The Diamond Heist!

Barefoot,
 
I’m a jeweller, and I much prefer the authenticity of a real diamond. Yes, natural diamonds cost more (though only a small percentage are ‘blood diamonds’). However, they will also ultimately gain in value, whereas lab grown diamonds have no value once they become second hand.
 
Linda

Hey Linda,
 
I’d like you to put down your cute little magnifying glass, because I’m about to hit you with the bleeding obvious:
 
Literally no one buys a diamond ring with the thought that it will be rejected and then re-sold.
 
Didn’t you read the script? It clearly states “till death do us part”.
 
Nor is it seen as a financial investment that can easily be hocked off in a few years’ time when the Ford Territory needs a new set of tyres.
 
As any divorcee knows, the resale value of a mined diamond ring is roughly the same as that of a three-year-old laptop.  
 
Having said that, I grant it will have a higher resale value than a lab-grown diamond.
 
And if a potential suitor is stressed about pulling a hammy as they get down on one knee, I’d argue that they’d be more likely to hedge their bets with an ‘ethical’ diamond ring that’s 90% cheaper. (Although I must admit quite a few readers this week pointed out that the lab-grown diamond process uses all sorts of environmentally dodgy gases – not so ethical after all, apparently.)
 
Finally, mined diamonds are valuable only because De Beers has rigged the price for decades. As I said last week, there are said to be 39 billion stones in existence – more than five for every person on Earth 

Now that is a lot of supply!

Scott.