i cannot stress how artificial the logic is behind "diamonds are great investments" and "4Cs determine a diamond's value". but if you guys MUST have a huge (2-3 carat), flawless diamond to satisfy your woman, then consider these links: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/07/rtr1051351.html http://www.accendocollection.com/home.htm these things are still pretty expensive now. but unless the de beers ploy to stamp their name inside every diamond (ostensibly to "stem the flow of conflict diamonds") succeeds, eventually the flow of synthetic superdiamonds (a matter of time once more machines/manufacturers come online) will dramatically reduce the value of all regular stones on the market.
Educate yourself. Learn to use a loop to look at 'em. And go to a pawn shop. You can always get a stone reset, or get a ring cleaned to the nines at a jeweler. If a diamond is forever, then why can't it be used? My dad got tons of deals at pawn shops over the years,m never got burned. Then when we were burglarized (Aldine area of Houston) my Mom got face value replacements that were thousands more in cost. There's no shame in saving money. The "new" ring idea is overated too. Most of that gold has been melted and re-melted to make other rings for years after sitting dormant in a jewelry store's inventory untouched. And a diamond is forever. It won't change like a CZ or glass. Go used. Just like a car. Just get it cleaned at a jeweler, then you can honestly say you "picked it up" there. I didn't do this though. I, unfortunately, lost my mother to cancer in April of '94 just before the Rockets first championship run, and gave my wife the rings my mom wore. Bitter sweet. My wife thinks it's romantic, and she's "honored."
I know there is a bunch of stuff about the diamond trade and the wrongness of it...but cmon...its jewelry. Girls like jewelry. Diamonds are part of jewelry. If you don't like diamonds, that's your business, but a lot of people do like to wear diamonds because they are pretty. And as far as getting a diamond for an engagement...no matter who brought it about, it is now a tradition. Not all traditions are bad, and people like to keep with the tradition. People eat turkey on Thanksgiving because it is a tradition, people get Christmas trees for Christmas because it is a tradition...most women want a diamond for their engagement because it is now a tradition...whether or not it was before, I don't know...buy my Great Grandmother, Grandmother, and Mother all had diamond engagement rings, so the tradition has been around at least 80 years...so guess what, my wife got a diamond for her engagement. Maybe if one of those superdiamonds had been available, I would have bought one, but it was not readily available...so I had to go with the 4 C's to get one that looked good. You can buy ugly diamonds. So chill out. If not buying diamonds ever is your thing, that's fine...good luck with that, but don't try to make people feel guilty about getting their loved one jewelry for an engagement out of tradition if that is what they want to do. It just makes you sound like a curmudgeon.
a rough analogy to diamonds is a fur coat or ivory statues. the big difference? whereas you'd be violating animals for fur and ivory, you'd be violating human beings for your diamond. cheers!
I don't think I saw the most important part .... What does SHE want. Does she want a friggin rock to show that she's married? The type of cut? If you buy her a flawless diamond, she probably would never notice a difference with one of a slightly lower quality. Unless she really knows her jewely or is materilistic, go with the middle of the road. You can get a pretty good deal (color/cut/ect ..) for 1500-2000 that would awe her friends. Malls are not about selling diamonds or even making profit off of them. They are nothing more than a lending institute. (hence they all have their own credit cards to fill up your overpriced jewelry) They are salesmen, not jewelry experts. Oh, and jewelry is usually marked up about 300% on average...especially silver. Diamonds usually do not bring in that much profit.
