Diamond rings - only for engagements?

[v0rtex]

Evening Gentlemen. I am considering purchasing a piece of jewellery for my girlfriend as a parting gift when I leave this city in a few months. She knows I'm leaving, and that things will come to an end when I go. Hopefully it will remain amicable, but you never know in advance with these situations. Anyway, I digress. I particularly like the idea of a simple diamond ring in white gold, however are these just for engagements or are they also suited to occasions such as this one? Could be awkward if she opened the box and got the wrong idea

Regards, Gareth.

 

[nightowl6261a]

Although a very nice and distinguishing gesture, I would think it might offer a presumption to the idea that the relationship has an outside chance maybe of continuing in some fashion other than on a friendly basis. Be cautious, it could hurt her as much as make her feel speical.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Agree with nightowl.  Why not a pair of diamond earrings?

 

[Jill]

I agree. I think it's a wonderfully, sweet gesture. But earring or a little necklace/choker would be more appropriate. You know how we girls can read something into anything (or nothing) if we want it to be so.. Yes, this could be a potentially awkward moment. However, I don't think she could mis-interpret another piece of jewelry other than a very generous and thoughtful gift. Lucky girl.

 

[johnw86]

Agree with the above. A diamond ring has cultural significance and it's not: "I'm leaving and this is over." (On the other hand, the diamond industry has been running ads promoting the "right-hand diamond" that women will buy for themselves.)

 

[kabert]

Ditto. Definitely not a ring - -of any kind. This is a parting gift, right? What's the purpose? "Thanks for the good times; here's something to remember me by?" I think it's a nice thought, but I'm not sure what the point is if you're breaking up and may never see each other again. I've never heard of giving a gift to someone upon breaking up, but I guess this break-up is brought on by you leaving town rather than a "rift" -- so, perhaps this one is different.

In sum, IMO, I'd lean towards either no formal gift at all (unwrapping it, etc.) or at most a very simple set of gold earrings that cost under $500 or perhaps a nice dinner.

 

[LA Guy]

No diamond ring, unless you are either a very cruel or very stupid man. Neither of which you seem to be.

 

[faustian bargain]

as a side note, the diamond ring phenomenon was apparently created by the diamond industry to begin with.

in fact, apparently the preciousness of diamonds is due mostly to the fact that the major miner (HAH, get it), deBeers, has such a lock on the supply that they create the scarcity by not releasing diamonds into the market. apparently diamonds are actually nowhere near as scarce in nature as they are on the market.

i wonder what's going on with artificial diamond technology? that made a splash a few years ago, then disappeared. i can't wait for perfect diamonds to be cheap. then people will start wearing engagement...rubies, maybe?

/andrew

 

[LA Guy]

The fact that they are natural makes an imperfect diamond more desirable than the most beautiful and perfect produced diamond. Just how it is.

 

[retronotmetro]

Yet the most valuable natural diamond in a given carat weight is the one that comes closest to flawlessness.

 

[faustian bargain]

however, the more perfect they are, the more expensive. what i have heard is, the artificial ones are indistinguishable from the natural ones. there's no reason i can see that they couldn't introduce some 'desirable' imperfections, whatever those might be. only desirable flaw i can imagine is color - yellow diamonds are supposedly the most precious of all.

one factor which is not known to me is the method the manmade diamonds are created. i know that there is an extremely high-pressure container involved, but somehow it seems like the actual production of the crystal wouldn't be much different from what occurs in nature - that is, whatever flaws nature imparts to the diamonds, the manmade process probably does the same. in other words, i doubt that 100% of manmade diamonds are 'perfect'.

anyway - the real value is added when a diamond is cut by a master. i'm just rooting for a shakeup in the supply chain; i think the industry needs a little more competition. (won't even mention the whole 'blood diamond' thing.)

 

[globetrotter]

I had a few friends who were in the diamond business. it seemed like the most mind numbing business you could imagine. you typically carry only one type of diamond in stock - say quarter carrot of a certain clarity, cut and color, and retailors know to come to you for that particular type of stone. you have millions in inventory with a tight margin, because it is a comodity, and it is a very easily stolen product, so you have to constantly count your stock to verify nothing has been stolen. so basically you are sitting in your room counting little stones that are all identical over and over again.

 

[Fabienne]

say quarter carrot of a certain clarity, cut and color

This has to be one of your most endearing spelling errors.

 

[globetrotter]

why thank you..... I think

 

[faustian bargain]

Quote:

(globetrotter @ April 27 2005,14:00) say quarter carrot of a certain clarity, cut and color
This has to be one of your most endearing spelling errors.
eeeaaahhhh...<chomp chomp chomp>...what's up, doc?