If people who buy diamonds are brainwashed dummies then what does that make me...the person who sells them?!?! :rolleyes:

The pink diamond that someone above was asking about is in fact rare...but not as rare as the red diamond. It is rumored that there are very few red diamonds and their owners like to remain annon. A few years ago, the red diamond that Eva Peron had was auctioned off (forget for how much). It's said that Madonna may own it.

I don't have time to go into how the diamonds become colored, but they are more rare because they are just that...colored. True, if you were to go to a jewelry store and look at diamonds, those that are in the colorless range of D,E,F would be the most rare. But diamond color ranges from D to Z. And the further past J you get the more yellow/champaign they look. But thats the result of what would be a white diamond (clear diamond). The colored ones are fancy...like for example Faith Hill owns a 5 carat canary yellow diamond. It's not ICKY POO POO yellow like a N or M colored diamond, it's more of the actuall PRETTY yellow color.

Hope this makes sense! When I get back from work tonight I'll post how diamonds become colored :)

I can't wait! :D I like diamonds, but I don't have any ... yet. ;)

It's funny because I used to be all about diamonds, but now don't really care either way. I think I'm becoming less materialistic in life as I realize that there are things that matter much more than stuff like diamonds. That said, I'm certainly not going to hate on someone who likes them, because what's the point??? We all have our own, different opinions and that's what makes the world interesting.

Of course, I'm still a handbag snob, but I think that's incurable. ;)

It's actually quite funny to see intelligent and educated adults blindly assume the lofty prices of diamonds and their cultural significance

Well, you posted the thread. People are sharing their opinions, which appear to be different than yours. If you didn't want people to share, why in the world did you post this?

It's not so funny if you get a diamond from your loved one and lie awake seeing it sparkle on your finger. M'mmm...as the Mastercard commercial says: PRICELESS.

When you buy a luxury car, at least you get a very comfortable ride, less noise, and better performance. Nice clothes can keep you warm (you can't really run around naked anyway), and even a Rolex can meassure time. We can utilize most luxury items, although it may not be as practical or useful as some other cheaper products. However, diamonds are probably the most useless item in the world. It was just the end result of a successful marketing campaign. I can understand it's plainly a status symbol, but do you think people in the upper class really need to show off their wealth? And if you belong to the Middle class, is it so wise to invest so much on a pointless piece of rock, while your money can be better spent elsewhere?

So which is it? Intelligent and educated, or brainwashed dummies?

Contact, you post the weirdest, most obscure threads ever.

Do you think it is any better to conform to the media's standards of beauty? Or better yet, GC's? (Think, is 160 lbs. too fat? Does this make one insecure? Or is it just fodder for conversation?)

I mean, come on. You have your opinons, we have ours. How dare you judge anyone based on how they feel about diamonds? Get a life. :rolleyes:

lol. Hush puppy.

welcome to the real world....

My real world includes diamond rings and I'm glad of it. Ipso facto, yours does, too. :)

Hey, I know I'd like one. I think the platinum movement is where we women are starting to lose perspective. I don't expect to be given a platinum ring with a diamond. White gold or even silver will do just fine. Just no gold (personal preference). It's the symbolism I care about. Platinum is expensive. If he gives me platinum, I have vowed to give my man an equally expensive engagement present then, he'll deserve it! Cuz even though I like simple things, I can have expensive taste....

it's personal
 

Jewelry -- especially an engagement ring -- is personal. What you like is your taste, what I like is mine. I don't care what you think.

On the same note, that piece of gold we value as our sorority badge means nothing to an outsider, but it means VERY MUCH to me.

So Contact, you & your fiance can make your own decisions on what to get. The rest of us will make ours.

Capitalism, free choice, credit cards... yes, I DO love America.

Oh, and don't worry...I never ask people to see their rings, so I won't ask to see yours.

wayer are zee di-a-mones??

OK, you (sorta?) have a point here - diamonds are FAAAAAAR less rare than most colored gemstones (i'll search for cite later). So in that regard, it's an artificial market. DeBeers holds diamonds of all quality ranges (but especially the "rarest") back to create lower supply, and you don't have to be an econ major to get the ramifications of that.

--------HOWEVER--------

I think the way you phrased your first post makes you look like a gargantuan ass, and makes your argument far less effective. The affectation here is that your good point is sullied by the mental retardation with which you spew it.

It's actually quite funny to see you posit a point in such a crude and ill-suited manner. You basically came in, made harsh points, and called people stupid-heads. How pleasantly adolescent.

Barely - Rolexes are shitty watches, especially in terms of accuracy.

For a "quality queen," you may want to do the research . . . or are you being brainwashed by Rolex ad campaigns and popular media, which make Rolex seem like the top watch brand?

(I WIN)

Better to invest in gems than the stock market these days.

And, Contact, if you're worried about spending a lot of money, I read on another thread here on GC that you can buy diamond rings at Walmart.. I'm sure they have prices that can suit any budget.

**Arsenio Hall audience hoot, hoot, hoot!!**

Ignorance is bliss. You OBVIOUSLY didn't read what I wrote. Diamonds are not just USED in jewelry. They are used in a lot of tools and machinery. So therefore, they're not useless.

And diamonds are not the end result of a successful marketing campaign. Diamonds have been around a lot longer than Public Relations and Marketing.

and doo-doo is not cool....

it's 11:39, what the ish are you doing right now?!

I want to read about colored diamonds.
I liked the engagement ring that The Bachelor selected for Helene. :) I wouldn't mind getting a diamond ring like that.

I'm looking up my info as we speak cream. I've got my Diamontology book here so as soon as I find the stuff I'll post it!

Thanks Hootie! :)

Colored Diamond Information
 

This is straight from the newly published Diamond Council of America's "Diamontology" course book!

Fancy Colors:
The colors of fancy diamonds are analyzed in terms of three components: hue, tone and saturation.

Hue is the color's basic category - red, yellow, green, blue and so on. hues include mixtures of reddish-orange and blueish-green.
Tone is the color's lightness or darkness.
And Saturation is the color's strength and purity. Low saturation colors often appear brownish or grayish.

Other information:
Intense yellow diamonds have long been called "canaries" after the brightly colored songbirds. Similarly, brown diamonds have been described as "coffee" or "cinnamon" colored.

Australia's Argyle Mine is one of today's leading diamond producers. The mine's output includes a variety of fancy colors. The rarest are pinks and reds, prized by collectors and connoisseurs around the world. However, this mine produces more of what is called "champagne" colored diamonds which are nothing more than a series of pinkish brown to brown diamonds.

When picking a fancy colored diamond:
The other four c's (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight) aren't as important. It says that an intense pink diamond at 3 carats is exceptional and if one were to own a 1/2 carat red diamond it would qualify as WORLD CLASS!

The Hope Diamond:
One of the World's most famous gems, and it's most striking characteristic is its dark blue color.

It's early history is somewhat speculative. most authorities believe it was mined in India and came to Europe in the mid 1600s. At that time it weighed about 110 carats and had an irregular shape.

Louis the 14th purchased the diamond around 1670 and had ir recut to a more symmetrical form, reducing the weight to 69 carats. It became known as the French Blue Diamond. In 1792, during the French Revolution, the diamond was stolen along with most of the French Crown Jewels and vanished from historical records.

Early 1800s, a remarkable blue cushion-cut diamond weighing 45.52 carats appeared in London. Henry Philip Hope bought it in 1830 and named it for himself. After his death, the diamond passed on to heirs and other owners. Around 1910, Cartier of Paris purchased it and sold it to Evelyn Walsh McLean, a prominant American socialite. To conjure a little dark romance, Pierre Cartier may have also invented the ledgend of the curse. After McLean died in 1947, renowned diamond dealer Harry Winston purchased the Hope from her estate and donated it in 1958 to the Smithsonian. It is now there on exhibit.
_______________________________________
Diamonds containing isolated atoms of nitrogen dispersed throughout the crystal structure will most likely produce a "canary-yellow" color.

Instead of nitrogen, extreamly rare diamonds contain traces of boron which can impart a blue color if they're present in large enough amounts.

THANKS HOOTIE!

I was the one that asked about the pink diamond. So the red diamonds are THAT rare? No one sells them?

I like that the RED diamond is the most rare(ooo-oop sorors, lol!)



QTE

Haha!! I totally agree with you-because that's all I do right now :D

BTW, I didn't know there were red diamonds-I guess you learn something new everyday!