Why would buy a lab-grown engagement ring?

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Remember kids: buy lab-grown diamonds or diamond substitutes, and save your kids from the spectre of a re-make with as bad an African accent as Leonardo DeCaprio's.

Love isn't rational. Sometimes you have to do irrational things to show how crazy in love you are. Its not about what you can afford, its about what she deserves.

Lust isn't rational, because its excessive love of secondary goods.

 

[Archbob]

I don't see why the GIA requires a marking on them. You must have super-expensive equipment to tell the difference.

Also scientifically, they are chemically equivalent. The problem is not that they would be sold as real diamonds, the main problem is that De'Beers is afraid that they will cheapen the value of natural diamonds because no one with super-expensive equipment can actually tell the difference.

This technology is growing super-fast and where they were hardly available 2 years ago. They are readily available now and at a much cheaper price than 2 years ago. Pretty soon, they'll probably be able to make them so that there is no difference.

Realistically, they are higher quality than mined diamonds because usually mined diamonds have impurities.

The GIA should not bow to De'Beers and just let the price of diamonds come down. Its not like Diamonds are rare.

 

[Elta]

If I wanted a diamond, of course I would try to get an artificial one. That way I am funding diamond research and not some shady mining company. But the best way would be to make the diamond yourself in the lab. That would be personal instead of just spending some cash.


I wish, there was a way to avoid this ring business, though. Rings are a nuisiance, if you always have to remember to take them off for work.

I can't stand rings......


My wife may have to settle for me being all trashy and getting a ring tattoo.

 

[warpus]

I wish that some women would chime in here and tell us all how cheap we are.

 

[uppi]

I don't see why the GIA requires a marking on them. You must have super-expensive equipment to tell the difference.

Exactly that's why there is a marking. To enforce the artificial difference between mined and synthetic diamonds.

Realistically, they are higher quality than mined diamonds because usually mined diamonds have impurities.

The impurities are less of an issue. As the color of the diamond is determined by the impurites they have to control and artificially add impurities anyway.

The difference is probably in the crystal defects. I guess synthetic diamonds can be made to only have the defects that are thermodynamically unavoidable. Mined diamonds were not produced in controlled conditions, so I would expect them to have a lot more defects.

You probably could introduce random aberrations into the fabrication process to create a diamond that is indistinguishable from mined diamonds, but if it just drives production costs up and you have to mark them anyway, why bother?

The distinction of "natural" and synthetic diamonds is artificial, just there to protect the mining cooperations and should be abolished.

 

[Traitorfish]

The distinction of "natural" and synthetic diamonds is artificial, just there to protect the mining cooperations and should be abolished.

I wonder how much this has entered into the public consciousness yet? I suppose that, as artificial diamonds become more widely available, the distinction may die out naturally as people realise that diamonds being "natural" is nothing more than a superficial quirk.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The GIA should not bow to De'Beers and just let the price of diamonds come down.

The GIA isn't bowing to DeBeers. They are actually performing their jobs by helping to assure that unwary people can't be easily duped when purchasing gems. That is really the whole point of grading diamonds.

You can certainly make a compelling argument that you are making the economically wise decision by saving 75% of the cost by getting a synthetic stone instead of a natural one, especially when it takes an expert to know the difference.

But if you really want to end the exploitation of diamond miners, I really don't see how wearing jewelry that cannot be easily told apart, is the effective way to do it. You are better off not wearing anything that even remotely resembles a diamond; or wearing virtually any other expensive gem for that matter. Most of them are mined by exploiting the workers.

Then again, the clothes you are wearing probably came from a sweatshop.

Its not like Diamonds are rare.

I don't know where you got that idea. Diamonds are extremely rare. If they weren't, DeBeers couldn't control the market as they do.

 

[civ_king]

The GIA isn't bowing to DeBeers. They are actually performing their jobs by helping to assure that unwary people can't be easily duped when purchasing gems. That is really the whole point of grading diamonds.

You can certainly make a compelling argument that you are making the economically wise decision by saving 75% of the cost by getting a synthetic stone instead of a natural one, especially when it takes an expert to know the difference.

But if you really want to end the exploitation of diamond miners, I really don't see how wearing jewelry that cannot be easily told apart, is the effective way to do it. You are better off not wearing anything that even remotely resembles a diamond; or wearing virtually any other expensive gem for that matter. Most of them are mined by exploiting the workers.

Then again, the clothes you are wearing probably came from a sweatshop.

I don't know where you got that idea. Diamonds are extremely rare. If they weren't, DeBeers couldn't control the market as they do.

Always the cynic eh? you're doing a good job bursting peoples bubbles of (ignorance is) Bliss with the dagger of Reality

 

[Traitorfish]

Then again, the clothes you are wearing probably came from a sweatshop.

Ad hominem!!! Ad hominem!!! Arrglegrarrglebarrglewarrgle!!!

 

[civ_king]

Ad hominem!!! Ad hominem!!! Arrglegrarrglebarrglewarrgle!!!

statistics basically say that if you live in the Industrialized countries if it wasn't knit/sewn by someone you know it is from a sweat shop

 

[Esckey]

Ya, why wouldn't I? Its a just a diamond. What makes them so important?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Watching "Marathon Man" is a good place to start. Then I'd read "11 Harrowhouse" if you are really interested.

 

[Defiant47]

I wish that some women would chime in here and tell us all how cheap we are.

Seconded! I want to hear the women's opinions on this.

Does it matter where it came from? Or does it only matter how much it cost?

 

[LucyDuke]

The social pressure is enormous. If she's the type that constantly needs to "prove" how good you are, she's going to put a lot of stock in a big rock to show off. If her people already think you're awesome, or if she doesn't care what anybody thinks of you or the relationship, there's more leeway. Intelligence doesn't exempt anyone from social expectations.

If the market were flooded with cheap synthetic diamonds that were indistinguishable from mined diamonds, the tradition would change, and fast, to something else that screams money.

 

[Lillefix]

Love isn't rational. Sometimes you have to do irrational things to show how crazy in love you are. Its not about what you can afford, its about what she deserves.

I'm not sure my mother agrees.. My father once mentioned that he bought her a big bunch of red roses shortly after they married. She became furious at him for spending so much money on something so useless(and they were quite well off). He has never ever bought her flowers after that(not much else either).

On a side note, neither my mother nor my father had any idea they had silver wedding anniversary until I mentioned it the day before(they didn't even remember they had a wedding anniversary). Very affectionate couple . But they have stayed together longer than many others amazingly.

 

[JerichoHill]

"What? You bought me a gemstone grown in a lab, rather than one dug out of the ground and sold as a blood diamond to fuel civil war and strife? I am disappointed in you!"
Yes, my significant other would be SO displeased. By all accounts synthetic diamonds are cheaper, larger, of a higher quality, and less morally questionable. Why would you ever want a natural one?

Indeed

IMO, the whole idea that "If you love me, you'll spend $5000 on a diamond ring with 18-carat gold" is utter B.S. Love is not about materialism. At least, I don't think it should be. A lot of people do, though. So yes, I would buy the synthetic one. I would rather not get a diamond ring at all though, and instead get something cool and unique like an Alexanderite ring, a gemstone that shifts in color.

Agreed. I would say that my wife didn't want a diamond though, but a sapphire.

 

[Archbob]

I don't know where you got that idea. Diamonds are extremely rare. If they weren't, DeBeers couldn't control the market as they do.

Its only rare because they have like 90% of the world's stock and they are only releasing a very very small quantity at a time to keep the price up.

 

[Formaldehyde]

No. They don't have 90% of the diamonds in existence if that's what you are suggesting. Most of the diamonds are already in circulation. But they do control somwhere around 90% of the diamonds which are sold every year. Russia controls most of the rest. But yes, they do carefully regulate the supply based on the demand so the prices will continue to go up.

 

[Archbob]

No. They don't have 90% of the diamonds in existence if that's what you are suggesting. Most of the diamonds are already in circulation. But they do control somwhere around 90% of the diamonds which are sold every year. Russia controls most of the rest. But yes, they do carefully regulate the supply based on the demand so the prices will continue to go up.

The point is the price is artificially inflated and should come down. They are not as rare as people think they are.

 

[GenMarshall]

It would not matter if it's the same as the real stuff. Though personaly, I perfer man-made diamonds to be used for industrial purposes and weapons (Laser guns anyone?).