Diamonds should NOT be forever

[smithy1234]

I have recently started discussing the issue of conflict diamonds in my economics class to analyze the effects of scarcity and other things. What I uncovered about the diamond industry has truly opened my eyes to the horrors of buying a stupid shiny rock. If you do not know about conflict diamonds allow me to enlighten you here. If you know what they are and who is getting them into diamond stores skip right to the discussion question at the bottom.

---> The main country that exports a lot of diamonds is Sierra Leone. Diamonds are obtained when militant groups force civilians to work in a river bed filtering out rough diamonds. The militant groups can be extremely cruel to the general populous. The company that buys most of these rough diamonds is De Beers. This company buys the rough diamonds and then sends them off to be cut and polished for diamond stores. They do this because if they control a large amount of diamonds then they can keep them and release them slowly to maintain the illusion that a diamond is extremely rare. This scarcity causes the high price of diamonds. The money that the militant groups receive from De Beers is used to fund their war. De Beers was the company that launched a massive ad campaign whose objectives were as followed.

+Get people to think diamonds are rare and special
+Get women to think that a man must present her with a diamond ring when proposing.
+Get women to think that if a man gives her a diamond whatever, he thinks that she is special.
+Change the courtship process to include diamonds.
The slogan for this campaign was "A Diamond is Forever".
It is almost impossible to tell if a diamond is obtained without conflict because of how hard it is to trace diamonds due to smuggling. The US buys 60% of the worlds diamonds.



--> My question to you is, who is responsible for stopping the trading of conflict diamonds and would you be willing to stop buying diamonds all together?

 

[joystickjunki3]

I'm sorry, but if my fiance wants a diamond ring, she's sure as hell gonna get it. Other than that, I avoid the purchasing of such rocks.

 

[Berethond]

I personally much prefer Rubies and Sapphires, myself.
I have never bought a diamond, and likely never will. It's just not my style.

 

[smithy1234]

I'm sorry, but if my fiance wants a diamond ring, she's sure as hell gonna get it. Other than that, I'll avoid the purchasing of such rocks.

Doesn't it bother you that a company is responsible for making you think that you must buy a diamond ring for your fiance to express your love?

 

[joystickjunki3]

I'm sorry, but if my fiance wants a diamond ring, she's sure as hell gonna get it. Other than that, I'll avoid the purchasing of such rocks.

Doesn't it bother you that a company is responsible for making you think that you must buy a diamond ring for your fiance to express your love?

I don't think I have to unless that's what my girl would want. I don't really care what I use to express my feelings as long as she understands how much I care.

EDIT: That being said, I understand completely your feelings and arguments on the matter.

 

[ellimist337]

Largely, the buyers in markets such as ours (the American market, though I'm sure the British market, Australian market, etc are also large markets) are the ones that must make the decisions that will stop the conflict diamond trade. Insist that your diamonds are non-conflict, and only buy from stores you trust and that don't (at least knowingly) participate in the sale of conflict diamonds.

Remember, it's not necessarily diamonds themselves that are the problem, it's the conflict diamonds. Just like the drug trade in Mexico, diamonds are a huge part of the economy in such places, and a total stop in trade would cripple them. Responsible buying would be a bigger step than straight-up boycott.

 

[kdragon1010]

In my opinion its the responsibility of whomever actually cares where people get diamonds from. I don't care, and I already knew where most of them come from. Of course I don't buy them either unless they're part of a tool (drill bits, saw blades etc.)

I have to say too that no company is responsible for MAKING you think anything through advertising. If you don't know it for what it is then you deserve to throw your money away.

 

[thiosk]

The world's main diamond-fueled conflicts are over.

Sidenote: diamonds burn. AWESOME

 

[Flying-Emu]

Definitely the producer. The consumer cannot be expected to spend their lives tracking down the source of diamonds, especially since you even state

It is almost impossible to tell if a diamond is obtained without conflict because of how hard it is to trace diamonds due to smuggling. The US buys 60% of the worlds diamonds.

Therefore, it is out of their hands. People desire shiny rocks, and they will have them. There's also the need to take into consideration that many people don't know about Conflict Rocks (as I call them).

However, let's be honest. A rock isn't nearly as romantic as a well-versed poem lauding the glories of the beloved.

 

[thiosk]

However, let's be honest. A rock isn't nearly as romantic as a well-versed poem lauding the glories of the beloved.

My fiance would beg to differ. imabadpoet

roses are red
violets are blue
you look good naked
so get. naked.

 

[Flying-Emu]

However, let's be honest. A rock isn't nearly as romantic as a well-versed poem lauding the glories of the beloved.

My fiance would beg to differ. imabadpoet

roses are red
violets are blue
you look good naked
so get. naked.

Thy face is as the sun to mine eyes
Bringing light, love, life.

I find that more romantic than a rock, since it came from the heart, rather than a store.

And you used a horrible example of poetry. But each to his (her, in this case) own.

 

[Aardvark]

Diamonds are boring, pointless little rocks that are cheap, tacky and overinflated in value. Any female who demands a diamond is a cheap harlot and not worthy of my precious time. Last I heard, we were well on our way to economical fabrication of flawless examples, so the De Largers monopoly won't last long.

 

[Good morning blues]

Largely, the buyers in markets such as ours (the American market, though I'm sure the British market, Australian market, etc are also large markets) are the ones that must make the decisions that will stop the conflict diamond trade. Insist that your diamonds are non-conflict, and only buy from stores you trust and that don't (at least knowingly) participate in the sale of conflict diamonds.

Remember, it's not necessarily diamonds themselves that are the problem, it's the conflict diamonds. Just like the drug trade in Mexico, diamonds are a huge part of the economy in such places, and a total stop in trade would cripple them. Responsible buying would be a bigger step than straight-up boycott.

There are two problems with this. First, nobody's going to admit that they sell conflict diamonds, and the vast majority of those that do are unaware that they do. Second, while you can make "taking this away, exploitative as it is, is only going to take away the only source of revenue and destroy local economies" can be applied to things like sweatshops, it doesn't really apply to a situation where the workers you're referring to are actually unpaid kidnapees performing forced labour.

 

[ellimist337]

Largely, the buyers in markets such as ours (the American market, though I'm sure the British market, Australian market, etc are also large markets) are the ones that must make the decisions that will stop the conflict diamond trade. Insist that your diamonds are non-conflict, and only buy from stores you trust and that don't (at least knowingly) participate in the sale of conflict diamonds.

Remember, it's not necessarily diamonds themselves that are the problem, it's the conflict diamonds. Just like the drug trade in Mexico, diamonds are a huge part of the economy in such places, and a total stop in trade would cripple them. Responsible buying would be a bigger step than straight-up boycott.

There are two problems with this. First, nobody's going to admit that they sell conflict diamonds, and the vast majority of those that do are unaware that they do. Second, while you can make "taking this away, exploitative as it is, is only going to take away the only source of revenue and destroy local economies" can be applied to things like sweatshops, it doesn't really apply to a situation where the workers you're referring to are actually unpaid kidnapees performing forced labour.

Right, but there are several companies that we generally accept the fact that they deal in conflict diamonds. I apologize that I can't give specific examples, I'm getting this from a documentary I watched on conflict diamonds quite a while ago. All I remember is that one of the companies was an extremely large UK-based company. This is what makes it so hard to stop. Large companies contribute to the problem with no regard for the consequences, because there are none for the companies themselves. People won't stop buying the diamonds as cheaply as they can find them because regardless of how many diamonds the companies have, they only release certain amounts to keep demand and prices high. Conflict diamonds are cheapest to obtain, therefore cheapest to sell, so people go to those companies.

I understand that you can't not (aware of the double negative) stop something bad because of the other effects (this is like side effects in medicines that cure/treat a problem). I don't deny that this needs to stop, I'm just saying that there are people in the countries themselves that embrace the whole process because everybody has to make money and survive somehow. The problem is they have nowhere else to earn that income. The problem of sweatshops could be solved by companies taking initiative and putting humanity before making a buck- they could pay workers more and improve conditions. Those aren't really the issues with diamonds. I understand they're similar issues, but there are differences too.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

Fuck shiny rocks, all kinds, most shiny metals too.

 

[jamesworkshop]

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff244/ubercomments/funny/011.gif

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Fuck shiny rocks, all kinds, most shiny metals too.

Wouldn't that hurt, like, a lot?

-- Steve

 

[smithy1234]

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff244/ubercomments/funny/011.gif

hahahhahahah nice parody.

 

[Anarchemitis]

So what I'll do is buy one from a manufacturer, because synthetic diamonds are both more colourful and cheaper than blood diamonds.
If push comes to shove, I'll get an Industrial diamond instead of jewelry.

 

[Merciless.Fire]

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff244/ubercomments/funny/011.gif

That is a good one.

If your above statements are correct, I'm not surprised about their business practices, just a way to keep price way up, shift supply to the left, and keep demand up as well. Wrong of course, but business is business.