rants_diamond

Diamond Engagement Rings

Diamond engagement rings. Boy, I tell ya what... this one gets me fired up. And it's not like I'm the only one who feels this way. Pretty much all males can see the logic here, and pretty much every female can't. It really isn't that complicated.

First, let's lay down some facts.

Society expects males to shell out lots of money for diamond engagement rings. There is no way around this.
Females have been trained by society to expect this. No way around this either. Try using logic. See how far that gets you.
The technology exists to create faux diamonds which look, feel, and act EXACTLY like real diamonds. The only difference is that they don't have flaws, so that's how they are spotted by EXPERTS.

Now, my question is, why do females want these diamond rings? There are only a few possible explanations. I will shoot them all down right here. If you can think of more I'd be interested.

1) Diamond rings are soooo beautiful. They're worth the money.
ANSWER: No they aren't "worth the money" if the reason is beauty. Fakes exist that LOOK exactly the same. Nobody is going to be able to tell.

2) Diamond rings are more durable because they are real.
ANSWER: Nope. CZs are just the same. And even IF the quality ever did start to suffer, you could replace it at a tiny fraction of the cost. A CZ would have to go bad several times a year for a hundred years to make a diamond the sound financial choice.

3) Diamonds are really rare.
ANSWER: Actually they aren't that rare. DeBeers keeps HUGE inventories of diamonds, but intentionally limits the amount they release into society so as to artificially inflate demand. This keeps the mystique high and keeps prices high, while people just go on believing the same crap. They can do this because they have a monopoly. They own almost all the diamond mines. And even if they were that rare, why should they be so expensive? We pay a premium for gold because it wears so well. Fake gold turns skin green. Fine. True, diamonds are the hardest natural substance on earth, but how often does your diamond ring touch ANYTHING other than your finger, let alone cut glass or play records?

3) A diamond ring means he loves me a lot.
ANSWER: You base your love for someone on what they buy you?

4) No, I mean the fact that he spent all that money means he must love me.
ANSWER: First of all, this is incredibly shallow. But let's explore it anyway. If you really must have lots of money spent on you, and since fakes are indistinguishable, then you'd be just as happy with a huge check and a perfect fake, right?

5) Well, I, um, you just wouldn't understand. It's a woman thing.
ANSWER: Good logic here. This is what any and every diamond ring discussion always comes down to. There is no logical explanation. But then again, when do females ever use logic? "We just go with our hearts", they say. Hmm.

Here's a little test that will prove my point. Let's say that a man, let's call him Ted, buys his fiancee a fake diamond ring. He tells her that it's real. He covers all his bases and she believes this. She absolutely LOVES the ring, and he gets all kind of brownie points. All her friends love it. It is beautiful, and lasts for years and years and years. They have a great life together. Finally, when the couple gets way up in years, and they are enjoying a comfortable retirement due to lots or early saving and the magic of compound interest, Ted reveals that the ring is a fake. His wife is devastated. But why should she be? The fake has served EXACTLY the same purpose, and done it just as well. The money that was saved enabled the couple to begin their life together more comfortably, and to save for retirement as well.

Here's my point. If a fake can serve the EXACT same purpose and make the recipient JUST as happy, then there is no good logical reason to get a real one. Except that females like to have lots of money spent on them. But why waste it? This is the definition of "waste".

Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we pour a year or two's worth of savings into something so useless and shallow that not even one good reason can be found to justify it. Then, we'll forego things that we REALLY need so the female can wear a rock on her finger. We'll postpone a home purchase, vacations, maybe a new car. We don't need that stuff. What we need to do is make deBeers richer. Just throw money down the toilet.

"But, but, ... it's a DIAMOND". Oh. I see.