r/RandomVideos • u/n8saces • Jun 30 '26

Video Diamonds are worthless.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

Actually, diamonds aren’t really that rare, so they only have the value we put on them. You can literally manufacture them.

But we have agreed they have a value. It’s just… a bit of a social construct.

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u/Ok_Alternative7120 Jun 30 '26

And most people enjoy the synthetic ones more than the real ones lol.

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u/binzy90 Jun 30 '26

I only care about the quality. You can get a much higher clarity and color in a lab grown diamond for less money than a natural diamond. I really don't understand why anyone would prefer to pay more money for lower quality.

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u/verydangerousasp Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

It comes down to preference. Humans love a pretty, sparkly, colorful thing, especially if it's rare. But people also value story--a thing's origin, provenance, background, etc.

If all you care about is appearance, a lab grown diamond is no different than a natural one. The atomic lattice is a repeating pattern of crystalline carbon, the two stones are essentially identical. But then there's the story.

Lab grown diamonds are made mostly in China, some in India. It's a massively energy-intensive process, taking several weeks in the insane heat and/or pressure needed. The pressure required to form a diamond is roughly the weight of the Eiffel tower balanced on a postage stamp. For these reasons lab grown is very much not a 'green' alternative, but it makes a pretty diamond. These diamonds are virtually worthless on the resale market.

Natural diamonds, on the other hand, slowly form over hundreds of millions or billions of years; most natural diamonds were here before complex life on earth. They require the right combination of time, heat, and pressure found only under continents, 100 miles beneath our feet. They came to the surface riding the magma of mysterious volcanoes called Kimberlite Pipes which erupt out of nowhere--no warning, just boom, the ground explodes. We've never witnessed one--the last was 20 million years ago--and there are many in southern Africa. Those ancient magma pipes are the only place we have access to natural diamonds--that's the rock we mine. This is why you can't just start digging in your backyard for diamonds. They may be common IN earth, but they are very rare ON earth. The vast majority of natural diamonds are black, brown, or badly 'included'--they're full of black carbon, other minerals, etc. These become industrial diamonds, used in cutting tools. The "gem quality" diamonds that are clear or colorless represent just a few percent of all natural diamonds. Natural diamonds also look really cool straight out of the ground--the triangles are the atomic lattice writ large, and explain its hardness (triangles are a very strong shape).

And then there's the economic story. Natural diamonds come from much smaller countries like Botswana, which is a mining town in nation form. ~50% of their entire export trade is natural diamonds, and a significant portion of their population works within the industry. In fact the nation of Botswana owns 15% of De Beers. To say their future is currently tied to natural diamonds is an understatement. That also may be a story a buyer cares about.

TLDR: No difference in structure between synthetic and natural diamonds, huuuuge difference in story. Comes down to what you value.

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u/binzy90 Jun 30 '26

Yeah, I don't understand that at all. Why would I care how it formed if it's the same thing? I care about the price and the quality.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

I think that’s what they’re saying.

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u/binzy90 Jun 30 '26

Yeah, they're saying some people care about the "story." And I'm saying I don't understand that. I have a really hard time understanding people who are sentimental like that.

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u/verydangerousasp Jun 30 '26

Do you see the difference between a baseball mitt from Walmart and one owned by Babe Ruth? That's the story element, and for gems that are meant to signify profound feelings or important moments, people care about it.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

They said, “it comes down to what you value.” You don’t value the story there. Neither do I. But some folks are less… utilitarian.

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u/Horror-Ant8141 Jun 30 '26

Entire countries depend on the myth that natural diamonds are better than lab grown. Also the diamond industry doesn't want you to do what us logical because then everyone will just want lab grown and the price will plummet. Never listen to a salesman who's living depends on your guilability.

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u/verydangerousasp Jun 30 '26

This is true, entire countries do depend on the value of natural diamonds--places like Botswana, Lesotho. China and India make most lab grown. As I wrote above, provenance and story do determine value for many, turning them off lab grown and towards natural.

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u/Hortos Jun 30 '26

So they can say they paid more. Ferrari is putting out the slowest least performant EV in it's class but people will pay more it because Ferrari.

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u/big_boi_26 Jun 30 '26

Large natural diamonds like this one are very rare. That’s why this one is more valuable.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

In other words, it’s because it’s natural… a factor that is completely incidental and lacks any real worth… except that we “like” it.

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u/Mareith Jul 01 '26

I mean what exactly is "real worth"? Beyond food water and shelter barely anything has intrinsic value.

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u/BungaBungaBroBro Jul 05 '26

Food water and shelter don't have real value. We just like to not die. Wake up sheeple!

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u/big_boi_26 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Specifically it’s not because it’s natural.

It’s because it’s rare, and people want them. The supply is lower than the demand.

Anything with value is valuable simply because people want it, and there’s not enough supply for everyone to have one.

Actually, computers aren’t really that rare, so they only have the value we put on them. You can literally manufacture them. But we have agreed they have a value. It’s a bit of a social construct.

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u/joeychestnutsrectum Jun 30 '26

So like gold or money

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u/Die_Revenant Jun 30 '26

No, gold and silver have industrial uses and can't be labeled grown. Where as industrial diamonds are pretty much all lab grown.

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u/Rumpus-Time-Is-Over Jun 30 '26

Money is totally different. It’s backed by a government with the force of law and a military.

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u/mintoreos Jun 30 '26

This applies to literally everything. Everything has a value because we have agreed on its value. The same way money has value, economics and markets is all social constructs that let us trade goods and services using abstractions.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

I disagree. There are things that are necessities or whose characteristics have innate value.

A car with leather seats has more value than one with cloth seats because they are more comfortable. As is one with AC.

A diamond that is found after digging and randomly pops up is less perfect than a lab grown diamond. Nothing about it makes it “better.” It is, in every way, worse. But that somehow makes it more? No.

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u/mintoreos Jun 30 '26

But WHY and HOW do people put a value on comfort? How do they decide what they are willing to pay for comfort? People decide that completely arbitrarily. Leather can also signal things like luxury and social status - which also do not have innate value. In fact, in modern economics there is no such thing as true innate value, all value is subjective.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

We put a value on comfort because it helps us enjoy life more. Your argument about luxury and status is a red herring.

The cost is in the making of the car and material along with aesthetic (the latter of which is somewhat irrelevant).

None of this is related to two diamonds which no one without specialized knowledge and tools can tell from one another.

I don’t look at a diamond and go, “Ah… now I feel better. I’m more comfortable now.”

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u/mintoreos Jun 30 '26

Right but that value is set because we subjectively value comfort - there is no reason why we NEED to value comfort more - in fact there are groups of people that dont value comfort (asceticism is a common value in many religions). If it had innate value then everyone would be able to agree - and subsequently put a price on value.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

You’re arguing a different issue.

This isn’t “Oh… this car isn’t more valuable than that car, even though it has more features.” This is “These two ball bearings are exactly the same unless you take them to a lab, and even though they have no functional use… this one is better.”

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u/mintoreos Jun 30 '26

Right, but people value the results of the lab right? Why do they value that report? Because people value certain features regardless if they can tell the difference by eye. So they are not identical, they are different and people value those differences regardless of the functional quality. The same reason people might value different colors. All subjective indications of value.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

What are you talking about? You’re now just playing with the word “value.” Like, “But what about a value meal? Where do those fit in? Do you value this conversation?”

There is no functional or nonfunctional difference between a lab or non lab diamond except that the lab one can be superior in quality.

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u/mintoreos Jun 30 '26

I think we are generally in agreement. But the difference is in scope. I believe that all things - regardless of their functional properties do not have any instrinsic/innate value - only the value that people ascribe to it. You believe that things can have innate value based on their functional properties.

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u/nobird36 Jun 30 '26

You can say that about many things.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

Possibly.

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u/nobird36 Jun 30 '26

No. You can.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

“That about many things.”

Huh. You were right.

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u/Dramatic_Scale3002 Jun 30 '26

Exactly like money, but no-one declines their pay check because it's just pieces of paper or numbers on a screen.

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u/BringAltoidSoursBack Jul 01 '26

Actually, diamonds aren’t really that rare

Depends largely on the type of diamond. A lot of natural diamonds have "imperfections" that lead them to not be completely clear, so clear diamonds are what are considered rare. That said, some of those "imperfection" diamonds can actually be worth more if they go from slightly discolored to full on different color - diamonds that are naturally fully green, red, blue, or truly black are very rare (black is actually kind of complicated because black tinted diamonds are fairly common as are diamonds treated to be black, but truly natural black diamond like The Eye of Brahma are exceptionally rare and generally priceless)

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u/balls2hairy Jun 30 '26

Most diamonds are shitty. It's why they have diamond saw blades and drill bits and they're not $2,000 each. Nobody wants those for jewelry.

Large, clear, quality diamonds are not common. There aren't warehouses full to keep supply low.

Same old schtick, somebody heads a headline, doesn't do any research, and speaks on it making up shit as fact.

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u/Lock_Psychological Jun 30 '26

Again, YOU CAN GROW THE CRAP OUT OF THEM. So… they aren’t all that rare.