alisha said:

uh oh sounds like there are a lot of men who can’t afford real diamonds………bitter much? hey at least you don’t have to buy expensive jewelry for your right hand…..so i think most of you are safe.

There are people starving in this world – I personally, as would my wife, prefer to send the money to someone who really needed it. And yes, I can more than afford to buy diamonds I just choose not to. Not everybody who is well paid is materialistic. In fact most of the guys I know who have earnt fortunes tend to not spend their money on “bling”. Just trashy ones like you love.

A) Diamonds chip
B) They have to find a buyer who has the same taste (not as bad as ‘A’).
C) They know what it’s worth and can afford to make a low ball bid knowing that you’ll likely not realize that you could have had a higher offer.
D) They know that YOU don’t know. (Even worse than A/B/C combined)
E) You need the money fast, so you’ll take the first offer that is decent.

Next time, if you want something else to resell, just get certified precious metals. Or you can go with coins and jewelry whose main value is the metal content. And if that’s not to your taste, use the old standby of decorative guns ‘n ammo. (not joking at all!)

Their history is decidedly chequered, though I would need to see proof of claims like ‘owned 40% of the South African stockmarket’. Lots of older companies have some dodgy stuff in their pasts. deBeers tends to get put under the spotlight by readers of the Protocols of Zion.

Minor disclosure: I’ve done contract work for deBeers in the past. They’ve been excellent to work with, once you get over the security mindset they have.

        RowanVT said:

Bitter much? You certainly sound like it. As a woman, I would much rather have something like a lunar meteorite or birthstone ring than a diamond. In fact, I personally find diamonds to be the most boring rock on the planet. “Oh look. It’s clear. … woo.”

Heck, some birthstones are still worth more than diamonds. Even today, despite what DeBeers tells the world, diamonds are not the most valuable stones per weight. I’m not sure what is, but probably good quality rubies. Pink rubies are common. The really deep red ones are not, and clarity is rare in a ruby, so is highly prized. Also, rubies (being corundum) come in star forms, as do sapphires. (A star gem is one which, when polished, shows a shimmering star shape inside.) Diamonds never do; they have the wrong crystal lattice to support the star. And there are even synthetic star gems now; I used to have a synthetic star sapphire set on a white gold ring. Very nice.

But a lunar meteorite . . . dude. If my man got me one of those, I would be . . . well, I’d be over the moon. I’m not seriously into expensive jewelry (I mostly just like to admire it), but I *am* into space. A lunar meteorite, even a tiny one, set into jewelry would show that a) he really knows me and b) he’s willing to spend a huge chunk of money. I’d rather he paid off the mortgage if he has that kind of money, though. Meteorites are very very expensive. Not as expensive (per weight) as a high-end diamond, but a small piece set into jewelry will set you back a few hundred bucks at least, so they’re certainly not junk. Lunar ones will set you back considerably further, to the point where I suspect determining the actual price will involve haggling.