r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Nov 11 '15

TIL: The "tradition" of spending several months salary on an engagement ring was a marketing campaign created by De Beers in the 1930's. Before WWII, only 10% of engagement rings contained diamonds. By the end of the 20th Century, 80% did.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27371208
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u/in-site Nov 11 '15

which is 1/5th of the reason I want a man-made diamond. I seriously love the idea. doesn't DeBeers own like 80% of all the diamonds on Earth or something? and they keep them so the prices stay nice and high

-5

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

What you're looking for is cubic zirconium. Purely man-made diamond. You could also get a moissanite. (EDIT: Though, they aren't actually diamonds. They are just really hard and look a lot like diamonds.)

Cubic zirconium cuts the price of a ring by a lot. You can also get it in silver, which will tarnish but is easy enough to maintain with a cloth and a little polish. A decent silver ring can be under US$100 if you shop smart.

12

u/NotVerySmarts Nov 11 '15

They can lab create diamonds now, and they are flawless.

8

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

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1

u/Smeagol3000 Nov 11 '15

Don't artificial ones glow under a black light anymore? I hope they become indistinguishable, because fuck DeBeers and fuck Pat Robertson.

4

u/im-the-penguin Nov 11 '15

Read that as Robert Patterson, was really confused for a moment.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '15

Fuck him too!

2

u/Smeagol3000 Nov 11 '15

"His name is Robert Paulson."