So perhaps Hollywood didn't originate the idiotic idea, but they sure gave it a major boost. Do you realize that the movie "Diamonds Are a Girl's best friend" was little more than a feature length marketing gimmick?
And of course I realize that South African billionaires are not the only diamond barons in the world, but they are the major ones. If you cannot understand an obvious figure of speech, you are the slow learner.
As for "understanding women," if you think the key to a healthy relationship is to buy them off with something that is bound to lose its value as soon as a man-made version becomes economical, you still have a lot to learn, haven't you -- both about women *and* investing.
Maurice Tempelsman, Jackie O's married boyfriend, was, and maybe still is, one of the great diamond market-makers. It is a small cartel that makes the money shared by the Saudi Royals look like trickle-down economics by comparison.
Do you really enjoy making yourself look foolish in public?
De Beers, which is a COMPANY and not a single person, has, for more than a century and 1/2, been the main source of diamonds and they aren't just in South Africa! And though Zimbabwe, which was Rhodesia, which was part of South Africa to begin with, had the biggest mines. That is where De Beers began.
The cost of a diamond and most other stones, is comprised of many different things; not the least of which are the cutting, the size, the clarity, and the color. Rarity and availability ( whether real of made-made/manipulated ) also enter the mix.
I am NOT a "slow learner" at all; however, it appears that you aren't a "learner" at all. LOL
You're the one who claimed to "not understand women" and no, you don't; I agree.
Giving a woman a present, no matter what it is, isn't "buying her off" at all.
Jewelry should not be looked at as an "investment"!
Fake diamonds will NEVER replace nor suborn the desire for the real thing, no matter how CHEAP or "good" they are.
Oh yes....I've also been happily married for just a few months less than 40 years. I think that I know, very well, what the keys to a healthy and happy relationship are; probably far better than you do! :-)