I am also convinced that diamonds are a scam. If you like the stone and think it is worth it, by all means, go ahead and buy it. I fucking love shiny things too. But really? Have you seen the price for a tiny 1 karat stone on a ring? That is ridiculous, there is no way in hell those stones are rare enough or warrant that kind of price, and even if the cutting process was the reason for the price ( as if it is not completely fucking automated by now). Fuck the diamond industry.
The reflections that moissanite makes are a lot more colorful. I prefer that, but some people may prefer the more subdued colors of diamonds. Lab grown diamonds are similarly priced, so just choose which one you prefer.
Moissanite is by far a better buy. It has more fire for 1/100th the price than a natural diamond.
But I feel like the people saying clear stones like diamond and moissanite aren’t pretty have never seen a clear, well cut, multi karat, example in the sun. The rainbow colors and brilliance from a clear high refraction stone like a diamond is frankly insane. You can see the rainbow colors shooting off of it from like 100 yards away if the lighting is right. No colored stone has quite the same wow factor as a good diamond or moissanite in the right light. That’s why diamonds have historically been in such high demand.
Opal, Alexandrite, and many other stones are equally beautiful in their own way. But it’s weird to make that point by putting down clear stones that are absolutely spectacular.
I disagree on the first part. I think diamonds, properly cut diamonds anyway, are very pretty. But they are vastly overvalued and if humanity as a whole gave up on diamonds as an aesthetic item, I wouldn't shed a tear.
Because they were brainwashed into believing they're somehow valuable and a good investment that retains its value, despite them actually being neither of those.
It's funny because once the diamond is on the ring and sold it becomes worthless, the metal in the ring may be worth more than the stones after it leaves the store. I had thousands of dollars worth of diamond jewelry and could barely get a few hundred for it.
Even before I knew how common diamonds actually are and that their perceived rarity and thus price are bullshit, I wasn't at all interested in shiny rocks. I'm not a fucking bird.
I am so anti-diamond that if a partner insisted on a diamond ring, I would have to think very hard about the whole relationship. Especially because it's one of the less interesting stones, even ignoring all the scam and ethical issues.
Same. My partner and I are engaged but there's never going to be a diamond in the picture. If they had found the diamond ritual important, we wouldn't be too compatible.
I also cannot deal with rings in general due to sensory issues.
We do want to find some kind of wearable, interesting symbol though.
Ooohhh have you about buying a band and wearing it on a chain around your neck instead? I know people who work with machinery do that to avoid their rings getting caught on the equipment.
I've always thought it was kind of sweet because now your ring hangs close to your heart everyday!
I know it's not the best recommendation, but my partner and I have matching tattoos on our ring fingers. It's a symbol for something we both really really love and it's delicate and sensible enough that no one looks twice. Even if we split, it's not their name or anything and it's still something that means a lot to me on its own and is vague enough to be something I'll still enjoy
Same. I like the whole engagement ring ritual but I’ll be damned if our marriage is going to hinge on my “proving my love” with some overpriced trinket that costs a couple months’ salary and loses 95% of its value when it leaves the store. If that’s what it takes for us to get married it’s not the type of relationship I want in my life.
My wife wore a diamond engagement ring (multiple small diamonds set in a ring), but it belonged to my great-grandmother, so it had value beyond just buying a diamond for the purposes of showing off your engagement. One of the diamonds fell out and got lost, so she stopped wearing it before any of the rest fell out. I would certainly never have bought her a new diamond ring even if I could have afforded one and she wouldn't have wanted me to.
Rare earth gems arent necessarily elements (on the periodic table) diamond is just a form of a common element (carbon) but rare due to the conditions required to turn carbon into diamond (high pressure)
They can also make artificial diamonds that are good enough for jewelry, the perception that lab made diamond is different/worse than diamonds pulled from the ground is just propaganda to keep the artificial scarcity
If any of you want diamond jewelry, be it rings or necklaces or whatever, look up synthetic diamonds. Far cheaper and result is often the same if not better, as its made in controlled environment and perfect conditions it offers.
Synthetic diamonds are practically perfect. So perfect that "real diamond" marketers have pivoted to say that the best diamonds have imperfect, like people.
I have one and it's exquisite. My husband had originally proposed with a dull, heart-shaped blood-diamond that cost him about 10k. I think he could tell that I didn't like it, and told me it could be returned.
I felt bad for not liking the first, but worse about the thought of some poor lil kid digging it up in Africa. We found a synthetic diamond that is PERFECT and glitters like crazy. I'm extremely happy with my synthetic diamond ring. It's the prettiest piece of jewelry that I've ever owned. Highly recommended
I agree diamonds are dumb and overpriced when you can get a better result from moissanite or lab grown.
That said, I’m curious why you assume it’s a blood diamond? Conflict diamonds only account for ~5% of all diamonds in the trade. Russia and Canada combined account for >50% of all rough diamonds in the industry.
Honestly, because diamonds are just cliché, over priced and over made meaning that don't have a real high value and all the other gemstones have gone so unloved over the years. I mean, as a 28 year old man I fucking love my emerald earrings. Ruby ones as well for that matter. Fuck diamonds my dudes puts some color in the bling.
I am wearing opal right now. Diamond are just kind of meh.
Found me a lady who wanted an amethyst. Paid like $300, biggest issue was the stone was so big it kept getting loose. Those are our preferences though, some people want the diamond and that’s fine. It’s okay to want something dumb. Nothing you acquire will be meaningful in the long run, it’s the memories.
I worked in diamond exploration for years. We joked that we were turning diesel into diamonds -- just not through compression. Seriously kids, buy a lab diamond if you want one.
I remember applying online for work study jobs as a freshman. Every single application required me to provide three references, but I could only give two (maybe that sounds weird, but just take my word for it lol). I ended up just filling the third with N/As, except they had to fit the input requirements so it was weird stuff like "[email protected]". I put a note in the comments at the end to explain it, but I only heard back from two of the dozens of positions I applied for, and I couldn't help but think that was a reason. But idk, what else was I supposed to do? ಠಿ_ಠ
It all worked out tho, and I absolutely love the job I have now. And thank fuck, I'll have no shortage of references next time. Thanks for reading if you got this far lmao.
My wedding band is titanium and wood ($17).
My wife's is silver and cubic zirconia cast as Nenya, Galadriel's ring from LotR and made by WETA Workshop, who did the movie props ($75).
So much cooler than gold and diamonds => 3 months salary, at least for us.
It's a boring stone that is basically just very hard to scratch and it's other thing is being expensive. It is basically the most unimaginative gem you can buy. It's not even really rare
Even if you got money for jewelry why pick the boring pointy piece of glass? There are gems and materials so much cooler than diamonds. My personal favourite is jade.