Posted on 01/06/2007 7:44:37 PM PST by blam
Thanks,
I feel better.
I do know they mines flooded and then petered out so to speak.
Really? You mean all that time and money I spent studying to become a gemologist has been wasted? LOL!! Maybe I should have taken courses from you.
"I didn't insult you."
Well, if your post #145 is not an insult ...
The sad thing is that it is precisely the sentiment you expressed in that post that perpetuates the diamond scam. And I get the impression you are not about to see through the diamond ruse anytime soon.
I can understand perfectly well your appreciation for the appearance of diamonds. But as someone just pointed out, cheap fake diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from real diamonds when worn as jewelry -- unless the people you socialize with have a habit of inspecting your rings with a magnifier!
Again, I don't care if you or anyone else prefers to buy real diamonds. What bothers me is the social pressure people like you create for everyone else to waste their money on real diamonds. And your post #145 epitomizes that pressure perfectly.
Twenty years ago diamonds had barter value. Today it looks iffy. Synthetic diamonds are getting better and better, and soon it will be real hard to tell if a particular diamond was mined or grown
I'm Hip!!You want my wifes diamonds,you will have to pry them open from her cold,dead hands.
Diamond ruse....there you go. Anyone who doesn't conform to your idea of not owning diamonds is too stupid to know it is a ruse. Again, don't insult people and not expect to take flack. You insulted a very large group of people and just did so again. Let's end this conversation since you seem to think that just because I happen to buy diamonds I am putting social pressure on others to buy them. People buy what they want to buy. And I am not buying what you are attempting to feed me. Have a nice life.
Diamonds may not be a crazy Hollywood b*tch's best friend, but they're still a girl's best friend.
Just go to Google News for Synthetic Diamond
Current issue is that synthetic diamonds are getting real hard to detect
Diamonds never did appeal to me, although I have been given a few.
I'd much prefer a boat or a new rod and reel.
Lol!
I got a scum buster one year for my anniversary.
I was ok with it, but my girlfriends were horrified.
I'm not like most women though. I actually LIKE practical gifts.
There are some notorious alexandrite impostors that have been sold in tourist areas at low prices for nearly 100 years. I'm not saying that's what your stone was but alex with strong color change and low price simply don't go together. That's true even now when more stones are available from newer sources in Sri Lanka, Brazil and India. There are tremendous numbers of alex simulants and synthetics on the market today.
The simulants are generally man-made sapphire or spinel that's been doped with vanadium to cause a somewhat authentic color change. The first true synthetic alexandrites (color-change chrysoberyl) were produced in California in the 1970s. They are chemically and physically identical to natural stones but can be distinguished with sophisticated gemological techniques.
I'm sure you know the difference between an appraisal and a gem ID done by independent labs like the Gemological Institute of America and the American Gem Trade Association. The labs have the expertise and equipment to make difficult identifications, unlike most retail jewelers who specialize mostly in diamonds and often don't know much about colored stones. The labs do not appraise stones, BTW, just identify them.
"It's a figure of speech."
And a very telling one too.
"Diamond ruse....there you go. Anyone who doesn't conform to your idea of not owning diamonds is too stupid to know it is a ruse."
I wouldn't use the word "stupid," but I think "ignorant" applies very well. When ignorance persists for a long period after the facts are available, then "stupid" applies. With regard to the diamond scam, I think it's safe to say that some ignorant people are working hard to qualify as stupid.
Yes, that's an insult. Unlike you, I don't deny that I've insulted someone when I obviously have.
LOL. Someone earlier said you can't eat a boat. Well you sure can if you have a rod and reel.
I'm not a big diamond fancier. But I don't understand how the DeBeers marketing approach is a "scam." Is it any different than marketing campaigns to create social pressure to buy a new car every year, own new HDTVs, fancy houses or the kind of toilet paper that bears use in the woods or thousands of other products sold through the American capitalist system?
No such pressures are felt in socialist systems where people aren't allowed such choices. One of the challenges of living in a capitalist consumer society is learning to cope with and say "no" to the many manipulative messages we're tempted with daily. But I much prefer it to the alternatives.
"I'm not a big diamond fancier. But I don't understand how the DeBeers marketing approach is a "scam." Is it any different than marketing campaigns to create social pressure to buy a new car every year, own new HDTVs, fancy houses or the kind of toilet paper that bears use in the woods or thousands of other products sold through the American capitalist system?"
Yes, I agree. Diamond marketing is no more a scam than some car maker claiming you will be more of a man if you buy their vehicle. The difference is that (a) the automotive market is infinitely more competitive than the diamond market (it isn't controlled by a monopoly), and (b) car marketing hasn't convinced a substantial population of women that the true measure of love is the market "value" of a vehicle and nothing else qualifies. Yes, you can buy a vehicle for your girlfriend to show your love, but if you buy something else of a similar value, she won't feel that you love her less.
I am not suggesting that diamond advertising should be banned. I am merely suggesting that people should try to avoid being deceived by it.
"Well you sure can if you have a rod and reel."
That's right. Plus diamonds just get all slimy when you take the fish off the hook.
Actually, I have been given diamonds and I appreciated the thought, and most women I know like them. But a guided fishing trip to Alaska, etc. would suit me better. I already have a boat, canoe, and fishing tackle.
I opened this thread because I do have some diamonds, they are nice, but not practical for a woman like me.
Yes, lives were lost in a tragic flood. But production is now at near-peak levels again. Block D, which produces the best material, has been taken over by a South African company that's doing its best to monopolize tanzanite supplies and marketing a la DeBeers. If they succeed expect tanzanite prices to go up.
After 9-11 there were charges that tanzanite was used to finance Al Qaeda. The charges were absolutely untrue, as was proven by the tireless work of dealer Abe Suleman and others. The real problem now is that the Tanzanian government has capitulated to the South African company (AFGEM) that started the rumor, and has taken the mining profits away from the local Masai tribes which formerly benefited. That's African politics.
We agree on that. What really pisses most guys off about DeBeers' diamond campaign is that they're at a helpless disadvantage when women demand diamond engagement rings and other diamond jewelry after marriage. Score one for the ladies and N.W. Ayer which brilliantly exploited a tense little psychological niche between the sexes.
It was Carol Channing with her title song in the Anita Loos Broadway production of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" who turned the campaign into a marketing sensation. Marilyn Monroe's performance in the movie underscored it. Get used to it guys. My wife wears diamonds too.
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