4 ms·

The diamond I purchased for my wife's engagement ring costed about the headline price, and it wasn't lab-grown. If the lab-grown diamond was significantly bette

The diamond I purchased for my wife's engagement ring costed about the headline price, and it wasn't lab-grown. If the lab-grown diamond was significantly better in specification for the same price, I'd probably have no issue buying it. If no one can tell without specialized equipment and your spouse doesn't care, why not? But if there wasn't a significant improvement in the diamond across several dimensions, I'd stick with the "real" one. When I purchased one I used diamond screener[1] to find as efficient a price as possible for what I was willing to spend. My research at that time showed that there wasn't a significant price improvement in lab-grown diamonds compared "real" diamonds at the most efficient prices for similar quality. But maybe that's changed now. In any case, I think it would be great if the price of diamonds came down overall. Lab-grown diamonds are hopefully a good step in that direction. Though I'm concerned they'll evolve to be just as expensive, but marketed to a different set of values. EDIT: Am I being offtopic? Why am I being downvoted? __________________ 1. No affiliation, but I highly recommend.

odnarupoque 8y ago
you need to catch up on lab-grown stones. Basically, they look better, keep their shine longer (i.e. no need to polish that often) and cost 10% of the "real one". Just realize that intrinsic cost of diamonds is basically 0. Supply is artifically limited by De Beers and Co, demand is pushed up by shiny catalogues and stereotypes etc. Now that many more labs are going to create moissanites and likes due to expiring patents, diamonds are going down the same path as pearls went ages ago (when people started growing them on mass scale). So, my prediction is diamonds will lose at least 90% value in coming years, and lab-grown stones take over by storm, pushing overall bling-bling value even further down, making it as common as zirconia or stuff like that. p.s. 2 of my first engagement rings were real diamonds, north of $5k value each. The most recent one is a custom made moissanite of better clarity and bigger size at < $1k. All girls were happy with their rings ;)
- throwawaymath 8y ago
  When you say they cost 10% of the real one, do you mean 10% at the same metrics? That wasn't the case when I looked; do you have some reading material on this? When I looked, I found the best I could get for the same specification was about 70% of the price. Also, I'm glad you've been successful with your ring purchases but I don't think how much you spend will have anything to do with how happy the recipient is. At least for me it's more of a point of pride.
DATACOMMANDER 8y ago
You’re probably being downvoted because you chose to spend the price of a decent new car on a shiny rock.
- throwawaymath 8y ago
  Well obviously I'm biased here but seems like a crappy reason to downvote someone...the comment is substantive and on-topic. What's the point of engaging in discussion online if you don't talk to anyone different from yourself? Thank you for responding though.
  - DATACOMMANDER 8y ago
    For the record, I personally think that it’s absurd to spend $30,000 on a diamond ring, but I didn’t downvote your comment.
    - throwawaymath 8y ago
      Sure, I can respect that opinion. Spending $30,000 on a shiny rock is irrational, I fully admit it :)

odnarupoque 8y ago

you need to catch up on lab-grown stones. Basically, they look better, keep their shine longer (i.e. no need to polish that often) and cost 10% of the "real one". Just realize that intrinsic cost of diamonds is basically 0. Supply is artifically limited by De Beers and Co, demand is pushed up by shiny catalogues and stereotypes etc. Now that many more labs are going to create moissanites and likes due to expiring patents, diamonds are going down the same path as pearls went ages ago (when people started growing them on mass scale). So, my prediction is diamonds will lose at least 90% value in coming years, and lab-grown stones take over by storm, pushing overall bling-bling value even further down, making it as common as zirconia or stuff like that. p.s. 2 of my first engagement rings were real diamonds, north of $5k value each. The most recent one is a custom made moissanite of better clarity and bigger size at < $1k. All girls were happy with their rings ;)

throwawaymath 8y ago
When you say they cost 10% of the real one, do you mean 10% at the same metrics? That wasn't the case when I looked; do you have some reading material on this? When I looked, I found the best I could get for the same specification was about 70% of the price. Also, I'm glad you've been successful with your ring purchases but I don't think how much you spend will have anything to do with how happy the recipient is. At least for me it's more of a point of pride.

DATACOMMANDER 8y ago

You’re probably being downvoted because you chose to spend the price of a decent new car on a shiny rock.

throwawaymath 8y ago
Well obviously I'm biased here but seems like a crappy reason to downvote someone...the comment is substantive and on-topic. What's the point of engaging in discussion online if you don't talk to anyone different from yourself? Thank you for responding though.
- DATACOMMANDER 8y ago
  For the record, I personally think that it’s absurd to spend $30,000 on a diamond ring, but I didn’t downvote your comment.
  - throwawaymath 8y ago
    Sure, I can respect that opinion. Spending $30,000 on a shiny rock is irrational, I fully admit it :)