0515vision
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2023
- Messages
- 894
Thank god the days of "Love = 3 months of your salary" are over. Sheer greed. Pure manipulation.
Thank god the days of "Love = 3 months of your salary" are over. Sheer greed. Pure manipulation.
I thought it was 6 months when I was growing up?
Man, that's a lot of $$$ and not a great investment unless you have an incredible career trajectory ahead of you.
This is what I remember it being as well - all of it lol!I remember it being redefined as "two months salary" when I was young - this would have been during the era of hair spray, Swatch watches, and glam metal bands.
Interesting thought experiment.
Last week, in a middle-class area, I saw a mid 20's woman wearing a huge diamond: probably 6 carats and more or less colorless. It was a massive oval and looked great. But totally out of character for this shopping mall, what she was wearing, what she was driving...hair, makeup. All of it.
Last Saturday, wifey and I stopped by Neiman Marcus as she needed some makeup (they have great service BTW; we even got introduced to the store manager!). A couple enters the store; early 70's gentleman and his mid 30's wife; they stood next to us as while they said hi to our salespeson. OK, enough about the jokes there; we've all seen it. Yet she was a very attractive woman wearing great jewelry: what looked to be a thick diamond and gold Cartier cuff, Rolex Lady President, and 10 carat tennis bracelet. She was wearing a Balmain dress, Louboutins, and carrying a Birkin (my wife is a fan of these brands-the Birkin is on her holy grail list). She had a RBC diamond on, also 6 carats, looked to be G/H color.
It got me thinking: the first woman I'll assume had a lab grown diamond on. The second woman may or may not have had one on, but my mind went "wow, that's a helluva stone". She and her husband looked to be easily wealthy enough to afford such a stone.
For those of you who've seen this or are in this situation, do you use your perceived status and looks to "cheat" and wear lab-grown diamonds without anyone being the wiser? I can see lots of potential benefits: you can buy more jewelry in different cuts and styles than you normally may be able to afford, or you can wear pseudo-expensive jewelry without the risk of losing it or being robbed. If you are the other person and you wear jewelry that people assume you can't possibly afford, what are the reactions that you get?
I know; stereotyping isn't cool and as a consultant, I don't tend to jump to conclusions for a living. Yet, it does save time and there is something to be said for appearances.
Lab diamonds definitely make it more budget friendly to experiment with different cuts and styles. My wife also worries less about damage to pieces that cost less than a car and wears them more often.I can see lots of potential benefits: you can buy more jewelry in different cuts and styles than you normally may be able to afford, or you can wear pseudo-expensive jewelry without the risk of losing it or being robbed.
The great benefit of man made diamonds is they are bringing investment in new technologies to cut and polish diamonds, grown and natural.What does tend to get lost is that someone has to cut these no matter how they are created, and that is no small feat. I
The great benefit of man made diamonds is they are bringing investment in new technologies to cut and polish diamonds, grown and natural.
However LGD are far cheaper to polish than natural - about half the cost of polishing natural is the planning to avoid inclusions and reduce rough wastage. These are not issues with grown diamonds where today more than half in larger sizes are VS1 to Flawless!
I am not sure how to articulate this well, but i will give it a shot. Sometimes I think that people who have large earth mined diamonds are upset because now a 'regular person' can get "the same thing". Not everyone should be able to afford a 6 carat diamond! It wasnt bad with Moissy because you could definitely tell it wasnt a diamond. Now you cant tell so it could be $50,000 earth mined or $5,000 lab.
I feel like they liked having the status and the ... i dont know ... "air of superiority" of having something other's could not have. I think it made them feel like they were better than others. It used to be a status symbol.
I have seen it a lot over my many years in person and on internet forums (AGAIN, NOT HERE!!!!), any time the there is a replica of anything people seem to lose their minds, because it attacked their perceived status and their achievement of having something they believed other people couldnt get.
We are seeing it in advertising now how they're trying to make it like a lab diamond is "less than" and "not the same thing" and worthless. Otherwise if its exactly the same why would you spend $50k ? Its perceived status and now thats being eroded.
It is natural for CVD grown LGD to be cut to better proportions than natural diamonds. The thickness and width are planned, where as the with natural diamonds the width is the main constraint so the vast majority are cut and polished to GIA's etc deeper Excellent proportions.Will it be easier to find good cuts of LGDs going forward? For a LGD, the premium for the next integer diamond is minimial; I'd think that more cutters will prioritize light performance over raw size going forward. Just looking through a site the other day, I was surprised to see how many larger LGDs had 56% tables and 34.5/40.7 crown and pavillion angles. You almost never see those in large mined diamonds.
When I was shopping for my wife's E-ring, I really couldn't afford a super ideal at the size I liked but I knew that something that graded out at AGS-000 would still be spectacular. I landed on a AGS000 2.37 carat I color SI1 that held it's own against a super ideal I compared it to. Unfortunately, very few diamonds were cut for quality; it wasn't easy to find that one. Most were cut with maximum carat size in mind. I'm assuming that's because a 2.87 carat super ideal is worth less than a 3.01 carat AGS grade 2 cut.
Since we're talking about being judgey, i will be honest. I usually assume, if i see a 'younger' person decked out in all "loud luxury" and brand names, that they they have a negative net worth or parents money. I dont usually consider the origins (lab vs earth mined) as much as i roll my eyes at the "look at all my expensive stuff LOOK I AM RICH!" and know they probably have nothing saved.
So I dont look at that 6 carat and assume if it's lab or earth mined based on age and other factors. I look at that 6 carats and make assumptions about their net worth. I guess I'm only human. LOL
I am not sure how to articulate this well, but i will give it a shot. Sometimes I think that people who have large earth mined diamonds are upset because now a 'regular person' can get "the same thing". Not everyone should be able to afford a 6 carat diamond! It wasnt bad with Moissy because you could definitely tell it wasnt a diamond. Now you cant tell so it could be $50,000 earth mined or $5,000 lab.
I feel like they liked having the status and the ... i dont know ... "air of superiority" of having something other's could not have. I think it made them feel like they were better than others. It used to be a status symbol.
(SIDENOTE: We are on a jewelry forum here, i am NOT talking about anyone here, i have NEVER felt this way about anyone here... but i do belong to SEVERAL other forums! LOL!) THIS IS A JEWELRY FORUM, THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT EXPENSIVE JEWELRY!!! PLEASE i hope no one is offended by this! I am a lowly worm, dont let my words offend you, because i am not talking about anyone here!! The PURPOSE of this forum is to talk about jewelry, and most jewelry is expensive, and some people on here have like, the crown jewels and they're completely humble and sweet and amazing, but like I said, i belong to other forums!
I have seen it a lot over my many years in person and on internet forums (AGAIN, NOT HERE!!!!), any time the there is a replica of anything people seem to lose their minds, because it attacked their perceived status and their achievement of having something they believed other people couldnt get.
We are seeing it in advertising now how they're trying to make it like a lab diamond is "less than" and "not the same thing" and worthless. Otherwise if its exactly the same why would you spend $50k ? Its perceived status and now thats being eroded.
So again, personally, i wear my 5 carat lab, don't care AT ALL what ANYONE thinks of me, don't care if they think it's a CZ, earth mined, lab.... I am very secure in my net worth. I grew up dirt poor, and anything I have I worked really hard for. I am proud of what I accomplished. I have never cared and will never care what anyone else thinks. I had a friend who knows I have a lab diamond send me an article about how a lab diamond is worthless. It's not worthless to me because I love it (also, i would love to have a worthless 4 carat lab diamond, so please point me to it, i'll even splurge and pay $10! I can never seem to find these worthless diamonds!)
If someone wants to think "Oh she got lab because she cant afford mined." i have zero problem with that. If someone wants to think they have more money than me, i have zero problem with that. If someone wants to think they have a cuter dog than me, i might have a problem with that.
I personally dont get offended by much of anything because I would have to care what they thought for them to offend me. I dont give people that power over me.
There are mined retailers who fan the flames of contempt for LGDs. They give them away as travel rings to clients who purchase rings of 2+ or larger saying they're worthless. Also, I'll say it - there are PSers who voice similar opinions.... she stated in no uncertain terms that she thought LGDs were total junk and she would never be wearing one.
There is definitely a stigma against LGDs amongst some people; ...
I didn't think LGDs were allowed to be discussed there? I'd love to hear from people who mix and match.
I a
m considering LGD for earrings because I lose them; so far I haven’t done it yet
Thank god the days of "Love = 3 months of your salary" are over. Sheer greed. Pure manipulation.
I know!! Such a weird ad campaign. And so misleading.
My love is worth at least a year’s salary.
I know!! Such a weird ad campaign. And so misleading.
My love is worth at least a year’s salary.