Posted on 01/06/2007 7:44:37 PM PST by blam
OTOH, why aren't Russian diamonds considered to be "blood diamonds" too? The stinking Commies had blood dripping from their collective hands for generations.
As always, Hollywood is in the vanguard of what's most important: Feeling good about ourselves.
Fake diamonds make me just as happy,
and yes,
real diamons aren't rare at all,
not even a little bit...
Real alexandrite however, IS rare....
same with real padparadsha saphires,
pariba tourmaline, some corals,rainbow black pearls etc.....
Even an electric blue columbina zircon is more valuable in the right size.
Go for the stuff that appreciates in value every year!
Good for you. I like your attitude!
They can't wear diamonds. They can't wear fur. They can't be seen riding in an SUV, have to squeeze into a Prius. They can't eat meat. And with the Dems back in power, are gonna be taxed to death for the privilege of being p.c. celebrities.
Life is good.
DeBeers and the Russians were the world's main suppliers of jewelry diamonds, and they deliberately kept the price up. When wars broke out in some diamond-producing areas, the two oligopolists feared a crack in their oligopoly, undercutting their prices.
In a stroke of PR genius, they coined the term "blood diamonds." They could shut off the competition if they got the "good people" to spread their propaganda that "blood diamonds" paid for war. With this movie, it seems to have worked.
The worlds supplies of cut diamonds are controlled to keep prices high, there is no shortage of diamonds and in actuality would be affordable as fine cut crystal if the hoarded amounts were let out on the market.
If anyone wanted a gemstone of value consider the colored stones like rubies and sapphires, those are limited and do have realistic value, even amber is worth its weight in value.
Diamonds are overhyped just like a Rolex watch.
Not flawless color change alexandrite,
right now,
it's 8 grand a carat....and finding anything over a carat is
very rare.
Anything that screws deBeers is a good thing IMO.
All the conflict diamonds invariably come from former European colonies that were left with the basis for a fairly decent society. Most became corrupt basket cases. One country, Sierra Leone, that was able to beat back the sadistic terrorists, RUF, iirc, made the mistake of abandoning a military dictatorship too soon, and electing some quack UN type. The RUF immediately went on the offensive, and resumed killing, raping, maiming, and enslaving people. That's not to mention the absolute corruption of adolescents who probably will never be able to be integrated into any civilization.
Anyway, back to Brussels. I think it was Liberia that was doing about $10M a year in diamonds, and with all the conflicts, it shot up into several billion, since Liberia was the laundering operation for hiding the true source of "blood diamonds". All those old trading and smuggling trails from years gone by. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
YIKES...that's just crazy! About 40 years ago, you could buy a color changing, flawless, 2 carat stone, set in silver, for less than $50!
Your first link doesn't work. Can you repost it?
Joe, you're a genius.
I told my son the same thing when he was visiting for Christmas.
There seem to be a lot of naysayers belittling the value of diamonds. From an aesthetic point of view diamonds are the most beautiful of gemstones when cut and set properly. Criminal gangs and tribal warfare will exist over natural resources including gem deposits in underdeveloped nations until the end of time. So enjoy your ice.
I think you're thinking of another stone....
or maybe the big fakes that have been around forever....I've been a collector for a long time, and I've seen lots of the big fakes (I've got a nice doorknob) but finding a real one of decent size and colorchange is damn near impossible.
Real alexandrite has never been plentiful and it's never been cheap. Seriously, I have a tiny quarter carat that I got years ago and it was appraised as authentic.
Maybe you're thinking of the color change topazs or garnets?
Not I! I love my jewelry and don't care what the Hollywood idiots say. I also wear fur! :-)
all the stars and starlets can go back to wearing their red ribbons instead of diamonds .. a twofer!
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