Diamonds

[Spinaroonie]

So, I was on /. a while ago saying intellectual things like "Bill Gates is not a smartey man!", etc. and I ran across an interesting subject of conversation and I've decided to warez it here.

Diamonds. Glittering, clear, terrorist financers, yes, but are they a scam?

Originally posted on Rob Malda's love child
Diamonds - Are They Really Worth the Cost?
NewsPosted by Cliff (Unfortunately, not Yablonski- Spin) on Tuesday August 13, @07:07PM
from the ethics-in-the-diamond-age dept.
hardDiamond asks: "I'm going to get engaged. I know my 4 C's. I know I'm going to get screwed by the jeweller, but that's okay: after all, a diamond engagement ring is a time-honoured tradition... NOT. Having checked out the goods, looked for the flaws, I found the biggest one of all. Diamond engagement rings are the creation of a well orchestrated advertising campaign for most of the last century - according to this article. Would you buy one for the love of your life? I know my girlfriend would love a diamond, but ethically I have my doubts. Diseased-miners, child slave labour, cartel inflated prices... and as if that wasn't enough, diamonds have no resale value. Naddah. Zilch. They'll sell you the shit, but damn it, they're not taking it back at any price. So what have my fellow slashdotters done with regards to engagement rings? What's a good substitute for diamonds? My girlfriend understands my thoughts regarding diamonds, but deep down, I'm sure she would like a diamond. Even a small one." I've never even thought about questioning such a time honored tradition, but now I'm curious. Have any of you looked at the issues surrounding diamonds and found them wanting? What alternatives have you found and were they acceptable?

That started off a landslide... Over 1,400 comments (Large ones get about 500). So what did I learn? DeBeers started in the thirty's creating the tradition of the diamond wedding ring, they created perhaps the most successful advertising campaign in history. DeBeers would pay movies for a diamond ring to be in surprise engagement scenes. Ever wonder why there was so much emphasis on the "two months salary" thing? Marketing.

The /. comment section mostly focused on "the evil empire" (sound familar? Don't confuse it with the "Axis of Evil" they hate that, mostly). Then 30-year-old men who still haven't moved out of their parents house (Fuck you, I'm only 20 ) and haven't had a date since the original Bush admin said that "If a girl wanted a 4K piece of carbon to prove my love, I'd get a new girlfriend" (OBVIOUSLY hasn't been in the situation to give one).

So, I've read what people who read "News for Ners. Stuff that matters." (How this fits into either, I don't know) think. What does the completely different gender ratio'd literotica think?

Original post with discussion and troll posts visable and links here: http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/13/2010256&mode=thread&tid=99&threshold=-1

But what fun is posting there without saying things about Cowboy Neal and Cmdr Taco?

 

[Spinaroonie]

This thread is getting views at a good pace so I'll bump it.

 

[Guest]

Diamonds are worthless.....I'd rather have a ruby.

Moon

 

[alexandraaah]

Interesting, I hadn't really ever thought of it.

I will now.

 

[dreamer]

"If a girl wanted a 4K piece of carbon to prove my love, I'd get a new girlfriend"

I've got a 6k one sitting in my drawer right here...hehe...

 

[Guest]

Interesting, I hadn't really ever thought of it.

I will now.

It's true...diamonds are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. There are warehouses full of diamonds being held back to increase the value. I've known it was a scam for years.

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Moon

 

[alexandraaah]

It's true...diamonds are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. There are warehouses full of diamonds being held back to increase the value. I've known it was a scam for years.

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Moon

I realize this, but I still wonder about sentimental value.

Everything is a marketing scam if you look at it that way, but there's still something inherently (albeit manufactured inherent) romantic about it, no?

Where do you draw the line?

 

[T.H. Oughts]

I don't own a diamond. I have always thought of them lifeless and dull compared with the lovely colours of other stones. I designed my rings and had them made to my desires.

I hate it when someone looks at anothers ring and says, "My friend has one just like that." Jewely to me has to mean something. So I like giving them my personal attention.

 

[Guest]

I realize this, but I still wonder about sentimental value.

Everything is a marketing scam if you look at it that way, but there's still something inherently (albeit manufactured inherent) romantic about it, no?

Where do you draw the line?

I have lots of things of sentimental value. I have a silver bracelet given to me by someone special, I have a necklace made by hand made beads and carved ivory, I have a stuffed Hershey's Kiss that sits on my computer someone gave me. They aren't worth anything to anyone but me. My diamond ring and necklace was stolen that my first husband gave me. Still have one from my second, but I'm not sentimental about it. I probably couldn't get more than $50 for it if I pawned it....if that much.

Diamonds are not my best friend. I think they are a waste of money. They are over romanticized by the media. I'd rather have a gift of originality.

Moon

 

[alexandraaah]

Diamonds are not my best friend. I think they are a waste of money. They are over romanticized by the media. I'd rather have a gift of originality.

Moon

I understand...and I, too, have many sentimental trinkets worth nothing monetarily. I think we agree that that's what it's all about.

I don't buy into the whole needing a diamond thing at all...I guess in some ways though, I can understand how it's become tradition, even if that was through shrewd marketing.

It doesn't negate the fact that it is highly sentimental to some.

I guess what I'm wondering is, at what point do you put aside convictions for the sake of something romantic?

Diamonds or not.

 

[pipercatt]

I bought into the the whole tradition thing with my engagement and subsequent marriage. I now see how stupid it was.

I haven't worn my rings in months, and I seriously doubt if I get another diamond again. I have some great CZ solitaires that are prettier than my engagement set.

And TH has the right idea, other stones are more pretty than diamonds.

I'd have to say that my favorite jewelry are the ones I've picked out or designed myself. Nearly worthless monetarily, but highly prized sentimentally.

I won't make the same mistake again by insisting on an expensive stone as a token of love.

 

[Spinaroonie]

I haven't worn my rings in months, and I seriously doubt if I get another diamond again. I have some great CZ solitaires that are prettier than my engagement set.

The engagement thing, originally wasn't any sort of gem at all. It was something practical, like the down payment to a house.

Also, why don't men get engagement gifts traditionally?

 

[Spinaroonie]

I don't own a diamond. I have always thought of them lifeless and dull compared with the lovely colours of other stones.

Diamonds DO Come in an assortment of colors, some are very pretty.

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Re: Diamonds

I've got a 6k one sitting in my drawer right here...hehe...

No, try to sell it.

You have a $400 one that somebody mined for a dollar, and was sold to you for 6K

(Still... I bet it'll get a ladies' attention)

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Also, why don't men get engagement gifts traditionally?

My husband did. My Austin Allergro, lol

 

[Cheyenne]

I love diamonds

Engagement rings with diamonds were popular long before the 1930's. I have my grandmother's engagement ring from before then and another great great aunt's ring from the turn of the century. Check out old jewelry at antique shows sometime.

The diamonds I have I bought for myself. Earrings, pendant, tennis bracelet. They are my favorite jewelry and I wear them all the time. I have lots of custom made jewelry with stones of all colors-sapphires, emeralds, etc., but I most often wear the diamonds. The rest of it is safely stored away.

A good quality diamond sparkles like no other stone on earth!

 

[CoolidgEffect]

Size matters.

 

[Mischka]

Also, why don't men get engagement gifts traditionally?

This is the part that bothers me. It's lopsided. Men have to provide an extra token of affection for the women, but there's rarely any reciprocity. A marriage is a commitment among equals. Why should one side get a token of the impending vows, and not the other?

Besides, we don't live in a world of corsettes, personal servants, and dressing gowns. Expensive jeweled rings - of any sort - look absurd with most of the stuff we wear on a daily basis. I've seen 5K monstrosities on the hands of women in jogging shorts. Just plain tacky.

My husband and I chose matching platinum bands. They are beautiful in their simplicity, and they are symbols of our strength and long-lasting commitment to each other. I never have to take it off - it doesn't snag on anything, and wipes clean when I wash my hands. I love it, and wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[CoolidgEffect]

Also, why don't men get engagement gifts traditionally?

Well traditionally the dating game is rigged. Do you always split the bill on dates?

The whole thing is filled with inequities. How much does a wedding gown cost? How much does it cost to rent a Tux?

Of course when it comes to tradition, it really isn't stacked in the brides favor. The brides family gets economically screwed for the cost of the wedding.

 

[Nomadic Lady]

Society has been brainwashed into this phenomena that she has to have a Diamond in order to make it a proper engagement.

Pooy on that, I say make the Emerald the next phenomena.

 

[Mountain Man]

Society has been brainwashed into this phenomena that she has to have a Diamond in order to make it a proper engagement.

Pooy on that, I say make the Emerald the next phenomena.

I have to agree ....I always loved emeralds...not just because they are my birth stone.

I gave my wife a beautiful Emerald engagement ring when i proposed, rather than a diamond (well, it has 14 little diamonds around it)...looked great on her hand.

My Grandmother, 90 years old and in failing health..gave my wife her grandmothers ( ie. 4 generations from me) engagement ring recently...a beautiful 2.65 catat diamond solitaire that is stunning...She wears that now....

With the set were 2 matching earings that we will have set for our daughters future husbands to give them for their engagements.....they're 7&5...we have some time..

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: I love diamonds

Engagement rings with diamonds were popular long before the 1930's. I have my grandmother's engagement ring from before then and another great great aunt's ring from the turn of the century. Check out old jewelry at antique shows sometime.

In some places i America, maybe they were, but it wasn't like it is today. Today men feel expected to give a diamond. Yet, before the DeBeers marketing campaign a diamond had no signfigant value.

 

[Spinaroonie]

My husband did. My Austin Allergro, lol

I had to ask google what that was

 

[Spinaroonie]

Society has been brainwashed into this phenomena that she has to have a Diamond in order to make it a proper engagement.

Pooy on that, I say make the Emerald the next phenomena.

Why should the next phenomenon be a gem? Or a ring even?

I say it should be a Playstation 2 and a two player game, so you can show that you two want to work together to accomplish a goal, and get the power up and win the game.

 

[Nomadic Lady]

Mountain Man you said: My Grandmother, 90 years old and in failing health..gave my wife her grandmothers ( ie. 4 generations from me) engagement ring recently...a beautiful 2.65 catat diamond solitaire that is stunning...She wears that now....

Would be too scared to wear something that sentimental.
------------------

Spinaroonie you said: Why should the next phenomenon be a gem? Or a ring even? I say it should be a Playstation 2 and a two player game, so you can show that you two want to work together to accomplish a goal, and get the power up and win the game.

lol.....

As long as the game was something along the line of Road Rash.