Post: #1

The tale of how a company created the tradition of buying a diamond for your wife ( Not that anyone in this forum is likely to ever get married.. ) :

http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/457685...e-bullshit

I wonder what other "ancient customs" are simply the results of marketing. Or perhaps to keep the list short, what aren't.

Post: #2

(03-20-2013 08:20 AM)muc Wrote:  The tale of how a company created the tradition of buying a diamond for your wife ( Not that anyone in this forum is likely to ever get married.. ) :

http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/457685...e-bullshit

I wonder what other "ancient customs" are simply the results of marketing. Or perhaps to keep the list short, what aren't.

Interesting the degree to which it has permeated and intrenched itself pan-culturally.

Post: #3

Yes, exactly. It's fascinating.
Probably the same with Christmas, with smoking, with everything.

The world is full of shit. It's time for mass red-pill swallowing.

Somebody should be elected president, then get up on stage and say: Alright, who are we kidding?
And then spend 4 years listing all the bullshit we believe for the wrong reasons.

Post: #4

Diamonds might be bullshit, but diamonds are also a great way to unmask Janie-come-lately married feminists.

Whenever a married woman starts bleating about equality, "privilege," or any feminist nonsense, all you have to do is remind them that they once accepted a diamond ring bought by a man, which is the ultimate in conformist, age-old "sexist" traditions.

They didn't have any problem accepting male-female traditions when it benefited them then, so they should STFU now.

Post: #5

Probably the best marketing case study in world history (although, to be fair, the ground had been very fertile for this kind of pedestalization already).

If I ever get married, my wife is getting a cubic zirconia of course.

Post: #6

This is a really interesting subject. One of my favourite writers did an expose on this back in the early 80's. It is a really great magazine article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arch...nd/304575/

The article was later expanded into a book.

Post: #7

Pure marketing genius. I don't know about right now, but until recently De Beers were still at it with product placement "ads" in the form of story lines in popular TV shows and movies. Some poor schlub would usually be seen doling out "two months salary" to buy a ring for his girl.

De Beers and it's Diamond Trading Organisation (previously Central Selling Organisation) no longer have an iron grip on global diamond sales though. So I'm not sure they are going to be prepared to advertise in this way anymore. They'll be helping their competitors as much as they are helping themselves. Also, the Oppenheimer family (essentially the founders of De Beers) sold their entire stake in the company last year. I'm guessing they see the writing on the wall. If diamonds really aren't all that rare, and their price has always been propped up the De Beers cartel holding back supply then the game is now up. There is no longer an effective cartel. Expect prices to come down.

Post: #8

You could by a Moissanite. You can't distinguish it from a diamond without a test and it costs waaaay cheaper. Just lie to the greedy bitch.

Post: #9

(03-20-2013 10:31 AM)megatron Wrote:  You could by a Moissanite. You can't distinguish it from a diamond without a test and it costs waaaay cheaper. Just lie to the greedy bitch.

Better yet, don't voluntarily make yourself miserable by buying a greedy bitch anything.

Post: #10

I have had the " diamond discussion" with at least 4 ltr girls by now. They all saw it as a birthright at first and went into hamster mode when I pointed out how sexist, conformist and plain stupid ( duped by marketing) it is. After a while however, all 4 agreed to either buy their own or get a cz to avoid public embarrassment and having to " explain" why they had no ring which is the ultimate status symbol amongst women.

Post: #11

(03-20-2013 10:40 AM)Asaxon Wrote:  I have had the " diamond discussion" with at least 4 ltr girls by now. They all saw it as a birthright at first and went into hamster mode when I pointed out how sexist, conformist and plain stupid ( duped by marketing) it is. After a while however, all 4 agreed to either buy their own or get a cz to avoid public embarrassment and having to " explain" why they had no ring which is the ultimate status symbol amongst women.

I know. Even the most, reasonable, non-entitled women are obsessed with making sure everyone in the world sees that shiny status symbol on their finger. Women are children their entire lives.

Post: #12

(03-20-2013 10:42 AM)megatron Wrote:  

(03-20-2013 10:40 AM)Asaxon Wrote:  I have had the " diamond discussion" with at least 4 ltr girls by now. They all saw it as a birthright at first and went into hamster mode when I pointed out how sexist, conformist and plain stupid ( duped by marketing) it is. After a while however, all 4 agreed to either buy their own or get a cz to avoid public embarrassment and having to " explain" why they had no ring which is the ultimate status symbol amongst women.

I know. Even the most, reasonable, non-entitled women are obsessed with making sure everyone in the world sees that shiny status symbol on their finger. Women are children their entire lives.

Women like to bitch about how men play Big Dick with each over with what they perceive to be "stupid" or "childish" things. Well, the engagement ring and the absurdly expensive weddings is how the girls play Big Dick. Interestingly enough, they always manage to justify these inconsequential items to themselves.

Post: #13

(03-20-2013 08:20 AM)muc Wrote:  I wonder what other "ancient customs" are simply the results of marketing. Or perhaps to keep the list short, what aren't.

All tradition is invented at some point. Scottish Tartan and kilts only go back to the late 18th century. A lot of what many European nations consider 'national dress' only goes back to the 19th century.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Invention-Trad...1107604672

Pretty interesting stuff.

Post: #14

Diamonds are concentrated, often informal and invisible, capital. Which you can discreetly transport from one place to another, in your pocket, in case of emergency, war, divorce, escape, bankrupcy etc etc.

Post: #15

(03-20-2013 02:44 PM)Locksmith Wrote:  Diamonds are concentrated, often informal and invisible, capital. Which you can discreetly transport from one place to another, in your pocket, in case of emergency, war, divorce, escape, bankrupcy etc etc.

Good luck losing less than just 50% of your "investment" to retail or even wholesale markup. Diamond grading and dealing is highly subjective. Also, this post was less about diamonds in general but diamond engagement rings.

Post: #16

(03-20-2013 02:44 PM)Locksmith Wrote:  Diamonds are concentrated, often informal and invisible, capital. Which you can discreetly transport from one place to another, in your pocket, in case of emergency, war, divorce, escape, bankrupcy etc etc.

The point is that the diamond's value relies on market manipulation. They make sense as a short-term store of value if you get them at wholesale or below, but the longer you hold on to diamonds the riskier it gets.

Diamonds as investments are only for experts and well-connected people in the trade.

Post: #17

(03-20-2013 02:44 PM)Locksmith Wrote:  Diamonds are concentrated, often informal and invisible, capital. Which you can discreetly transport from one place to another, in your pocket, in case of emergency, war, divorce, escape, bankrupcy etc etc.

You should read the link in Cardguy's post and re-read what you just posted.

Post: #18

Yeah diamonds are totally BS specially that stupid 2 months salary thing. Another thing that's mega giga BS is Valentine's day. Both invented solely by business people to stuff their pockets! I for one ain't falling for any of those 2 scams!

Post: #19

Diamonds are up there along with caviar and champagne when it comes to marketing success stories. For example, Dom Perignon is marketed as a high end champagne but tastes like shit. I prefer the taste of a good Prosecco or Asti like Martini & Rossi for a mere $15 a bottle.

Post: #20

Theres a massive stash of diamonds in various Russian mountains. 60 minutes did a piece on this 10 years ago, I still remember it.

Post: #21

Amazing, but not surprising. So many supposed pillars of our society were actually invented in the past century by marketing gurus.

There's a great documentary series on this subject called 'The Century of The Self'. It's about the psychology behind the PR and marketing industries, focusing on how they radically altered society in the 20th century, creating a world of people who define themselves based on consumption and construct their personalities around brands.
It even covers how the PR industry used and encouraged feminism as a tool to sell more stuff.

Part 1 is here: http://vimeo.com/20861423

Post: #22

That documentary is by Adam Curtis. He is the best documentary maker in the world, and has an amazing blog. There is nobody around smarter than him who is regularly putting out such interesting and intelligent work:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/

Post: #23

(03-20-2013 11:47 PM)cardguy Wrote:  That documentary is by Adam Curtis. He is the best documentary maker in the world, and has an amazing blog. There is nobody around smarter than him who is regularly putting out such interesting and intelligent work:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/

Yeah, his catalogue of work is consistently outstanding.

Alongside select writings on game, his documentaries have given me the best idea of how modern society works and how it came to be.

Post: #24

Years ago when I was living in Luanda I noticed, for instance, how cleverly South Africa intervened in Angola. The South Africans prevented massive quantities of Angolan diamonds from having any free access to the market, and they were pretty successful at it.

I could only agree with the premises of market manipulation in the case of diamonds, which, by the way, also occurs in other fields (arts, oil, stock market etc etc) although it's highly debatable up to which degree and by which means this also happens elsewhere.

As for marketing, yeah, sure, one of its pillars is all about creating value and consumption needs that previously didn't exist.

But the point I was trying to make is that even if the prices of diamonds are subject to distortions and may fluctuate, they will still be sought after as a strategic emergency asset by a segment of people in the world (I'm not counting here those just willing to avoid taxation).

And this was overlooked in the article. Perhaps because the author is American and not, say, from Venezuela or Yemen.

I know a few people who fled their countries and a great deal of the capital they managed to smuggle out was in the form of diamonds: Ceaucescu's Romania, Nicaragua after the socialist revolution, Venezuela today...

You can't carry your house or your confiscated rural properties with you (100% loss in many cases), it's also hard to carry your works of art (90% loss?), damn, it can be impossible to transfer hard currency or move money from your frozen bank account too.

As bad of a deal as it may be, in the short or in the long run, diamonds are a feasible last resort to save something in case of emergency. I wasn't talking about investing in diamonds for profit, I personally wouldn't, I was talking about the importance diamonds have in many troubled places as a means of trying to save (at least some of) your financial ass.

And this is a particular characteristic of diamonds, feeding demand, which I believe will persist, even if a theoretical significant drop in prices indeed occurs.

Anyway, please accept my sincere apologies if you have the impression I've derailed the thread. Back to engagement rings.

Post: #25

(03-21-2013 07:33 AM)Locksmith Wrote:  Years ago when I was living in Luanda I noticed, for instance, how cleverly South Africa intervened in Angola. The South Africans prevented massive quantities of Angolan diamonds from having any free access to the market, and they were pretty successful at it.

I'm guessing you are referring to more recent times, but if you lived in Luanda in the 80's during the border war that would be a very interesting tale to tell.

Can I ask why you would favour diamonds over gold as a store of value? True they are more concentrated, as you say, but the risk of holding them compared to gold would seem to outweigh (ha) that benefit.