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Comment by smoyer | Hacker News Reader

Good! ... The DeBeers cartel is monopolistic and exploitative. There's an interesting article that talks about how they initially created demand for diamonds as they weren't commonly associated with an engagement. I'm glad to hear there's a competitor that should at a minimum lead to a price correction.

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DeBeers having a monopoly isn't really true anymore. DeBeers lost an antitrust lawsuit in 2012 and had already sold off its stockpile by 2004 under increasing pressure for a lot of new mines opening up, particularly in Russia, which wrestled away their control of the market. Prices of diamonds have actually shot up quite a bit since DeBeers lost control but I don't know what the explanation for that is (maybe they were artificially low because of the stockpile selloff?).

I agree that this is a good thing though.

The article states the increase in price is because "supply in natural diamonds has peaked and due to strong Asian demand".

This has to have been the greatest marketing ploy of all time.

They created an engagement ring tradition so strong & embedded people assume that it's traditional... Out of thin air. They were able to create a "suggested price" of 3 months salary! Can you think of anything else like that? They got Marilyn Monroe to sing their jingle, one of the most iconic pop songs ever. They were able to label all competition as "fake," or fraud. Truly amazing.

> There's an interesting article that talks about how they initially created demand for diamonds as they weren't commonly associated with an engagement.

One of my favorite Priceonomics Articles - "Diamonds a re Bullshit" [0]. Previous discussions on HN [1,2]. Also, previous discussion on "Lab-Grown Diamonds" [3].

There are some cheap alternatives to diamonds like Moissanite. Here's a nice overview [4]. Also, discussed previously on HN [5].

[0] https://priceonomics.com/post/45768546804/diamonds-are-bulls...

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5403988

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9251952

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11903409

[4] http://diamondssuck.com

[5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12944464

In the USA, people don’t primarily buy diamonds for their looks or physical properties, but as a signal to a significant other that they are willing to invest in a relationship.

⇒ If there is a large price correction, something else will replace diamonds (what that something will be is anybody’s guess)

De Beers knows that, but wants to stay in the game, so they market “made by nature” as a pre of ‘real’ diamonds.

If the actual marriage itself wasn't enough of a commitment, I don't know what the stone says! My wife's engagement ring is a sapphire, and I later realized that her mother and grandmother also had sapphire rings. My wedding ring is $20 from Amazon. Good riddance, diamond jewelry industry!

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