Geoffrey Farrow at Raphael, a jeweller on the other side of the street, can only just bring himself to sell lab-grown diamonds. “They are synthetic,” he said. “Lab-grown sounds exotic, but it’s created – they make it by the buckets. There’s no history to it. The price is going to go down further and further.”
I find that a very interesting perspective. I prefer the idea of something we made with human ingenuity as opposed to some thing you dug out of the dirt, probably with a shoddily-hidden special history of slavery and tears, and before that, just sitting in the ground like a bunch of other boring things. The history of a lab-grown is entirely mine and my hypothetical partner’s to create.
If I was a diamond person anyways. I’d be more worried about losing the expensive ring somehow and worrying over it, and would much rather buy the cheapest thing that can still socially function as “look, I am married, don’t hit on me!” without having to wear some ugly shirt that says that. Ideally both me and my hypothetical partner would just forgo expensive rings (and don’t get me wrong, I’m adamantly not a T-shirt and jeans person, I like to dress up, I have just never been a ring person) and spend it on something else we would both like.
For those who do not share my opinions on wedding rings, which is valid, I am also glad to hear lab-grown prices are down so people can still get that ring they love without breaking the bank and without supporting De Beers.
I suppose I’m probably the most anti-nature environmentalist. Protect this because we need it to live, and animals need it to live. But I really personally hate nature, it doesn’t bring me pleasure. I have been to some of the wonders of the world and was not floored, breath not taken away. “Checks out, let’s move on.” (Why’d I go to see it then? Someone else with me wanted to see it :P I’m a lot more interested in history that directly involves humans or something once living. For me, dinosaurs and artifacts of early human civilization are cool, gems are not.) I don’t marvel at it, and any reason to dismiss something made with cruelty is something I’ll eagerly jump on, even if it’s definitely not a popular perspective. To me it really is an overvalued thing you pulled out of the dirt, no matter the facts behind how it formed inside the dirt.
Disclaimer: I don’t say this to be contrarian, I am really not the type. Popular ≠ bad and I’m not some special unique snowflake, I just have some quirks where I have a different opinion, as does everyone else! I don’t like nature, others don’t like chocolate. I think most people have at least one unpopular preference/dislike, this is mine.