Diamonds are mined and sifted under horrible conditions by workers in "third world" countries who earn very little money (and in some cases no money at all). Nearly the entire supply of natural diamonds is controlled by one company, De Beers, which can do pretty much whatever the hell it wants, having no competition. True to the sociopathically efficient nature of corporations, it prices diamonds at an artificially high level.

The diamond's "mystique" and its association with love, courtship, and marriage are the products of a sustained advertising campaign designed to make these shiny pebbles required "tokens" and "signs" of affection for young couples so that the outrageously inflated prices could look more "justified."

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The diamond invention is far more than a monopoly for fixing diamond prices; it is a mechanism for converting tiny crystals of carbon into universally recognized tokens of wealth, power, and romance. To achieve this goal, De Beers had to control demand as well as supply. Both women and men had to be made to perceive diamonds not as marketable precious stones but as an inseparable part of courtship and married life. To stabilize the market, De Beers had to endow these stones with a sentiment that would inhibit the public from ever reselling them. The illusion had to be created that diamonds were forever -- "forever" in the sense that they should never be resold. ... Although it could do little about the state of the economy, N. W. Ayer suggested that through a well-orchestrated advertising and public-relations campaign it could have a significant impact on the "social attitudes of the public at large and thereby channel American spending toward larger and more expensive diamonds instead of "competitive luxuries." Specifically, the Ayer study stressed the need to strengthen the association in the public's mind of diamonds with romance. Since "young men buy over 90% of all engagement rings" it would be crucial to inculcate in them the idea that diamonds were a gift of love: the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love. Similarly, young women had to be encouraged to view diamonds as an integral part of any romantic courtship.

Fortunately, real diamonds (not cubic zirconium) can now be made artificially and there have been some diamond discoveries outside the sphere of control by De Beers, so hopefully the bastards can be put out of business or at least have their unethical practices corrected by genuine market competition.

I never understood why people like diamonds. I wouldn't pay more than 25 cents for a shiny piece of rock. Maybe if it's properties were put to use to make something practical, but not to wear around a freakin' finger.

Diamonds do have some great properties: they're great for saw blades since they're so hard to scratch, and they have uses in electronics. But the "diamond ring" thing is an awful sham from top to bottom.

My girlfriend told me that'd she'd beat me up if I gave her anything that doesn't have a practical use. So cute!

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"You won a new refrigerator, great! Where you gonna put it?" - Tony Danza

That's awesome.

When you know 10 kids (preferably AIDs infested pre-teen girls) have died to put that shit on your hand, it's worth some serious shit. It's like killing a baseball player to get instant value on your baseball card.

blood diamond is a good movie.

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gabriel_and_dresden

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...known from a videotape the two made when they met in March... in Dresdens home, Dresden amputated Gabriels penis and Dresden and Gabriel ate the penis together...Gabriel had insisted that Dresden bite his penis off; this did not work.. Dresden used a knife. When that knife turned out to be too blunt, Dresden used a sharper knife to slice the penis off. Gabriel apparently tried to eat his share of his own penis..but could not because it was too..."chewy". Dresden then sautéed the penis in a pan with salt, pepper, and garlic.

what about diamonds that are mined in canada?

what about manmade diamonds?

That's one of the new areas that De Beers doesn't completely control, so it's good.

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Originally posted by Orbax what about manmade diamonds?

Yeah, I linked to an article about them.

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But the sudden appearance of multicarat, gem-quality synthetics has sent De Beers scrambling. Several years ago, it set up what it calls the Gem Defensive Programme - a none too subtle campaign to warn jewelers and the public about the arrival of manufactured diamonds. At no charge, the company is supplying gem labs with sophisticated machines designed to help distinguish man-made from mined stones.

So jewellers can tell "natural" diamonds from manmade ones, for all the snobby twits who would hold themselves higher for getting a "real" one.

my diamond engagement ring is a family hierloom that eli inherited and i am quite fond of it.

There's nothing wrong with diamonds. I have some diamond earings and a diamond bracelet( & I only wear mine on special occasions ). As long as someone doesn't go over board with them, it's fine.