Would you propose with a diamond grown in a lab?

This is one of those curious cultural things that are well-accepted in a handful of countries and seem completely loony to the rest of the world. America has its engagement ring culture I guess. The phrasing of the article title says a lot.

I spent €100 on a lovely antique necklace for my fiancée, knowing full-well that she would call me crazy and feel unpleasantly embarrassed if I spent more on it. Meanwhile you come across stories of American men spending several monthly salaries on diamond engagement rings simply because they are expected to. Fascinating how such a custom has such strong inertia, despite all the critical voices denouncing it — not in the least because of the harmful way diamonds are mined.

Refreshingly, the geekier types seem to lean towards all sorts of creative alternatives, such as lab-grown diamonds, alternative unencumbered gem stones, and the coolest space-age metals.

American. Spent a handful on a CZ. Spouse would shoot me if I blew that kind of money on a rock we derive so little value from.

We would take the cheapest reasonably durable stone that looks shiny.

I would not marry someone who wants a diamond. Perfect litmus test for knowing what they want out of life and having it match what I want out of life.

I'm pretty sure we are not representative, but financial literacy is not exactly common. IMO people are pretty bad at understanding what they want vs what will make them happy.

There was a nice article [1] on how De Beers succeeded beyond even its most optimistic expectations in Japan:

"Until 1959, the importation of diamonds had not even been permitted by the postwar Japanese government. When the campaign began, in 1967, not quite 5 percent of engaged Japanese women received a diamond engagement ring. By 1972, the proportion had risen to 27 percent. By 1978, half of all Japanese women who were married wore a diamond; by 1981, some 60 percent of Japanese brides wore diamonds. In a mere fourteen years, the 1,500-year Japanese tradition had been radically revised. Diamonds became a staple of the Japanese marriage. Japan became the second largest market, after the United States, for the sale of diamond engagement rings."

[1] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you...