I suggest that both companies retain a number of female advisors and/or board members to steer their foray into the gem business. I confess to never having understood the lure of a diamond, which, when the De Beers oligopoly behind them is considered, makes their purchase a frivolous waste of money (the price is artificial) that promotes the continuance an evil, greedy, bloody empire. I've never found anything remotely beautiful or loving associated with that fact.

Symbolism -- the "everlasting" love represented by a diamond that took so long to form -- is useless if not backed up by daily actions. I don't think a diamond makes a relationship one iota stronger.

Now this is all very unromantic, I know. I gather that I don't have the sense to really understand jewelry in general, other than appreciating the aesthetic beauty of it, and this is bound to be a difficulty with a woman who does see it as an important symbol. It's a common stereotype, but some stereotypes are true (for a majority of cases). Would women feel that a cultured diamond is like a cubic zirconium? Is it the price (paid to support an evil empire, which fact is completely ignored) that means so much? The sacrifice?

At any rate, I hope De Beers gets a good thrashing in the years to come.

Interesting.... I haven't ever been particularly diamond-hungry, in part because of all the negative stuff associated with the business, as Steve describes. On the other hand, I saw the Romanoff diamonds at the San Diego Museum of Art once and my Magpie Sense was alerted by all the sparkliness and rainbow-throwing capacity. But other things can function just as well to get the Magpie Sense kicked in.

Exactly. I love the sparkly-ness of diamonds, and for some reason they look good against the skin, especially if you get a tone that works with your skin tone. However, many gemstones do this, and as Deana calls it, the Magpie Sense finds these attractive and interesting as well, especially if there is a story behind it.

With regards to Steve's comments, all of which I agree with: If you are buying a woman a piece of jewelry, one might assume that you know each other pretty well. So take that into consideration when buying. I can't imagine you'd buy jewelry for anyone who wouldn't love that you were taking the story behind the piece into consideration. Such thoughtfulness should always be commended!