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Has Anyone Made an Artificial Diamond Ring?
DiamondRingThing asks: "I know that diamond engagement rings are a recent fabrication, and the two months salary required to obtain one is ridiculous. Diamonds are pretty however, and evil never keeps a good hacker down. I'd like to be able to give a diamond to my girlfriend that I know was forged just for her, without any blood on it, and without giving any money to DeBeers. That's why I won't buy an artificial diamond from a jeweler, as I suspect the cartel is involved at that level. Does anybody know anyone that has made their own diamond to set in a ring? How's the cost, and the quality? Thanks in advance."
Does anybody know anyone that has made their own diamond to set in a ring?
Sure...Superman used to do this all the time.
I think Vulcan did this quite a bit too.
^_^
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
From the article:
De Beers executive drove directly to Claridge's, and the two men sat down in the tearoom to the strains of a piano and violin duet. De Beers refuses to comment on the meeting--or about anything for this story--but Clarke says he simply placed his diamonds on the table. "When I told him that we planned to set up a factory to mass-produce these, he turned white," the General recalls.
See this excellent article in Wired a while back: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.h tml
Further discussion on this topic and slashdot will feel the power and wrath of De Beers.
Prepare for 503 errors if you continue to discuss alternatives to natural diamonds.
You have been warned.
-De Beers NOC
-Malakai
A Dragon Lives in my Garage
Theres always Lifegem
Just buy her a Canadian diamond...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/diamonds/
If your conscience is bothered as much as mine is by the horror stories of the diamond-mining industry, there are always the Canadian alternatives.
I have found there are just two ways to go.
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow. -REK, Jr.
Diamonds purchased from a jeweler are overpriced because you're getting it from a cartel. I recommend getting a ring from a pawn shop; the price of that diamond will be closer to an actual market value of that gem. The cost will be considerably lower than that from a jeweler, and you are getting the exact same type of rock.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
One: It would cheaper to buy a 3rd world nation from which to mine the diamond, or perhaps fund your very own coup, than to build the lab required for such an undertaking.
Two: The ridiculous outlay in cash is "proof that you truly love her" and without this she will have troubles interacting with her friends who, to a girl, have been subjected to the same brain washing and with her parents who partook in the brain washing.
Three: Buying blood diamonds has little impact on the goings on in Africa, it's an extremely fucked up place and the few dozen land mines bought from from the money from your diamond is nothing compared to mountains of small arms and land mines the G8 is selling to the various wacko revolutionaries and wacko tyrants or just the wacko white farmers, On CREDIT.
Three: While it is admittedly difficult to find a women worth spending your life with who doesn't want some ridiculus gem on her finger in the US, this is not so much the case elsewhere in the world.
Food for thought: How long does a diamond last? How long does a human last? How long does the average marriage last? Now considering these facts why isn't the used diamond market absolutely flooded? Where the hell did they go? OK My Mum had some from my Grannies that she gave to my sisters but come on, where are the rest?
My take on this... I fought a lot with my ex about this before we were married and she, of course, brought it up when we getting a divorce. Actually I'm pretty sure she still holds the comment "Do you realize how many land mines were planted in Africa with the money from that ring" comment, I made in front of our parents, against me. That was a sign I should have never married that women to begin with and should of held out for the fantastic Girlfriend I have now. I just pray that my daughter doesn't start to exhibit the same wacko tendencies...
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Why don't you talk it over with your fiance and find a set of matching rings that you both can afford -- then spend excess cash on a honey-moon or house downpayment.
:-)
Do you want an equal partnership or are you looking to 'buy' a wife? Might I suggest that 'buy'ing such a wife sets a poor precedent for the future of the relationship.
If one of you doesn't make as much as the other, fine: figure out a proportional payment based on your take-home and find a pair based on that sum.
Wasting so much money on a rock in this day and age when marriages are often not "forever" seems a bit dated -- and being a woman, I certainly wouldn't want the feeling of indebtedness that might come from such an unequal exchange. It would feel like a wrong power & relationship dynamic.
You also might find she likes other gemstones better than the "vanilla" standard white diamond.
I don't think artificial diamonds of superb color/clarity are quite yet ready for "prime time". Have read they have made small ones, but they are quite a bit away from larger ones and mass production.
Might also think of whether or not you want the bride's father to pay for the wedding (another tradition, taking the place of the dowry), or maybe pool resources w/your parents toward a honeymoon (or house downpayment).
At least with the money for a house downpayment -- you will both own a house together. Studies have shown a positive correlation between, both joint ownership of property and joint finances and longer marriages.
All this presumes you are a "mere", mortal man. If you are Bill Gates or
some multi-billionaire, well... nevermind.
Find a company like Jamming Gems, which sell synthetic gemstones, and you can get a much better cost than for natural stones. For example, you can get a 20mm x 15mm oval synthetic alexandrite for $14.99 -- a stone which, if natural, would be worth over $20,000. By spending less on the stone(s), you can have a more impressive ring made, and get a custom setting, so you're not just buying one of a thousand identical rings.
Moissanite.
My wife likes the sparkle, especially under standard indoor lighting. It really is more colourful and brighter than a diamond, but only costs a fraction of the price. Maybe one third the price, around here.
Of course, if your gal is one of those "but it's not a DIAAAAAMOND!" girls, you're SOL.
Hate to burst your bubble, but diamond-essence sells *cubic zirconia*. Its buried, but they explain it.
Which explains why its so cheap. Cubic zirconia is NOT the same as a manufactured/artificial diamond.
GPL'd web-based tradewars themed space game
I'm not a feminist. I like traditional roles. I like being the guy and there being a difference between the sexes, but engagement rings just piss me off.
The diamond engagement ring is a modern concept -- 1880's, thank you very much De Beers. But it sits on the chattel, economical arrangement ideas.
Engagement rings are expensive because they come from a tradition of viewing women as property, and men as providers, not partners. You're putting a down payment on her so as to keep her from marrying someone else, and to prove that you're successful. She wears it to prove to her friends that her husband is successful.
Wedding rings are great. They're generally cheap and function as symbols to two people binding to one another. Engagement rings are about materialism, conspicuous consumption, and investment in a woman as property via a down payment that you lose if you breach the contract.
If you MUST prove to her you're affluent, something's horribly wrong in your relationship. If you just want to prove it, stop for a second and think "why?" -- is it confidence issue for yourself, or are you just allowing the weight of history and our avaricious, hungry, capitalist society to put desires in your head?
If you really both want something to put on her finger to say "I am owned, even though I'm not yet married" to outsiders (and there's real comfort in that for both parties, I know), consider one of those Irish friendship rings, then she can box it away when she gets the real, mutual icon of the final attachment, instead of looking at it as so expensive she needs to wear it.
First of all, this would be a good time to invest in a seminar on how to negotiate (e.g. Karrass Negotiation Seminars). This will help you in your marriage, just as much as in material things like buying a diamond ring or a car or getting the highest possible starting pay rate.
Second, you need to learn about how to buy diamonds, go to google.com and type in, "Diamond Buying FAQ".
if you don't mind it being pink, blue, or yellow, you can get something at greenKarat
To this day it is still the biggest misconception in the industry that artificial diamonds are inferior in quality.
:-P
NEWS FLASH:
Those flaws are made on purpose, to keep DeBeers from absolutely destroying the market by flooding his entire stock onto it.
"Natural" artificial diamonds are perfect. That's right, PERFECT. No flaws, exceptional clarity. They are that way inherently so. Would someone who is actually involved in the bort industry please elaborate? Artificial diamonds are HEAVILY used in the machining industry, read: EVERYTHING that has to do with shaping metal or similarly hard materials. Bort diamond has no flaws, it's just not white or yellow, doesn't have to be.
The process in which diamonds are "grown" inherently produces sheer slabs of perfect cubic carbon, no imperfections. The artifical diamonds you see on the market are engineered to have flaws, as agreed upon by DeBeers and the manufacturers capable of producing artificial white, yellow, blue or red diamond. I have a sneaky suspicion this misconception will carry for a LONG time.
Ever seen a lab diamond? As in a diamond created for scientific purposes? PERFECT in every manner. They have to be, same as industrial diamond, those flaws mean structural instability; which is unacceptable for use such as high-polish grinding. DeBeers has managed to assert so much control in the industry that those that have even tried to do so for resale purposes are quickly crushed.....or just disappear completely.
The diamond/jewelry industry is ugly, very ugly. It is corrupt, bloody and very arrogant. Having never seen a conviction by law or even pursued by vigilante organizations known to exist in Asia or Africa, they will continue to be for a very long time. Here's something I bet you don't know, diamond bank gaurds--who just so happen to be unaffiliated with any law enforcement or government organization--have been known to carry FN Five-seveN's and H&K MP7's...without a Class C or equivalent license. These arms just happen to be illegal enough to get your average guy to disappear, having been designed for either clandestine operations or condition black urban ops (read: punch through anything, and accurately; with extreme concealability). When I say disappear, I don't mean dead, I mean gone. In Guantanamo Bay for the next 500 years.
Do what I plan on doing, make the ring yourself, it's not really that hard. A couple specialized Dremel bits, a 1"X3/4" piece of gold stock and a sizeable gem aside from a diamond that would accentuate your love's eyes, and go to town. Bench lathes are cheap, couple hundred bucks, as are the tools they use, you could make yourself a ring that any woman that would complain about would have to be crazy--one of a kind and hand made--for HALF the price of even a cheap ring. Oh, and you'd learn a marketable skill in the process. Who know's you might just have fun and use that same bench lathe for other projects. I know I would.
What comes from the heart? Blood, sweat and tears. Why not put that into your wedding ring? If you do it right, there'll be all three
Of all the Universal Constants, here's one I know: Nice guys finish last