diamonds are so pointless

I inherited my late DM’s diamond solitaire ring (1.7 cwt) and absolutely love it. I wear it almost every day and always think of her when I do.

I think she’d be pleased.

I was with you on the first paragraph but from your second paragraph, it's clear that your agenda has nothing to do with diamonds.

Don’t be silly, ones in the ground are a natural grown substance over millions of years, not man made in a factory.

I don’t get this. If you can make a diamond in the lab it’s every bit a real diamond as one hacked out of the ground.

It’s like saying that water made in the lab is fake water.

Lab grown is just a marketing term. It’s a fake diamond.

I have a beautiful diamond ring that belonged to my grandma.

I could sell it and go on a very expensive holiday or I can keep it and enjoy owning it and wearing it and one day pass it on to my DD.

We're all different I guess, but a posh holiday wouldn't even compare in my eyes.

Totally agree

Utter waste of time, money, effort, lives

I love mine but they’re all (apart from one necklace) antique, either purchased from auction houses/specialist jewellers or inherited.

theres not much in life that has intrinsic value, like, art, cars and property value of diamonds is more than the sum of its parts, collectively we have assigned a value based on rarity. That’s not to say there isn’t some clever marketing But de beers haven’t operated a monopoly in 20+ years.

Lab grown are not for me - I am going be be unpopular but I have diamond rings some inherited from my lovely grandma’s and my wonderful mum. My 50th birthday present was a beautiful 1920’s art deco diamond ring. Not particularly expensive but I love it, wear it, and think about its history and who may of worn it.

You can say this argument about many mined precious or semi precious stones!

No.

Some women do all that and more for a ring pop after 15 years of 'dating'. The ring is his investment and promise to be me that he is going to take care of me and only give me the best of things.

I’ve never really liked the clear diamonds and always been attracted to other coloured stones. My engagement ring is tanzanite but it does have small, clear diamonds on the band and I think they do enhance the tanzanite. Some of the coloured diamonds are gorgeous, the chocolate and yellow ones in particular.

It's a bit like gold (well gold is a little different to be fair as it's used in the banking system), or certain art, they aren't inherently valuable, it's just agreed by society that they have value. They have value within industrial applications, but that's not what most people would think of them as.

Personally I think your POV is becoming quite widespread, I don't know anyone who would want to go anywhere near diamonds, mostly due to ethical implications.

So... the more expensive the ring your man puts on your finger, the more you'd be prepared to do for him? Where do you draw the line? 🤔

Wind-up. Has to be.

I think "pointless" is an odd criticism - lots of things are pointless if they're just for decoration/accessory/appearances. They're no more pointless than any other stone or jewellery.

I agree that they're overvalued, and I personally don't really like the diamond solitaire style of ring. My engagement ring is a sapphire - but of course ultimately that's equally as pointless, just a bit less expensive.

Yup all of this.

Exactly this. They talk about this on Rebel Finance School.

I think the same about fur TBH.

Tucking into a leg of lamb (nowt wrong with that) while wearing your woolly jumper (nor with that) and swearing that you’d never wear fur always seems illogical and performative to me.

But the world is as it is. 🤷‍♀️

They’re not remotely rare. They’re stockpiled to give the illusion of scarcity and keep prices high - mainly by De Beers, who created and now control the global diamond market. It’s a completely artificial construct, done with the help of a clever and effective advertising strategy some time in the 50s or 60s.

Prior to that engagement rings weren’t really a thing - and they even invented out of thin air the idea that a man should spend the equivalent of something like 2 month’s salary on one, or else how much does he really love you?

The whole thing plays on people’s innate insecurities and status consciousness, and lines the pockets of others who are up to their necks in unethical practices and human rights abuses. So basically the usual story of gullible punters being shilled by a bunch of greedy, unscrupulous fuckers.

I just bought ethically mined diamond earrings and I love them. I respect others position on not wanting to buy/wear diamonds but I wanted them and I think they’re beautiful.

I'm exactly the same.
As for what I haven't bought myself, my mum gifted me a little pendant with diamonds in as a graduation gift. I very rarely wear it because it's my favourite and I'm scared of losing it. Sometimes I get it out to hold it and look at it. Probably a bit weird but it's how I am.

Oh dear… I’d be less concerned about diamonds and more concerned about the ethics of mining all of those minerals used to make that phone/laptop/tablet you are all posting with. Or are we not concerned about that because those items are ‘useful’ and boycotting would not be as convenient?

Eh?How is it a sexist issue?

Hope your opal (sounds fabulous, btw!) was bought for you!

Have any of you been to the jewellery gallery at the V&A? They had a diamond exhibition ( I think I was a temporary exhibition) and oh boy, the huge diamonds under spotlights were sensational! That told me why they're valued. The one in the King's crown at the opening of parliament this week was huge and glittery too. And it has a history, which makes it a bit more interesting than your average stone. I have an amethyst engagement ring. But I can see why stunning diamonds are highly prized.

Had to Google that! It's a gorgeous stone