Upgrade = divorce?

[goldengirl]

Ran across this online and thought you all might find it interesting. The full article can be found here.

Would you ever consider trading in your engagement ring for a bigger, better diamond? In a 1988 poll of 200 new brides by Diamond Cutters International, 46% said yes and 54% said no.

Now, 15 years later, these women have been polled again. Of those who in 1988 were willing to trade up their diamonds, 81% are now divorced. Of the sentimental types who said they''d never trade their rings, 78% remain married today. The results suggest that people who are "hard-wired" to upgrade rings also may be driven to upgrade cars, houses and eventually, spouses, says psychiatrist Francisco Montalvo, who monitored the study.

Thoughts??

 

[fancyrock]

If money isn't an issue... I wouldn't upgrand/trade-in my e-ring. I would prefer to just get another one all together. I am sentimental... so each jewelry means a lot and has a different story to tell.

 

[goldengirl]

Hey, I feel the same way! I'd be kinda "weird" about giving up my original ering, but would have no such qualms about adding to the collection. Then I'd have the ering, the 1-year-anniv ring, the 5-year anniv ring, et cetera...

 

[Jennifer5973]

I did upgrade my ering but it was a new purchase for an anniversary. I still have my original ering stones and contiue wear them on my right hand (they were reset).

What does that make me?

 

[goldengirl]

It makes you LUCKY!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 10/1/2004 4:22:55 PM Jennifer5973 wrote:

I did upgrade my ering but it was a new purchase for an anniversary. I still have my original ering stones and contiue wear them on my right hand (they were reset).

What does that make me?

----------------

It makes you pretty lucky

I'm keeping my original stone when i upgrade. I hate statistics as they're always bias, IMO. Who was involved in the study, anyhow? All this psychitrists patients? lol

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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On 10/1/2004 4:40:19 PM goldengirl wrote:

It makes you LUCKY!

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lol funny, i was typing this exactly when you were

 

[Jennifer5973]

Yes--we must take statistics with a grain of salt.

They are easy to manipulate--like men.

 

[fancycoloredfan]

I'm sorry, but 200 people polled? not a lot of people. If anyone has taken a stats course, that doesn't say much. Anything that has to do with Fred Cuellar and DCI (diamond cutters int'l) seems hoax-y.

Some people upgrade their diamond, some people keep their first diamond and buy a brand new ring and never wear that first one...

I just think it's a lame poll to begin with.

 

[valeria101]

Could be… but then, this is the most clear cut consumer behavior poll ever. I don’t get to see such spectacular numbers every day – actually, it never happened yet.

The only stats this clear happen to be votes in time of war or dictatorship ! nothing else I know of… Marriage and civil status stats are among the least clear, actually - especially time series of panel.

As far as I now, as usual. The only difference: this comes from my professional experience, not a hobby

Oh well. I guess the message of the report is “get the ultimate diamond now” or else is bad luck to you

 

[Rank Amateur]

Though I'm no fan of DCI, I believe the results of the poll.

 

[fire&ice]

Well, I have my own statistics. My two best friends, and myself, all have larger diamonds than the orginal e-ring. All are still married 20++ years later. So, 100% of those polled w/ "upgrades" stay married. Quite frankly, I know of no one who has had received a larger diamond for an anniversary & is divorced. In fact, just the opposite appears to be true.

 

[MelissaSue]

There was also a study a few years back that said women who wear marquise cut e-rings are more likely to get divorced. What's THAT logic?

Melissa

 

[Nihiladrem]

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On 10/2/2004 10:08:23 AM MelissaSue wrote:

There was also a study a few years back that said women who wear marquise cut e-rings are more likely to get divorced. What's THAT logic?


Melissa----------------

In research there is something called a correlation factor which can be obtained for any two variables. A correlation factor of one means basically a one to one correspondence or a direct connection between the two variables. A correlation factor of zero would mean no relationship.

However you can never obtain a correlation factor of zero - thus an examination of your information must me made to see if it is reasonable that there be a relationship. I think in the above example someone forgot that step.

 

[Mara]

I posted about this same article back in Feb of 2003, here are people's responses on back then: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/upgrading-your-ring-leads-to-divorce.4904/




So, along the lines of 'trading up'...which people do often in today's society. New car after 2 years, new house after 5. New clothes every season. New electronics after a few years. So why not not new diamond or new hubby when things get boring? Don't know how realistic that is!

There are many studies out there that note things that can alarm people, for example living together before marriage couples supposedly were 2-3 times as likely to get divorced than pepole who had not lived together before marriage.




I read another article about this recently and it noted something about perceived 'lack of committment' while living together before marriage, while if you did not then you probably were more old fashioned and more likely then to stick things out than other people who may be more forward thinking when it comes to romance. Also it noted that people who lived together before marriage for a long period of time always had the 'leave' option before marriage, so they may have gotten used to that mind frame, so that when things got rough in the marriage, they still had that leaving mind-frame.




It made very good points, and having been in a situation like that before I met Greg...I definitely agreed with some of them, but everyone is different and has different situations so who really knows.

 

[goldengirl]

Yeah, I remember that bit about the marquis diamonds!

And I remember the whole "if you live together before you're married you're twice as likely to get divorced" thing too. The other half of the report said that you're also twice as likely to split the housework equally. So, I guess you have to decide what's more important to you!

Hmm, well, SO and I are living together, but I definitely do the lion's share of the housework. Does that mean I'm safe from the 2x possibility of divorce??

 

[JCJD]

Did you know that in Norway, the divorce rate and the rate of apple import both increased at the same time? Obviously, this correlation indicates that more apple consumption leads to a higher divorce rate - outlaw fruit!!!
LOL. I just found this thread and had to contribute that little token.

Correlations can be informative but they won't tell you which variable caused the other. So nihiladrem, even if the correlation factor is close to 1, like my above example, it does not mean that the relationship between divorce and apples or divorce and diamond upgrades means that either apples or upgrades cause people to divorce. You would need to conduct an experiment to determine that, i.e. give people either more or less apples and see which group divorces more often.

 

[KSparkles]

Hey good point! Reminds me of statistics class in college - our professor said that as ice cream consumption goes up, so does the homicide rate. That doesn't mean that eating ice cream causes people to go nuts, rather it's that ice cream is eaten in the summer, when most assaults happen (for some reason or another). Food for thought...

 

[Rank Amateur]

Women with marquise cuts are four times more likely to have big hair.

 

[Todd07]

Oh, what fun to quote statistics.




Extensive research by historians has shown that 50% of all US Presidents are below average. (bush included)




The same goes for US Student SAT test scores - 50% below average!!!




What is the world coming to??

 

[researcher]

Know what's funny about stats? You can run lots of different analyses to come up with the answers you want! So, if you don't find a sample that fits what you're trying to find you just manipulate the stats! It's amazing how many research studies I read that include stats that were run incorrectly. Accordingly, I will never trust stats unless I can see the raw data.

 

[valeria101]

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On 10/4/2004 10:40:57 PM researcher wrote:



Accordingly, I will never trust stats unless I can see the raw data.----------------

Same crazy colleagues are trying to put up a new 'journal' called "Analles of Spurious Correlations". An informal poll of 20 or so professors from US and European universities (met on our "summer school" circuit) shows that nearly everyone would like to read the new publication but not a single one would contribute

Seeing the data is definitely a must have, IMO - second that!

Asking who and how collected it is even better - just too time consuming for consulting most of the time.

 

[canuk-gal]

Accordingly, I will never trust stats unless I can see the raw data.----------------[/quote]

And with the number of retractions of articles as of late seen in esteemed peer reviewed journals, who can trust even that?

Same crazy colleagues are trying to put up a new 'journal' called 'Analles of Spurious Correlations'. An informal poll of 20 or so professors from US and European universities (met on our 'summer school' circuit) shows that nearly everyone would like to read the new publication but not a single one would contribute

But you would have a hit on your hands; then again you could only enjoy your fame while standing in the unemployment line

cheers

Sharon


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