If you knew diamonds had no real value, and caused death & suffering for millions would you still buy them?

Question

Well that is pretty much true.

The people who mine diamonds are a cartel, there are about 5 families in Africa that control all the diamond mines, and almost 90 percent of the world's diamond supply.

They control the supply and they keep the price really high. The next thing is that they are master marketeers. 100 years ago no one gave diamonds as gifts. But then the De Beers family started doing things like paying for a whole movie just so there would be a scene where a man gave a diamond as an engagement ring. Sort of like the way everyone in the movies smokes today.

There are terms for it. Created market, perceived value.

It means we are suckers for a shiny rock.

The next part is the mine workers. They are basically slaves, kept in camps in Africa. Wars over diamonds in the Congo have killed millions.

All brought to you by the same people, the South Africans, who brought us apartheid and imprisoned Nelson Mandell for 50 years.

Also want to know why they are SO important to people ??

Why spend so much money on them when the world need so much money for so many other things ???

Answer 1

Reality Check!!! People Like you with twisted worthless opinions Feed on the filth of contaminating truth with the vomit of your uneducated imagination, . Take a good look in the mirror.Who the hell are you to judge.As if the words you are spreading like a cancer to destroy the integrity reputation and creditability of the same Cartel which has been the only stable source of employment to not only Africa but many other Countries throughout the world. Again , as if the words you speak are not destroying,

Answer 2

It is true the company De Beers was good at marketing, already more than 90 years ago ! These days everybody applauds when some company has clever marketing !

De Beers today controls about 40 % of the market in rough diamonds, together with BHP, Alrosa, Rio Tinto, ...
They are huge (some even public) companies, not just family businesses. De Beers company is partly owned and run by the Oppenheimer family. De Beers was the name of the family that lived on a farm in Kimberley South Africa where the first diamond in South Africa was found (The Eureka).

Only de Beers has a lot of big diamond mining operations in Africa left, and most are in cooperation and partnership with goverments : Botswana, Namibia. The others work mainly on Canada, Russia and Australia.

The price does not need to be kept high at all, the cost of mining is extreme ! Most diamonds are used in industrial applications, not in jewelry. They were needed very much by the industry and for example helped the US manufacture essential tools and parts to win the second world war ! Don't forget the oil-well drills ...

In history, gems have always been given as a gift.The diamonds were only available to aristocracy due to their extreme high price. The new diamond mines in Brazil in the 18th century permitted more access due to lower prices.
Of course the promotion towards the broader public was launched by De Beers indeed after the second world war.

Diamond business in Africa permits many people to have a job and earn an income : www.diamondfacts.org

During the apartheid, Mr Oppenheimer was famous for keeping a serious distance and criticize the regime !

Answer 3

I have two rings with diamonds in them. One was given to me by my grandma, it she got it roughly 30 years ago from my grandpa as an anniversary gift. The other is my engagement ring given to me by my fiance. I've never purchased anything with diamonds in it, and even if i could afford it i wouldn't. As a female i do like shiny things sometimes, but i am not a sucker for diamonds.

Answer 4

i've got ordinary with reference to the blood diamonds for a whilst now, there exchange into an extremely stable show on discovery some months in the past, I referred to as as many human beings as a threat and instructed them to observe. i purchase man made diamonds, I do prefer to pass to Arkansas and mine for my on diamonds. I particularly have misplaced each actual diamond I particularly have ever had so not greater notably on the palms of dying and debe*rs.

Answer 5

Yep, I'm aware of all that. That's why I don't buy them.

There's a special kinda diamond here in northern cali that you can literally find on the side of the road, I've found some pretty decent sized ones and I'm gonna have them cut and made into rings :)

Answer 6

I don't buy diamond because they don't have any use or purpose. I guess if I needed to cut glass I would then buy a diamond I always heard you can cut glass with diamonds. But I am sure a glass cutter is cheaper so I would buy that.

Answer 7

I 'd Say the only thing of no value is a rookie journalist who thinks he knows what he is talking about .Addressing a subject in which he hasn't a clue of the real truth. First get your facts straight. De Beers. or Diamonds are not the cause of death or suffering. When God said one third of the world shall be struck with famine plague and pestilence it befell upon those who practice witchcraft voodoo an Greed.I am talking Greed among the thieves .Your like and old drunk who like a broken record brings up bad memories from 100 years ago.Here's some fact for you . And this my foe you can take straight to the bank .If you hold unforgiven in your heart the day you die your eternal ticket will be a front row seat in hell .And furthermore De Beers was a Light that shined in the darkness of that region and made a positive difference .healing and restoring the broken . Wake up there Bruce boy , when is the last time you took the time to help the needy , spoke a kind word to the broken.healed the wound of a stranger.Hello theres still time , not , much but still a little time to step off that train of hate and discontent and ride in first class with the ones who have already been that route. It takes a little break-en to get a little fix-en.( the carbon atom is Quintince) the most pure of all things in this universe.

Answer 8

You can get diamonds from cruelty-free certified places. Not all are taken from torture. Canadian diamonds are a popular alternative.

Answer 9

ooooh shiny rocksss....purdyyyy

on a serious note diamond are used for much more then just jewelry, although jewlery is definetly their most lucrative use. its sad that millions in africa have died in connection with them.

Answer 10

diamonds are a girl's best friend