Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why Diamonds?
Google/ABC ^ | Feb 14, 2004 | John Stossel

Posted on 12/02/2004 2:40:42 PM PST by swilhelm73

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last
Oldie but a goodie.
1 posted on 12/02/2004 2:40:42 PM PST by swilhelm73
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

I don't know. I like buying diamonds because it means that somewhere, someone was killed, probably in a war of some kind, because I bought one.

I'm mean. Deal with it. ;)


2 posted on 12/02/2004 2:45:51 PM PST by Chad Fairbanks ('Hate' is just a special kind of Love we give to people who suck.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

Oaky - I'll be the first to admit it: I LOVE pretty stone and shiny sparkly objects. But my husband and I custom designed a matching set of large rose-gold bands for ourselves MINUS the diamond for me. Why? Mainly because of the justice issues surrounding the mining of diamonds at the time - plus I thought they were overpriced.

I still love stones, but not at the expense of my conscience...


3 posted on 12/02/2004 2:46:03 PM PST by dandelion (http://thequestionfairy.blogspot.com/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

http://www.minibite.com/oldies/diamonds.htm


4 posted on 12/02/2004 2:46:43 PM PST by Samwise (This day does not belong to one man but to all. --Aragorn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

I too have Magpie Syndrome, but I have found that fake diamonds make me just as happy, have fewer flaws and cause me to cry less when I loose them in the fish pond.


5 posted on 12/02/2004 2:49:01 PM PST by najida (Aunt to The Cutest Baby Girl in the World!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73
ads run by the DeBeers diamond cartel, a distinguished man announces solemnly: "I love this woman!"

I HATE that commercial.

For one reason only. When the man announces his love for this woman by yelling it out loud in a public square, her response is, "Oh stop. You're being foolish." or something akin to that.
Only when he produces a box with an expensive trinket in it does she start to gush and coo, "Oooh, I love this man."

Materialistic beeyatch.

6 posted on 12/02/2004 2:49:12 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (All I ask from livin' is to have no chains on me. All I ask from dyin' is to go naturally.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

Cz's are just as pretty and a hell of alot cheaper!


7 posted on 12/02/2004 2:49:22 PM PST by Tensgrrl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Chad Fairbanks

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


8 posted on 12/02/2004 2:50:18 PM PST by jigsaw (God Bless Our Troops.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

A quad 3.4 gHz Xeon box or a 60" widescreen LCD TV works fine for me.


9 posted on 12/02/2004 2:50:32 PM PST by Nataku X (For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73
The article doesn't get into the fact that the science of making artificial diamonds is becoming very sophisticated. In the near future it might beome hard to tell which diamonds are real. DeBeers is now inscribing some of their diamonds with a laser.

As far as the 'why' goes, besides the advertising I think it is a combination of symbolism and part of the constant testing of men by women.

10 posted on 12/02/2004 2:51:52 PM PST by wideminded
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

Any woman who bases her worth on the size of the diamond her fiance can buy her is a fool. And any woman who judges a man based on the size of the diamond he can buy her isn't worth the price of a cubic zirconia.

When my husband and I married 15 years ago, he was too poor to buy me an engagement ring at all. We bought each other a simple gold band and had a very modest wedding (paid for in full by my husband and me). I shudder to think how foolish I would have been if I'd passed him up simply because he was poor. I would have missed out on the best gift from God I've ever received. A diamond is just a fancy rock. A loving husband is a jewel beyond compare.


11 posted on 12/02/2004 2:53:07 PM PST by EagleMamaMT
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73
Certainly DeBeers, et. al., artifically inflate the value of diamonds, but the truth is that diamonds (when cut properly) are naturally brilliant and extremely hard (i.e., permanent and not subject to wear-and-tear) objects, more so than other gem stones.

As for the diamond to cubic zirconia comparison, the same could be said for any natural stone compared to a synthetic variant (the synthetic should actually look "better" because it is less likely to contain flaws). The same argument coould also apply to an original painting versus a reproduction.

12 posted on 12/02/2004 2:54:15 PM PST by kevkrom ((W1)^2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

Did you ever hear Larry the Cable Guy do his take off on DeBeers? (I think it was him.) Totally hysterical!

Having been married 22 years and having only a plain gold band (no money back then for anything else), I am toying with the idea of a ring "enhancement" as it's called.

If I take the plunge, I will be getting synthetic stones, not cubic zirconia but lab stones. I personally can't tell the difference and the synthetic stones I can afford are actually better looking than natural diamonds in my price range.

This way, I can spend more on updating my setting. So, not all women are dying for the real thing. Actually, when you think about it, diamonds aren't all that pretty compared to colored stones.


13 posted on 12/02/2004 2:54:27 PM PST by Gingersnap
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: swilhelm73

Diamond buyers=Sentimental............NOT an investment!


14 posted on 12/02/2004 2:55:17 PM PST by litehaus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wideminded
I think it is a combination of symbolism and part of the constant testing of men by women

It's mostly the latter.

15 posted on 12/02/2004 2:55:32 PM PST by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Tensgrrl; NRA2BFree
CZs are just as pretty and a hell of alot cheaper!

And a helluva lot more useful.

I know one girl who'd like diamond-inlay on her CZ.

But I'm with you, plain CZs are perferable.

16 posted on 12/02/2004 2:57:17 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: EagleMamaMT

How very wise. And a husband who values thrift above incurring huge debt to impress others is indeed a jewel.


17 posted on 12/02/2004 3:00:00 PM PST by TChris (You keep using that word. I don't think it means what yHello, I'm a TAGLINE vir)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: najida

LOL


18 posted on 12/02/2004 3:07:42 PM PST by Ajnin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: TChris

I am SO blessed to have him! He's the most perfect man in the world. He only has one little bitty flaw - he can't pass up old automobiles or motors, etc., and whenever he finds one dirt-cheap he buys it to "fix up someday for one of our boys." I really don't mind, though. He works long hours in harsh conditions and always provides for us. I'm just happy he has a hobby he enjoys!


19 posted on 12/02/2004 3:07:56 PM PST by EagleMamaMT
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Only when he produces a box with an expensive trinket in it does she start to gush and coo, "Oooh, I love this man."

How right you are. I hate that commercial too. Pretentious "love" like that is sickening.

20 posted on 12/02/2004 3:13:47 PM PST by arasina (So there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson