My understanding, and please correct my ignorance if I’m wrong, is that diamonds are not as rare as we’re made to believe. Their price is artificially inflated by diamond miners/merchants like the de Beers family. I could just be spewing Internet/liberal talking points, but I have to believe this is true. What we pay for a hunk of pressurized carbon is outlandish, IMO.
Pretty much what I’ve heard. One clue is to see what the really, really rich folk buy for engagement rings: Rubies.
DeBeers Consolidated has lost much of its monopoly on the diamond market. The Russians uncovered a huge trove a few decades ago and refused to play the DeBeers game, and the Ashton Joint Venture in Australia also circumvented much of the DeBeers machine. And now, with lab diamonds virtually indistinguishable from their naturally occurring counterparts, the market is a lot less monopolistic.
The world diamond market is indeed manipulated to keep prices high.
Supposedly DeBeers possess and keeps tons of diamonds off the market to maintain prices.
All the middlemen don’t help the price, either. They are unnecessary.
When I bought a diamond for my wife’s wedding ring I went over to some (friend of a friend’s) lady’s house and she almost dropped it down her sink!
It is 1.05 carats. I will use it to buy a bag of Doritos after our coming economic implosion.