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Just came across this and thought it was very interesting - worth a read. I've been double-checking some of the facts and they all seem legit so far. Even for "conflict-free" diamonds, the polishing-by-child-slaves seems to still be a real problem. Yikes.
1. You've Been Psychologically Conditioned To Want a Diamond. The diamond engagement ring is a 63-year-old invention of N.W.Ayer advertising agency. The De Beers diamond cartel contracted N.W.Ayer to create a demand for what are, essentially, useless hunks of rock.
2. Diamonds are Priced Well Above Their Value. The De Beers cartel has systematically held diamond prices at levels far greater than their abundance would generate under anything even remotely resembling perfect competition. All diamonds not already under its control are bought by the cartel, and then the De Beers cartel carefully managed world diamond supply in order to keep prices steadily high.
3. Diamonds Have No Resale or Investment Value. Any diamond that you buy or receive will indeed be yours forever: De Beers™ advertising deliberately brain-washed women not to sell; the steady price is a tool to prevent speculation in diamonds; and no dealer will buy a diamond from you. You can only sell it at a diamond purchasing center or a pawn shop where you will receive a tiny fraction of its original "value."
4. Diamond Miners are Disproportionately Exposed to HIV/AIDS. Many diamond mining camps enforce all-male, no-family rules. Men contract HIV/AIDS from camp sex-workers, while women married to miners have no access to employment, no income outside of their husbands and no bargaining power for negotiating safe sex, and thus are at extremely high risk of contracting HIV.
5. Open-Pit Diamond Mines Pose Environmental Threats. Diamond mines are open pits where salts, heavy minerals, organisms, oil, and chemicals from mining equipment freely leach into ground-water, endangering people in nearby mining camps and villages, as well as downstream plants and animals.
6. Diamond Mine-Owners Violate Indigenous People's Rights. Diamond mines in Australia, Canada, India and many countries in Africa are situated on lands traditionally associated with indigenous peoples. Many of these communities have been displaced, while others remain, often at great cost to their health, livelihoods and traditional cultures.
7. Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds. More than one-half of the world's diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children.
8. Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa. There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers.
9. Diamond Wars are Fought Using Child Warriors. Many diamond producing governments and rebel forces use children as soldiers, laborers in military camps, and sex slaves. Child soldiers are given drugs to overcome their fear and reluctance to participate in atrocities.
10. Small Arms Trade is Intimately Related to Diamond Smuggling. Illicit diamonds inflame the clandestine trade of small arms. There are 500 billion small arms in the world today which are used to kill 500,000 people annually, the vast majority of whom are non-combatants.
Long live moissanite!
While some of those are good reasons, I still love diamonds.
'essentially, useless hunks of rock' - that's all relative.
Well, technically they are just hunks of rock. And I don't know if they really do have much use outside of engagement rings. So...
@leafgum: Sorry, but the first is absolute bull puckies. The first diamond engagement ring on record is from 1477.
My diamond engagement ring was given to my grandmother on her engagement in 1946, again disproving your theory. My other granny's amazing 5 stone diamond engagement ring was given to her the following year but was already at least 50 years old at that point (although I don't know if it was an engagement ring initially).
While I do object to blood diamonds, there are alternatives in the form of conflict free diamonds (Canada, Australia and a number of other countries produce diamonds) or antiques like mine.
Moissanite, though very pretty, is currently overpriced due to a patent on it. Once that patent expires I will consider buying it but not before then.
@leafgum: They are very useful as a sharpening tool. Most automatic knife sharpeners use diamonds because they are one of the hardest substances in the world. They are also used on the tips of drills and diamond dust can be used as an industrial abrasive.
This seems like mainly a "pot stirring" or "my ring is better than yours" post, so I am not going to comment further.
And many of those reasons could be applied to the metal that you used to set your moissanite. Diamonds aren't the only thing that is mined, causes disputes with indegenous populations, have price manipulation issues, marketing ploys, etc. This entire list is a bit "holier than thou" and is designed to make people feel bad for their choice. How lovely.
To each their own. I don't care about jewelry to begin with. FI was given his great grandmother's ring to use. I accepted it. It shows me that his family believes I am the one and they love me as well.
I think these are all very interesting points but I see it like I see almost all the things we use in everyday life... from the clothes we wear to to couches we sit on. Even when theyre made in your own country, many of the materials are shipped to north america from other countries where (sadly) child labour and unfair work practices are common.
I would love to boycott all things that come from a shitty history like this but it would be impossible.
This should be titled, "10 Reasons to do your research before purchasing your diamond"
Not all diamonds come from conflict stones and I think its offensive to label women with diamonds as having been "conditioned" to want a diamond.
The 63 year old advertising referred to in #1 is the saying "A diamond is forever", not the tradition of a diamond as an engagement ring.
Soo...your research on proving if these "facts" are real is flawed.
To each his own. I love my diamond and wouldn't have it any other way. Long live happy brides with their dream engagment rings....whatever stone or rock that may be :)
@tranquility: I was going to bring that up as well, but I didn't want things to escalate.
First of all, this is not my theory - read the intro I wrote. Second, good sleuthing! But I think the first point was related to the advertising more than to the first-diamond-engagement-ring-of-all-time? I could be wrong. I read it, however, as talking about this company pushing the idea of a diamond ring until it became the normal ideal. Which I can't possibly argue with, as I see so many IRL friends and weddingbee-ers receive their rings. It definitely is the standard now (give or take a few lovely exceptions).
@leafgum: Diamonds have tons of practical uses outside of engagement rings. Something like 80% of diamonds are unsuitable for use in jewelry.
I don't think diamonds are the only conflicted product we buy, not by a longshot. I think the reason they get so much attention is because they're expensive and not everyone can afford one.
I agree that it's all relative, to one person it might be a useless rock, but to people like me it's a beautiful piece of jewelry I wear every day that reminds me of when my DH proposed.
And just because an advertising agency makes something popular doesn't mean it isn't traditional or special. It makes sense that the campaign worked because diamonds are beautiful.
I honestly think it's more about how people are treated in other countries no matter what they're doing. Think about it. Diamonds didn't cause this. So sad.
@leafgum: You basically copied and pasted something that you did no research at all into with the intent of stirring.
As other people have stated, there are plenty of other morally dodgy products we buy in our lives.
Your retitle is my point in posting the article.
I know that the advertising is the saying, but for me that still stands as a point? Maybe not. It certainly created a tradition in diamond rings. Not saying the tradition is bad, but of course it is an idea that grows up, then, in many girls.
@moderndaisy: "I think the reason they get so much attention is because they're expensive and not everyone can afford one." <--- +1
People often like to tear down what they can't have. But unless you're shopping solely in local run stores with local made products, I guarantee you're buying conflicted products.
If you don't want or can't afford a diamond, or don't think it's worth the money, that's fine. There are lots of beautiful alternatives. But don't tear down others' rings to make yourself feel superior.
Diamonds are actually highly used in mechanical drilling equipment and medical equipment because they are the strongest so they have plenty of uses outisde of engagement rings.. if girls say they are against diamonds so they get massonite.. why pick something that its intented to look like a diamond..why not get a pearl or a ruby.. .. its because you want people to THINK its a diamond. Ill probably get blasted for that but its true.. I love my diamond and I wouldnt trade it for the world
@leafgum: the same could also be said of moissanite. that it's just a hunk of...whatever the hell its made of.
They definitely aren't for everyone but I love my conflict free diamonds!
I'm a sapphire girl personally, but I'd love an antique diamond. Unless you live your life not impacting the environment at all (sewing your own clothes, not driving or using a vehicle that releases toxins into the air, no hairspray, you recycle everything etc.) or you have devoted your life to the service of others less fortunate, don't pat yourself on the back *too* hard for being so humanitarian.
No, I did look into some of the points. Why should this stir something up? I agree there are absolutely tons of products that we should steer clear from if we dont want to be involved (indirectly, even so) in how they are created. But uh, why would I post something about leather bags or shoes from china on a wedding website? Not the topic. I'm surprised at how many people are actually offended at the OP. I'm not accusing bees of being amoral or careless with choosing their rings - I'm hoping that it will instead make us bees think about our wedding jewelry in a more ethical sense - which is thankfully taking off as a trend, I've seen :)
Definitely agree. It's awful. I guess I'm saying my way of tackling this would be to stay away from diamonds that I can't track their every move, so that I can be sure my diamond is truely conflict-free, and that I haven't been distantly or indirectly involved. Which means if every engaged woman did this, the way diamonds are marketed/mined/etc. would change drastically for the better.
I wouldnt wear a massonite or CZ if I was paid to..I wouldnt wear a fake purse either..its just not my style.. conflict or not conflict Id wear a real emerald before Id wear a fake "diamond"
@leafgum: Your post is kind of like posting a picture of a starving child from Africa and saying "you're about to spend 10k+ on a wedding when there are people starving in other parts of the world"
@lovekiss: 100% agree. And applying it even beyond the world of rings, unless someone is prepared to say they've never bought clothes/shoes that were made in a sweatshop (Forever 21), never eaten foods that were harvested by maltreated migrant workers, never purchased items imported from countries with a record of human rights violations, they have no room to look down on others for purchasing a diamond. Unfortunately, diamonds are just one of many products in our global economy that are connected to hearbreaking treatment of human beings.
@KatNYC2011: you beat me to it. Diamonds have lots of uses beyond jewelry.
All jewels and metals (such as gold, platinum etc.) are essentially 'useless hunks of rock'. Their value comes from what we decide to put value on.
You have also been conditioned to want a white dress, and a reception, and a cake, and a bouquet. And to think Coach bags are better, or designer clothes are worth the extra price.
I love my diamond and wouldn't trade it for anything. I've also seen some gorgeous non-diamond rings on here. Each woman should be able to pick what she likes best.
I see no point to this post other than to stir the pot.
Antique and rough diamonds are really beautiful, to me. And of course, you shouldn't hoist yourself up onto a pedestal about one thing if you're not practicing the rest - but that's not to say you can't start with one thing.
@leafgum: Look at the title of the thread. I think that should answer your question.
The reason that it offends people is because people try to pass of saving money as being a "save the world" person.. Id rather someone say.. I got a masonite because we cant afford a diamond.. in that case.. good for you for being price savy..again its not my style.. but dont try to say your against diamonds..because I wont say ALL..But most girls that have masonite..wouldnt turn away there FI if he showed up on bended knee with a diamond thats for damn sure.
@jules0580: Some girls get diamond alternatives for cost efficiency. They may like the look of a diamond, but don't want to spend the money on it.
@leafgum: So I take it you're making sure that your wedding dress is produced in a workshop where all staff are fairly paid and treated (with adequate benefits) using only materials that also meet high welfare standards?
I have no objection whatsoever to non-diamond engagement rings. I love coloured gemstones in particular, but this post was obviously stirring.
@hisgoosiegirl: "You have also been conditioned to want a white dress, and a reception, and a cake, and a bouquet."
Bingo. Why even have a wedding, why not wear a paper bag and get married in a field somewhere? If you're so against the brainwashing, break the cycle right?
I understand your sarcasm, but I'm actually designing and sewing my wedding dress with my mother. We did the same with my sister.
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