I totally get that diamonds are about "economic signaling." I also know that newlyweds who are looking at 30+ years of student loans and couldn't dream of a dow

I totally get that diamonds are about "economic signaling." I also know that newlyweds who are looking at 30+ years of student loans and couldn't dream of a down payment on a mortgage couldn't care less about showing off wealth they don't have to friends who are as destitute as they are. It's an interesting coincidence that artificial rocks came along at the same time that nobody can afford or even cares about the real thing anymore. What if manmade diamonds had come along during the boomer era when anyone could afford a house? What if newlyweds today had the buying power of their parents (the old rule-of-thumb for a ring was "one months salary"… hahaha)? "economic signaling" isn't going to save their industry and De Beers bloody well knows it. Good on them, btw, most industries deny the obvious and get steamrolled by upstarts. (note: My father is a retired engineer from the mining industry, we literally have little bags of precious gems lying around for me to inherit; I'd tell them to liquidate, but anyone who's read the Atlantic classic from thirty years ago knows it's already pointless.)