Diamonds!

"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69) 02/15/2016 at 03:50 • Filed to: None

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just missed out on Valentines day

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/15/2016 at 03:55

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Oh look... Another rock that just looks like a large piece of broken glass.

Frenchlicker > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/15/2016 at 05:50

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Well uncut isn't it absolutely worthless anyways? I also thought diamonds were only worth what some idiot was willing to pay for them.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Frenchlicker 02/15/2016 at 05:54

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i don’t know much about diamonds , don’t the come from Antwerp?

Frenchlicker > pip bip - choose Corrour 02/15/2016 at 06:09

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It seems so. It's an industry Da Beers is the leader and largely the creator of it seems. Nobody cared about them until they made them care.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Frenchlicker 02/15/2016 at 09:25

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No, they have some value even uncut. Each step adds some markup. Should be 3-5x the original value by the time it gets to retail. Retail prices, however, are roughly 9-10x what a buyer could actually resell it for (unlike the metal in a ring, the diamonds themselves have extremely little value).

The entire market for any that aren’t absolutely extraordinary (huge, ultra high clarity, unusual color (or lack thereof), former owner, etc) was created by a major ad campaign way back in the early 20th century by De Beers, which had a near complete monopoly on mining, and was otherwise a cartel. For decades they couldn’t even operate directly in the US due to being considered an criminal organization (not sure if this was ever lifted).

Prior to that, only uniquely-impressive ones were ever traded for jewelry and they were almost exclusively found in pieces owned by monarchs. That campaign turned the junk that would have been used as an industrial abrasive into something people would buy at a massive markup in jewelry. 99+% of the diamonds you see in mall jewelry stores are of this grade due to the market created by that campaign and ongoing campaigns by contemporary chain jewelers. People wouldn’t buy a color above a G (unless fancy) or a clarity below a VS1 if it wasn’t for all the marketing. Hell, the market is so tight that I’ve seen marketing campaigns for brown and black diamonds, which would normally be turned into sandpaper.

Brickman > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 02/15/2016 at 09:32

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Like that chocolate diamond commercial. It’s just a crappy diamond. Im happy with a piece of plastic :)

Frenchlicker > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 02/15/2016 at 13:48

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They make people feel exclusive by getting those the last few years. I really hope that if I ever get engaged it's to a person that would prefer a more beautiful and precious gemstone.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Frenchlicker 02/15/2016 at 19:22

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Every girl these days has bought into the marketing campaign for diamonds hook, line, sinker, pole, and reel. Even mine, a relatively-progressive girl (and a lesbian, no less) wants an extremely traditional ring, insisting that it must be diamond.

I am working on wearing her down. There are so many more interesting gemstones available, I feel like going with the boring “conventional”, marketing-driven, choice really wouldn’t reflect either of us at all.

In any case, I’ll never buy some common mass produced ring or crappy diamonds from some chain selling junk.

Frenchlicker > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 02/15/2016 at 19:24

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I had one of those girls that wanted a non conventional ring and lost her, I plan on waiting awhile to figure out which route my current one would like. Luckily she is very much into aesthetics and will choose what goes with her skin and such better most likely. Also I'm with you, if I am forced to buy a diamond it will be from a small place and preferably hand tooled. Etsy has some choices but I would like to see it ahead of time.