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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 483489" data-attributes="member: 530">Diamonds are an interesting thing.  The value of diamonds is hyperinflated by the DeBeers cartel, which artificially limits supply through monopoly to keep demand and value high.  In fact, without this monopoly they are for the most part not even worth the effort required to mine and cut them.  Diamonds are nowhere near being the rare commodity that the diamond myth declares.  The market could potentially crash some day, and I think that every diamond owner should be aware of -- diamonds may be forever, but diamond value is not.Another interesting thing is that diamonds as wedding rings was a tradition invented by DeBeers marketing in order to create a demand for the glut in the diamond market and to open it up as a consumer commodity.  A brilliant move, but one that IMO really diminishes the spiritual symbolism of the diamond as a wedding stone when you become aware of it.There is some background on this in the following article:  <a href="http://www.jewsweek.com/society/249.htm" target="_blank">http://www.jewsweek.com/society/249.htm</a>Nevertheless, the diamond holds a special place in our cultural consciousness and carries a certain meaning with it that's hard to refuse, but it's always good to know both who invented this "special place" in self-interest and whose pockets your money is lining, I say.A final thought I pose -- what do love and monetary have to do with each other, anyway?  I'm not necessarily saying that they shouldn't be connected.  It's much more complicated than that.  The anthropology and sociology of gift giving has always been very interesting to me.  In some sense, it's not the value of the ring that's important, so much as what you are willing to sacrifice so much in order to get it as a testament to your love.  DeBeers manages to take great advantage of this human trait.Anyways, congratulations!  I wish you a lifetime of great happiness.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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