and is in pretty much all the ways that matter in any given context indistinguishable from a duck, is it a duck? Even if we know it's a robot? At any rate, at least we can rest assured in the knowledge that if it weighs the same as a duck it is definitely a witch.

Will_Parker 9y ago

> I just don't get it. Who cares what the source of a diamond is? Women's cultural conditioning and arguably human nature. It being a completely unnecessary but very costly sacrifice to the man is the feature, not a bug. It doesn't need to have intrinsic value, all that matters is that it is an accurate signal of excess wealth. There are those (like you and your wife) who see past this, which is great, and I hope this trend continues. I don't know why the equality crowd isn't vehemently against a high and essential cost from one gender to another, nearly unilaterally. (Well, cynically they like it because it affects mostly men, and indeed works as an accurate signal of affluence.) But it would be great, for causes like income equality and the wage gap, if this could be turned symbolic, instead of an actual costly sacrifice which is entirely a burden on men.

antisthenes 9y ago
Ironically, in countries which aren't so vehemently obsessed with equality, there are rarely traditions of 'engagement rings' at all, and especially with expensive diamonds. They just make do with wedding bands and wear nothing before the ceremony. Seems like the engagement ring is a phenomenon very specific to some western countries.