A diamond for my thoughts

Posted 3/28/23

Being a spiritual person, I have always worn a necklace with a dove carrying a flower, (to represent the Holy Spirit, with whom I feel a personal connection.)

One day, the tiny diamond fell out …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

A diamond for my thoughts

Posted

Being a spiritual person, I have always worn a necklace with a dove carrying a flower, (to represent the Holy Spirit, with whom I feel a personal connection.)

One day, the tiny diamond fell out of the flower, and I was crestfallen.  I was raised to be non-materialistic, but a little bit crept in as I aged, and the loss of that gem was a big deal.  My mom, who saw my dismay, offered to get a new one for my birthday.  Without thinking, I gave her the necklace to bring to the jewelers. It was wrapped beautifully for my party but imagine my surprise when I opened it and the dove sported a bright green flower!

“I thought the emerald-colored stone was so much prettier than that boring diamond!” my mom said, although I did not agree with her.  “It only cost $10 to replace it!” she said proudly. I smiled and thanked her but was inwardly very upset. My precious diamond was replaced with a piece of green glass, which affected its value in my mind. I put it back on and began to wear it again, but always felt cheated out of a real diamond.

 Looking back, I am mortified by my behavior because I was very upset with my mother at the time and resented her for being so unmaterialistic that a $10 piece of glass could so easily replace a “real” diamond. In reality, she taught me a valuable lesson. Who declared a diamond is worth more than a piece of glass? 

For centuries, diamonds have been a sign of power, wealth, and status. In the 1800s, a veritable diamond trove was unearthed in Kimberly, South Africa. This newfound mine had the potential to flood the market with diamonds and bring down the cost of the precious stone. Reportedly, to prevent too many diamonds from hitting the market, De Beers quickly intervened, bought up the mine and maintained tight control over the global diamond supply. De Beers released only enough diamonds to meet annual demand. This gave the illusion that diamonds were exceedingly rare, and the seemingly limited supply inflated the cost of diamonds. Throughout the 19th century, De Beers effectively maintained a monopoly on the global diamond mines. They would stockpile diamonds, limit supply, and drive up demand and costs.

De Beers also began an aggressive marketing campaign to promote diamond engagement rings. The brand pushed out the longstanding tradition of ruby and sapphire engagement ring and replaced it with an overwhelming demand for diamond rings. This fever-pitch demand, coupled with the De Beers-controlled limited release of diamonds, increased the overall cost of diamonds.

It is under the misconception that only diamonds from these mines are valuable that my son was recently in trouble with his fiancée. He bought her a stunning ring with a large diamond that too big and needed to be sized. When she brought it to the jeweler’s she was informed it was not a “real” diamond.

What was he talking about?  It WAS a “real” diamond, a lab grown diamond. They are grown in highly controlled laboratory environments using advanced technological processes that duplicate the conditions under which diamonds naturally develop when they form in the mantle, beneath the Earth’s crust. These lab created diamonds consist of actual carbon atoms arranged in the characteristic diamond crystal structure. Since they are made of the same material as natural diamonds, they exhibit the same optical and chemical properties and are chemically identical to natural diamonds. So, to be told her diamond is not “real” was not true.

 My own diamond situation, along with a jeweler telling my son that the diamond in his fiancée’s ring was not “real”, got me thinking about the frivolity of it all. I was upset that my mother had replaced my “real” diamond with a green piece of glass.  In reality, if she had replaced it with a diamond colored piece of glass I would not have been so upset. No one, including myself, would have been able to tell if it was “real” or not just by looking at me wearing it. In the future, I will save money by not buying “real” diamonds but will use the money to take a nice vacation with my family.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here