Trading my 1.5 carat mined diamond for a 3-carat diamond

[Chelsea Palmer]

No I’m enjoying hearing your thoughts especially as we share some common interests.

I don’t explicitly wear diamonds to show wealth but it’s very hard to tease apart personal motivation from cultural meaning and the fact remains that diamonds are a show of wealth, today and historically. I think I read somewhere that young people aren’t necessarily spending less on engagement rings they are just using their money to get larger and better quality lab diamonds. So the metric for what a diamond of a given size might cost may be shifting but it remains a show of wealth. There is research showing, for example, that people assume a woman is more worthy and her fiancé more in love with her when he buys her a larger diamond. Gross, but there it is — symbolic meaning that is unlikely to change anytime soon. And class signifiers are complex. People don’t need a machine to point at someone’s jewels to known their class. But it is one piece of the puzzle. I’m thinking about how the old money class in Britain dresses fairly drab but all their clothing is by brands no mere mortals have heard of which cost an arm and a leg. Meanwhile the nouveau riche wear LV branded hats and jackets etc. Anyway, I digress. I can very much see natural diamonds somehow fitting into that mix, and people assuming a diamond is natural or not based on other class signifiers.

And to OP @Chelsea Palmer I detest that so-called argument about natural and synthetic diamonds that equates it to ways of conceiving human children. Humans are not material objects and so the comparison is not only inaccurate but also objectifying, particularly of children conceived through IVF who do not exist for anyone’s “gotcha” in this or any other argument. Naturally occurring minerals and metals and other earthly phenomenon are different than their manufactured counterparts, if not materially (though with diamonds they are different in some essential ways like type of inclusions and body tint) but more importantly in the cultural value and meaning ascribed to them. Yes the dreaded “social construction” rears its head. I am not arguing one is better then the other per se, but it seems weird to argue they are exactly the same. It removes the cultural context which is never a good way to proce

This is a balanced article (see link below) about lab diamonds and their perception for consumers. Consumers are being told in the media that the there are no inherent differences in the mined stone vs. the lab grown variety. I agree, at least for this 'boomer', that It's a matter of personal choice, budget, and the love of all sparkly things that make ones heart sing... Beauty is beauty...or in the words of William Shakespeare, "That which we call a rose, by any other word, would smell as sweet". A diamond is a diamond... (I was going to write: a diamond is a diamond, as a baby is baby...and then thought better of it...lol ). I think for newbies who come here in earnest to seek out advice, the admonishments over innocent comments/queries can be a little heavy-handed. Just a thought.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/lab-grown-diamonds-1.7066621#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20U.S.%20Federal,standards%2C%20from%20independent%20gemological%20organisations.

Well, a baby IS a baby! Whether conceived via IVF or naturally, a baby is a baby. I appreciate your comment. Yes, I came here in earnest and I got a LOT of helpful advice, along with the occasional heavy-handed comments here and there. (This is the best smiley face I could find.) If anything, I'm now considering not trading my mined diamond. But I have not decided definitively. But thanks again to you and everyone else who offered me helpful advice and suggestions.