Post by: HankB on June 30, 2008, 04:10:39 AM
And most women love chocolate.
Take these two thoughts, add a little marketing spin, and presto, Chocolate Diamonds!
I noticed in the Sunday paper that some jewelry stores are now advertising "Chocolate Diamonds" as the new trend . . . it seems that they're taking low-grade, dark brown diamonds, faceting them, and marketing them as being somehow, well, special.
I'll say - take a low grade $5 industrial diamond, spend $2 in some turd world sweatshop to put a couple of crude facets on it, and sell it for hundreds of dollars . . . that's "special" all right.
How many here know women who want this kind of crap?
Post by: PTK on June 30, 2008, 04:15:51 AM
I've always been partial to jet black diamonds, myself. Nothing more beautiful set against 22k gold or platinum - but I'm in the minority, very rarely did any of my orders call for them.
Of course, lower grade diamonds cost less from me, I wasn't ripping people off as I assume these folks you're talking about ARE.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 04:20:28 AM
If you can rename an undesirable item and make it desirable to people by association with something a certain demographic enjoys, that just means you're good at marketing.
Post by: mtnbkr on June 30, 2008, 04:22:59 AM
Chris
Post by: Jamisjockey on June 30, 2008, 04:35:29 AM
Which saves me money on BD/Xmas/Anniversary gifts
Post by: PTK on June 30, 2008, 04:38:11 AM
The markup on jewelry is astounding, isn't it? Family wouldn't believe me until I started showing them receipts!
Post by: Jamisjockey on June 30, 2008, 04:42:11 AM
JamisJockey
The markup on jewelry is astounding, isn't it? Family wouldn't believe me until I started showing them receipts!
Yes, it is! And the markup on "fine" jewelry, such as whats sold in stores, is absolutely insane. Wife used to work for a large chain store, starts with a Z and ends with ales. Some of the pieces are marked up as much as 1,000 % before going to retail. Gold chains actually had a surprisingly high markup, while I think the diamonds were marked up more before they get to the big retailers.
The markup on jewelry is astounding, isn't it? Family wouldn't believe me until I started showing them receipts!
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 04:43:58 AM
Gold chains actually had a surprisingly high markup, while I think the diamonds were marked up more before they get to the big retailers.
The markup on alloy gold chains over pure gold melt value is absolutely astounding to me. Especially considering those chains are made by a machine!
Post by: charby on June 30, 2008, 04:58:08 AM
I remember some chicky-poo with a urine colored diamond during that rage. It looked awful but she seemed pretty proud of it.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 05:01:38 AM
I remember some chicky-poo with a urine colored diamond during that rage. It looked awful but she seemed pretty proud of it.
I did not know that there were P-grade stones...
Post by: wmenorr67 on June 30, 2008, 05:05:29 AM
Post by: HankB on June 30, 2008, 05:24:59 AM
. . . If you can rename an undesirable item and make it desirable to people by association with something a certain demographic enjoys, that just means you're good at marketing.
Isn't that what Federal did when they took their reduced recoil ("pansy load") buckshot off the market for a short time, and then reintroduced it as tactical buckshot . . . at a higher price?
Post by: Fly320s on June 30, 2008, 06:09:27 AM
Some of the pieces are marked up as much as 1,000 % before going to retail.
Damn!!
I had read/heard that diamonds were marked-up 100% every time they were sold, but that's insane.Post by: taurusowner on June 30, 2008, 06:13:22 AM
Are they getting swindled by buying brown rocks for hundreds of dollars? Yep. But don't be mistaken: people who buy the pretty "real" diamonds are getting swindled too. Brown vs clear makes no difference. A scam is a scam.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 06:14:48 AM
Some of the pieces are marked up as much as 1,000 % before going to retail.
Damn!!
I had read/heard that diamonds were marked-up 100% every time they were sold, but that's insane.Diamonds have little inherent worth, really. The De Beers and other diamond cartels keeps entire warehouses...somewhere...and keeps the price artificially high by releasing only a little at a time.
It's why the guy making flawless carbon layered diamonds has a secret facility. At a diamond show in Europe, he was told what he was doing was a good way to get a bullet in his head.
They weren't kidding, either.
Post by: BridgeRunner on June 30, 2008, 06:43:40 AM
How many here know women who want this kind of crap?
I do. Why do you think a few of us insist on hanging out in places like APS?
Post by: Jamisjockey on June 30, 2008, 06:43:58 AM
Some of the pieces are marked up as much as 1,000 % before going to retail.
Damn!!
I had read/heard that diamonds were marked-up 100% every time they were sold, but that's insane.IIRC, the big markup on a diamond is from the wholesaler to the company that makes it into jewelry. With big chain stores they actually have two middlemen....the wholesaler sells it to a jewelry designer who then sells it to the company. They do buy some loose stones that they have set by "in store" jewelers who IIRC are contractors and not actually store employees.
Post by: MechAg94 on June 30, 2008, 06:54:49 AM
Post by: Perd Hapley on June 30, 2008, 08:24:00 AM
OP, the "chocolate diamonds" are actually worth about as much as "real" diamonds. We only spend all that $$ on the shiny clear ones because marketing tells us to. What are diamonds actually good for, other than industrial drill bits and the like? Basically nothing. They are only worth our money because we think they look pretty. If chicks think the brown ones look pretty, I guess that's worth money too.
Are they getting swindled by buying brown rocks for hundreds of dollars? Yep. But don't be mistaken: people who buy the pretty "real" diamonds are getting swindled too. Brown vs clear makes no difference. A scam is a scam.
Are they getting swindled by buying brown rocks for hundreds of dollars? Yep. But don't be mistaken: people who buy the pretty "real" diamonds are getting swindled too. Brown vs clear makes no difference. A scam is a scam.
Is one less common than the other?
Post by: Racehorse on June 30, 2008, 08:27:30 AM
Oh well...
Post by: Nick1911 on June 30, 2008, 08:34:30 AM
I really wanted to get a synthetic diamond for my wife when we got engaged because it's chemically and structurally identical to a natural diamond and it's far cheaper. But I didn't dare to do it because I know how women view things like that. So I spent 5 times more on a real diamond. I talked about it with my wife a few months after we got married, and she told me she wouldn't have cared if I had gone the synthetic route. She never really cared all that much about a fancy ring.
Oh well...
Oh well...
Amen to that.
The diamond cartel has done a very nice job convincing the public that synthetic diamonds are somehow inferior to natural stones. In fact, usually the opposite is true. Synthetic diamonds have far fewer impurities.
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 30, 2008, 08:40:59 AM
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 08:42:49 AM
I didn't think they could make synthetic diamonds in appreciable sizes. Has that changed?
Yes. The newest sort, they can't even tell it from a real one, at all.
It's why the guy making them was warned. Some of the cartels wouldn't think twice about assassination to save their billions per year.
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 30, 2008, 08:59:17 AM
Post by: Jamisjockey on June 30, 2008, 09:24:32 AM
Who makes them? What guy?
I'd love to know....wife's been interested in a bigger rock for years.....
Post by: Fly320s on June 30, 2008, 10:26:13 AM
http://www.apollodiamond.com/
Post by: Racehorse on June 30, 2008, 11:49:59 AM
http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com/
Post by: Werewolf on June 30, 2008, 11:58:42 AM
Buy artificial diamond jewelry, get it appraised at a local jeweler, keep the appraisal and sell the thing at a nice profit.
Afterall a diamond is nothing more than crystaline carbon whether it came out the earth's ass or some guys furnace.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 12:02:33 PM
Post by: Racehorse on June 30, 2008, 12:06:13 PM
Post by: Nick1911 on June 30, 2008, 12:08:05 PM
The artificial makers put a holographic seal inside the diamond to show who made it.
Sounds like there's a profit margin for synthetic diamonds minus this marking. Course, I'd (apparently) have to keep the location hidden, and hire some good armed goons.
I'm starting to like the idea!
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 30, 2008, 12:10:55 PM
Real diamond, whether made in a lab or in the earth, are made of crystallized carbon and nothing else (impurities excepted).
Post by: Racehorse on June 30, 2008, 12:27:57 PM
Those aren't synthetic diamonds. Those are simulants, fakes, like cubic zirconia (Zr02) or moissanite (SiC).
Real diamond, whether made in a lab or in the earth, are made of crystallized carbon and nothing else (impurities excepted).
That's true. I didn't read the site closely enough.
Real diamond, whether made in a lab or in the earth, are made of crystallized carbon and nothing else (impurities excepted).
Post by: Mabs2 on June 30, 2008, 12:35:26 PM
How many here know women who want this kind of crap?
I do. Why do you think a few of us insist on hanging out in places like APS?
All the ones I know are no fun.
Post by: Manedwolf on June 30, 2008, 12:48:37 PM
Yeah, that holographic seal or laser etching or whatever they do was the concession made by the synthetic diamond manufacturers to avoid getting murdered by DeBeer's, I believe.
And not in a metaphorical sense.
Post by: taurusowner on June 30, 2008, 12:53:17 PM
The artificial makers put a holographic seal inside the diamond to show who made it.
Sounds like there's a profit margin for synthetic diamonds minus this marking. Course, I'd (apparently) have to keep the location hidden, and hire some good armed goons.
I'm starting to like the idea!
Sign me up as one of the armed goons.
Post by: Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas on June 30, 2008, 01:42:03 PM
Yeah, that holographic seal or laser etching or whatever they do was the concession made by the synthetic diamond manufacturers to avoid getting murdered by DeBeer's, I believe.
And not in a metaphorical sense.
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 30, 2008, 01:42:38 PM
The artificial makers put a holographic seal inside the diamond to show who made it.
Sounds like there's a profit margin for synthetic diamonds minus this marking. Course, I'd (apparently) have to keep the location hidden, and hire some good armed goons.
I'm starting to like the idea!
Sign me up as one of the armed goons.
I think we'd win.
Post by: S. Williamson on June 30, 2008, 02:09:24 PM
Post by: lupinus on June 30, 2008, 02:10:36 PM
Post by: lee n. field on June 30, 2008, 02:11:15 PM
Quote
If you can rename an undesirable item and make it desirable to people by association with something a certain demographic enjoys, that just means you're good at marketing.
"Hudson seal"
Post by: The Annoyed Man on June 30, 2008, 02:13:06 PM
We don't have their funding.
But we have unmarked synthetic diamonds. We'll sell those, and buy guns. Lots of guns...
Post by: thebaldguy on June 30, 2008, 02:53:15 PM
The best part is women who hate hunting and guns will ignore the suffering and violence behind diamonds and will demand one. They are ignorant of the history behind diamonds. I pointed this out to a gal I work with. Her response: "I don't care". Unreal.
Q: How do you get a diamond?
A: Put a man under heat and pressure until he produces one.
Post by: Gowen on June 30, 2008, 03:06:01 PM
Post by: lupinus on June 30, 2008, 03:22:24 PM
Good marketing though lol
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on June 30, 2008, 03:41:17 PM
We don't have their funding.
We have Mike Irwin. Wait until he has one of his cranky days, and send him in. They won't know what hit 'em.<runs and hides>
Post by: RevDisk on June 30, 2008, 06:05:05 PM
The thing that amused me moreso was the Kimberley Process Certification gives the diamond cartels a legal monopoly. Any non-cartel diamond is considered a "conflict diamond". It ain't about stopping the horrors of diamond mining in African war zones. It's about keeping cheap stones out of the market.
Post by: Mabs2 on June 30, 2008, 06:12:40 PM
We don't have their funding.
We have Mike Irwin. Wait until he has one of his cranky days, and send him in. They won't know what hit 'em.<runs and hides>
Amazing!
Post by: wmenorr67 on June 30, 2008, 08:20:52 PM
We don't have their funding.
We have Mike Irwin. Wait until he has one of his cranky days, and send him in. They won't know what hit 'em.<runs and hides>
Want him cranky? Just mention burning floppys.
There are places that will take cremated remains and turn them into "diamonds."
Also there is a place in Arkansas where you can spend a few dollars and go diamond hunting. You get to keep what you find also.
Post by: LadySmith on June 30, 2008, 09:50:22 PM
Quote
Are women really THAT gullible?
Not this one. I don't like diamonds, or gold for that matter.However, I will pay premium for decent edible chocolate.
Post by: The Annoyed Man on July 01, 2008, 01:27:02 AM
We don't have their funding.
We have Mike Irwin. Wait until he has one of his cranky days, and send him in. They won't know what hit 'em.<runs and hides>
Want him cranky? Just mention burning floppys.
There are places that will take cremated remains and turn them into "diamonds."
Also there is a place in Arkansas where you can spend a few dollars and go diamond hunting. You get to keep what you find also.
Post by: HankB on July 01, 2008, 02:49:02 AM
But with creative marketing,
Post by: Fly320s on July 01, 2008, 03:30:29 AM
Quote
There are places that will take cremated remains and turn them into "diamonds."
Other gems, too.My wife and I have looked into that. It is expensive, but seems a little more personal that being in a glorified ashtray over someone's fireplace.
Post by: BlueStarLizzard on July 01, 2008, 07:12:26 AM
i am content to have cheap jewelery from clares or stuff i get at a craft fair. its not like i wear it all that much.
and if i ever do get engaged i would rather have a ring like my boss has. small and understated and i could wear it all the time without getting caught on anything.
Post by: BridgeRunner on July 01, 2008, 07:38:32 AM
There are places that will take cremated remains and turn them into "diamonds."
Yeah.
A relative-in-law wanted to have that done with his mother's ashes and turn it into an engagement ring for his wife-to-be.
Hint for the guys: If you ever want to send a woman running far and fast in the opposite direction while shrieking in horror, offer her *your mother* as an engagement gift. That is just creepy and weird.
Post by: Headless Thompson Gunner on July 01, 2008, 07:43:12 AM
Post by: WeedWhacker on July 01, 2008, 09:30:58 AM
Who makes them? What guy?
Two companies I know of are producing real gem-quality carbon crystals (diamonds).
Gemesis is the one whose products you're most likely to find in a jewelry store, with better color and clarity than pretty much anything ever dug up out of the ground. Yes, the diamonds they make are real diamonds, carbon crystals.
Apollo Diamond is by far the more interesting company, however, in that they are producing single-crystal wafers. Wafers akin to the silicon wafers used to manufacture computer processors, processors which will soon be running so hot that they'll melt silicon and silicon-on-insulator. Apollo Diamond's process allows them to precipitate specific amounts of helpful materials into their single-crystal diamond wafers making them even more desirable for this sort of manufacturing than even a pure diamond wafer would be. They've been slowly increasing the size of the wafers they grow, by growing them in a cone shape and slicing off the widest end for the seed for the next crystal - I'm not sure what size they're up to at the moment.
Post by: Manedwolf on July 01, 2008, 09:39:42 AM
Post by: Gowen on July 01, 2008, 11:14:06 AM
Post by: Fly320s on July 01, 2008, 11:31:40 AM
I believe diamond windows would also be rather ideal for spaceships.
Now there's a good idea. Not yet practical, but good.
Post by: Brandon on July 05, 2008, 05:31:58 PM
Post by: Phyphor on July 05, 2008, 10:03:00 PM
Meaning whatever we send there will die... provided ir can't exist past molten lead temp.
Post by: RevDisk on July 05, 2008, 10:13:27 PM
ALL of that probe is still there, but Venus is only hot enough to melt lead.
Don't forget the lovely clouds of sulfuric acid. And the 300+ km/h winds.
Post by: lupinus on July 06, 2008, 04:59:55 AM
Post by: erictank on July 06, 2008, 02:25:26 PM
and little green men who want our wimmins
The ones wearing light-bulb-shaped helmets, right? Nah, those guys are from Mars, not Venus.