I just got done writing a paper about the DeBeers monoply. For those who don't know. The DeBeers Diamond company pretty much has a strangle hold on the diamond market (although they have lost a good deal in the recent years). There general business plan for the last 100 years is to market the idea that diamonds are extremely rare and valueable, when if fact, if in a comepititve market, the average gemstone, if put to industual use would fetch a price between 2 to 30 dollars.
They are able to keep the high prices because they deals with (at least up to a few years ago) all diamond minds and agreements that they will buy the entire supply. (they currently have warehouses full of raw uncut diamonds) They then just release what ever quanitys they want to keep the prices where they want.
Now the debate is this. Should they be left alone, and allowed to keep the idea that diamonds are rare, and the value they mean (engagment rings, jewely, yada yada yada) or should this monoply be broken up and allow diamonds to be sold at a compeititve price, which would mean the whole value system for diamonds would change. (top of line engament ring for 500 bucks or so)
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Considering that most of the women that i would even consider buying jewlery hate diamonds and prefer other stones...i could care less.
Plus, i'm not a diamond person myself, so DeBeers doesn't get any of my money.
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The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
It's all about status.
If it's not rare (or at least expensive) who's gonna buy it if everyone has it?
Do I think it's right? No. Do I think it should change? Not really.
I dont need anything flashy...i dont even wear my earrings very often...Im not a jewelry person
the markup on diamonds is crazy. i do not wear gold or diamonds because i know that some 5 year old kid has been digging for it for his whole life, only to receive the minimum amount possible from a company like dabeers.
diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks i guess.
its called capitalism..... if your willing to buy they sure as hell are going to charge it
No, it's called monopolism.
And DeBeers has been explicitly barred from prospecting for gemstones anywhere in Canada's north. They were flat-out refused on the spot when they attempted to buy a claim.
Anyhow, Diamonds are NOT infact rare... If you want a rare gemstone, Sapphires and some Rubies are better fare because they're only found in River beds in asia.
DeBeers has been getting flak because of their original willingness to finance wholesale murder in Congo and other areas in Africa for the so-deemed "Conflict" or "Blood" diamonds. They basically pay to set up a guerilla army to start ran-sacking villages that have workers who work for other Diamond cartels. It's pretty heinous.
I'd say they should be barred from trading on the diamond market (and to be certain, have all their cut and uncut diamonds tagged) to prevent them from accruing more money, or force sell-off of their stores of uncut diamonds... or whatever. The fact that they still exist after being linked to numerous falfiesences, is utterly abhorent to me.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
Emor8t wrote:its called capitalism..... if your willing to buy they sure as hell are going to charge it
what GAM said, it's not capitalism...
Capitalism
Economic system characterized by the following: private property ownership exists; individuals and companies are allowed to compete for their own economic gain; and free market forces determine the prices of goods and services. Such a system is based on the premise of separating the state and business activities. Capitalists believe that markets are efficient and should thus function without interference, and the role of the state is to regulate and protect.
but the general question here is, monopolies are bad because they drive up the prices, but in this case, the high prices are why the object is valuable....
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It's only valuable because one company is choking off supply.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
But again, if i consider diamonds valueless (and inert), and a woman i'd buy one for does as well, why worry about buying them?
I just think their commercials suck, but they did prove that people will buy anything they're sold and convinced people that an engagement ring should be 3 month's salary.
That's almost as good of a bull@!#$ story as Government or Organized religion.
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The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
^^ Actually it's 2 month's salary.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
either way, if any women expects that, turn around and run.
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
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The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
GAM (The Kilted One) wrote:^^ Actually it's 2 month's salary.
Actually... it's whatever you want it to be. The idea of a "standard" is just marketing propaganda as KOTL says.
Do I think it should be broken up? That's a tough call. So far as I know, there's no shortage of industrial diamonds and the prices of such aren't extravagant so it's not as though the world is being hurt by this monopoly.
So what would be the benefit of busting it up? If you want a big sparkly rock on your finger, you can get crystals that are virtually indistinguishable from diamonds so it's not like people are being deprived of their bling due to this.
So what's the value in making diamonds worthless? What good reason is there to make them cheaper? Who will benefit from this?
If you think it is to your benefit somehow to be able to buy a flawless full carat diamond for a hundred bucks... you're kidding yourself. The fact that it's only worth a hundred bucks will take away the value of you having bought it as a gift. As I mentioned... it has nothing to do with how nice and sparkly a perfect diamond is. You can get that from a crystal.
I'm not sure what else to say about this. Nobody is making you buy an expensive diamond. It's not a necessity of life or anything.
Forget DeBeers... if all the women decided they just didn't care about their diamonds anymore and decided the sell them, the market would collapse in a day. They are only valuable because people generally buy them but never sell them.
diamonds are nothing more than carbon. if i took the lead out of my pencil and stuck it up my ass long enough, i'd have a diamond..
or would that be a pearl? ah well, either way it's not worth what they want.
It's worth exactly what people will pay for it. Nothing more, nothing less.
And you'd have to shove it up an oyster's ass to get a pearl.
Woudln't happen. A full, flawless diamond would still be expensive just because it's full and flawless--just like any other demstone there is (go to any mineral shop and look at the prices of the included amethyst compared to the flawless pieces and you'll see what I mean.
It is all just marketing propoganda. It's why i said anything that's an "expectation" from your sweetheart should be reason to run the other way.
I mean, consider this: assuming you make 42k a year, that's 3.5k a month gross. now if we assume gross for ease of math, that means that it should be $7000...
Now, if i'm expected to cough up around 7k on an engagement ring, then i better be getting an Ion Redline motor, a standalone ECU, stronger halfshafts, and a cryotreat on my tranny--AT LEAST. After all it should go both ways, right?
Sorry for the tangent, but the only reason they have inflated market value is demand. It's just like perscription drugs or automobile parts through GM (Dealer markup)
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The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
Funny this thread is here because I was just thinking about starting one.
I couldn't care less about jewerly, I do care about the abuse DeBeers puts people through to get these gems. That's why my wedding band is in silver.
---
DeBeers isn't in the ductile precious metals business.
Either way, a diamond says you're a materialistic person that has found someone to leach off of.
Transeat In Exemplum: Let this stand as the example.
I have heard that in Africa diamonds are everywhere. People will sell you diamonds for nothing....and you can just stock up....but the problem comes when you try and leave the country....they wont let you take them out. Not sure if this is true...but with the Monopoly of diamonds around the world I wouldnt be suprised.
Diamonds' origins can be tracked by their chemical composition and the pattern/wavelengths it refracts light at.
African Diamonds aren't the problem per se, it's the one or two mining countries that have company funded "rebels" against the government that are the problem.
Tracking Blood Diamonds is pretty easy because just about every diamond dealer worth their salt will get the diamonds analysed as a lot, and if it matches known Blood diamond samples, they're confiscated and the seller is arrested.
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considering that diamonds are usually found around extinct volcanoes...
I'm amazed people haven't started looking in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, the eastern cascades, and southern BC.
Hell, Alaska might have some as well. That alone might end their monoply.
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The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
There are companies that can artificially create gem-quality diamonds indistinguishable from the real thing.
They dope them with chemicals or etch them with the company names so that they're not passed off as real. Otherwise, nobody could tell the difference.
The reason they do this is so they don't destroy the market.
As I said above... what would be the value in making them cheap? Then people would just find something else to take their place.
I fully agree that the sort of crap that's pulled such as those atrocities in Africa should be prevented and don't condone DeBeer's as a company... but I think the idea that diamonds should be made cheap serves no purpose.
There is no value in reducing the value of them.
[quote=Keeper of the Light™]considering that diamonds are usually found around extinct volcanoes...
I'm amazed people haven't started looking in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, the eastern cascades, and southern BC.
Hell, Alaska might have some as well. That alone might end their monoply.
i believe the latest and biggest threat to the Debeers cartel are mines recently discovered in north westeren Canada. They were bought by an american company who by law can't join the cartel.
Promise that forever we will never get better at growing up and learning to lie
yeah, that sounds right--any area that has had past vulcanism has potential for diamonds.
It doesn't really matter what changes hands because the cycle will continue with something else until humans stop being pathetic (not going to happen in the foreseable future).
Goodbye Callisto & Skađi, Hello Ishara:
2022 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD
The only thing every single person from every single walk of life on earth can truly say
they have in common is that their country is run by a bunch of fargin iceholes.
Here's a question... how long have diamonds been associated with marriage? Is it a recent thing? Or has it gone on for centuries?
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