Re:Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever
by lewisflude on Tuesday May 04, 2021 @07:06AM
(#27036222)
The "you" here is someone buying a mined diamond. I would imagine you're right on status being one of the top reasons someone buys a diamond in the first place. There's other reasons (aesthetics, tradition), but I think the earth diamonds status as a rare expensive thing and it's artificial scarcity is what keeps them so desireable.
Re:Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever
by lotsofpulp on Tuesday May 04, 2021 @07:08AM
(#27036242)
Yes, so my point is it does not have much to do with the story of the diamond.
Re:Pandora says laboratory-made diamonds are forever
by lewisflude on Tuesday May 04, 2021 @12:18PM
(#27039273)
I'd argue that the fact that they're rare, special things found in the earth is a big part of the story. At least from people I've talked to who prefer earth grown diamonds, this is something that's come up multiple times.
However, people always turn a blind eye to the part of the story that involves cruelty, which is largely down to De Beers excellent marketing and creation of artificial scarcity.
I do not know who the “you” is here, but I would bet most people that want to consume diamonds (especially mined) as an end user for display purposes want to do so to signal their (potential) purchasing power, especially amongst their network.
Although, in this day and age, diamond and jewelry in general are pretty poor status signals. In general, material objects are a poorer show of status than simply having vacation pictures from all over the world constantly showing leisure time (the more finite and expensive commodity).