Diamonds are Forever…and so is blood, greed and fraud
Published February 12th, 2007Some things really stick in my craw, make me really riled up. Equal rights for one (specifically gay marriage of late, and religious intrusion upon government). Another is consumer rights (specifically tivo and digital rights of late). And then the one I’m going to talk about today.
Diamonds.
The entire diamond industry is probably the most corrupt industry on earth. Hands down. I can’t think of anything else that has so many people hoodwinked. There have been numerous articles on how awful the industry is, but there was a small blog post today that really boils it down very nicely and consicely. (Poet and didn’t know it, eh?) Go ahead, read “The greatest story ever sold is a fantasy covered in blood” - I’ll wait. There’s some great resources to explore there at the bottom too, for more in depth information.
Diamonds are a FRAUD. Sure, they’re beautiful stones. But so are a lot of other things. Moissanite - silicon carbide to you chem folks - is more brilliant - sparkly to you folks easily distracted by shiny things. They’re only rare thanks to the huge volume of them sitting in DeBeers vaults. Diamonds are quite common and used industrially in many, many applications. For you defense folks, Al Qaeda partially financed the 9/11 attack through illicit “blood diamond” trade. If that’s not a reason to bring the price of diamonds down to what they should be (by forcing more onto the market, looking at you, DeBeers), I don’t know what is. Well, I do - there are a million reasons to stop the diamond hornswaggle. Oh and don’t worry about it lowering your resale value either - because diamonds have none. Go ahead - try it.
Maybe the best way to break this monopoly of greed is the rise of synthetic, cultured diamonds. And it’s about damn time. These diamonds are REAL diamond. They are created a couple of different ways, allowing for different tints and colors. And they can be made for a fraction of the retail cost of a mined diamond. And they are perfect. Perfect clarity and cut and sparkle or whatever ridiculous grading system there is to extract more money from the consumer. The diamond industry can’t knock them for being “imitation” - they exceed all the standards they have set forth.
Now I do hope one day to propose to the right woman. I hope to buy jewelry for special occasions (or maybe, just because it’s Tuesday) for someone I love. But I hope I never have to resort to buying a DeBeers or an “industry” diamond. The trade is disgusting. It is a fraud. They are beautiful rocks. So are many other things. Diamonds can still symbolize all the things they already do - they don’t have to do it through blood and greed. I will be happy to buy pre-owned diamonds - recycle and reuse people. They are gorgeous antiques. And it gives a little personality, a story behind it - and all great jewelry around the world has a story behind it. I will be happy to buy cultured diamonds. They are more beautiful at a fraction of the cost - and I don’t just mean monetary cost. I will be happy to buy other stones that are as pretty that aren’t controlled by a monopoly or mined with blood or children.
The diamond industry is evil. Think about what you’re buying next time you’re looking at jewelry. Because for me, buying an industry diamond is like selling my soul.
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