Diamonds for Blood?

[abaici]

Originally Posted by jon1856

And diamonds are no where near as rare as the owners of the mines and the rest of the industry
would like us to believe. Supply is kept short by storing supplies in vaults.
You can check that out on your own.

True. One thing I especially hate is that people are acting like horrible practices in the diamond industry is something new. This industry has always maintained poor labor practices, deceptive marketing practices, etc.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by abaici

True. One thing I especially hate is that people are acting like horrible practices in the diamond industry is something new. This industry has always maintained poor labor practices, deceptive marketing practices, etc.

And this is just one of their web sites to show the rose side of things:
http://www.diamondfacts.com/

[SummerChild]

So given the horrible conditions out of which some diamonds come and the apparent inability for the Kimberley process to provide fullproof certification (as if anything is foolproof), will you continue to purchase diamonds? Will you ask if the retailer can prove that the diamonds are conflict free?

As for me. I would definitely want anyone thinking of buying me any kind of diamonds to ask. I wish that I knew about this back in 99/00 when I started buying most of my jewelry. In the future, I will definitely try to find out if the diamonds are conflict free. Shoot, it's a good thing that I love many other stones - like aquamarine, pink sapphires, blue tourmaline, tanzalite, etc. as well.

SC

[Obsession8]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

So given the horrible conditions out of which some diamonds come and the apparent inability for the Kimberley process to provide fullproof certification (as if anything is foolproof), will you continue to purchase diamonds? Will you ask if the retailer can prove that the diamonds are conflict free?

As for me. I would definitely want anyone thinking of buying me any kind of diamonds to ask. I wish that I knew about this back in 99/00 when I started buying most of my jewelry. In the future, I will definitely try to find out if the diamonds are conflict free. Shoot, it's a good thing that I love many other stones - like aquamarine, pink sapphires, blue tourmaline, etc. as well.

SC

I'm with ya, soror. I'd want to be a very informed consumer. In all honesty, though, I prefer jewelry with my birthstone (sapphire).

[Lady of Pearl]

No, cubic zirconia is an alternative for me, also I am not that partial to gold as a previous boyfriend enlightened me about the political incorrectness of wearing it also

[jubilance1922]

I have been against mined diamonds for several years now. As a chemist, I always advocate the use of lab-made diamonds, which are engineered to be flawless and come in many different colors. They also are 1/10th of the price of a mined diamond. If you're looking for alternative stones, that's definitely one way to go.

[pinkies up]

I agree with jubilance. I watched a news story the other day about lab created diamonds. They have the same chemical compositions as mined diamonds, but are less expensive. They are not CZ's, because from what I understand, CZ's do not have the same chemical compositions as diamonds. When I upgrade my ring, this is the way I'll be going.

[SummerChild]

So Jubilance, are these lab-created diamonds typically identified when one goes into the jewelry store? Are they pretty widely distributed? I'm just wondering if I've bought a lab-created diamond w/out even knowing it.

Also, this may seem like a weird question but, although it is the same chemical composition, is it technically a "fake" according to gemstone standards or is it considered as genuine as those from the mines? Do you know whether the determination of whether it's genuine is based on origin or composition?

Originally Posted by jubilance1922

I have been against mined diamonds for several years now. As a chemist, I always advocate the use of lab-made diamonds, which are engineered to be flawless and come in many different colors. They also are 1/10th of the price of a mined diamond. If you're looking for alternative stones, that's definitely one way to go.