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 Post subject: Marketing created diamonds
PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 12:33 pm 
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Anyone have thoughts on this following our chat with Bryant Linares?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:54 pm 
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I personally have no problem with synth. diamonds being marketed as "cultured".

Chatham markets with "created" and it's fully accepted by the trade.
De Beers tries to romance the heck out of diamonds, so why should Apollo be denied the same.

As long as detection methods are known and the diamonds are disclosed, I don't see any reason why "cultured diamonds" doesn't work.

It's up to the people on the salesfloor to make the sale and disclose.
If they were forced to sell synthetic diamonds as "man-made", "fake" or whatelse, then real diamonds should be disclosed as "overpriced", "bad investement" etc.

I personally would be more happy to romance cultured diamonds than mined ones. Think about the stories you can tell.
"It's used in hightech lasers used by NASA" vs. "Yes the Bushmen are driven from their land".

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:59 pm 
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I should have asked if the target market is going to be the same ie: engagement rings, anniversary bands and so on.

Maybe some way of tying in how it feels like THE person was created just for you, and giving her something that was created just for her?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:04 pm 
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Quote:
It's used in hightech lasers used by NASA


That reminds me of the stairmaster that we once bought. Their super NASA technology was, I suspect, the velcro that held the speed meter to the machine :lol:


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:12 pm 
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The NASA story did very well when marketing Titanium in specticles etc.

No diamond is ever mined nor made with one special person in mind. Well come to think of it, Apollo could take a special order from a client, the mining companies can't :)

Oh well, you all know my views by now.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:25 pm 
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Bespoke diamonds, now how is that for prestige?

I suspect that in this part of the world, he would easily sell 2, 3 ct and higher created diamonds.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:42 pm 
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Well, I don't know why, but I still prefer the God-created, from-the-earth diamonds (guess the engagement's off, Doos :lol: ).

Cultured, synthetic, created . . . I think if presented properly with the right explanation, people will be willing to accept these "diamonds" for what they are, especially if the price is right.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:46 pm 
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LOL Doos "overpriced" "Bad investment"

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:49 pm 
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Modo, My wife thinks anything man-made is an abomination.Doesn't matter that it is identical. I think Doos could come up with a nice ruby for you that would be as nice as a diamond.

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:55 pm 
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From your mouth to his ear :lol: !!!


BTW--You do realize we're just joking, right?


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 4:10 pm 
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Let's face it, it's a question of flash anyways. That's why stones like moissanite and cz have done so well, ladies wear them and of course there aren't many people who are going to ask "is that real"? The whole selling point of those are that "you can't tell the difference", whether it's true or not.

You can't really consider the "average" diamond that you find in an "average" engagement ring an investment. Honestly if given a budget to buy their engagement ring, cut and clarity of the stones being the same, would most women choose:

a) a .5 ct D or E natural diamond
b) a 1 ct J or K diamond
c) a 1 ct D or E created white diamond

The thing is, diamonds have been marketed extremely well by DeBeers on the basis of scarcity (a totally false concept), luxury/cost (somewhat like OPEC and the price of oil for the latter), durability (also present in CVD diamonds) and romance. There isn't much point in any of the diamond "creators" whether they be CVD or HPHT in trying to undo what several decades of effective marketing has planted in the heads of the consumer.

So they need to find a way to make availablilty instead of scarcity an asset, the cost will be less but that isn't likely going to be much of a negative point for the vast majority of consumers, and find some way of keeping the romance.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 4:13 pm 
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I'm with Morning Dove.

Diamonds that take however long to create in a lab just don't have the same value or appeal to me as the ones that God created over eons. If you're going to wear a man-made diamond, you might as well stick with CZ's and the others already out there because man-made is still man-made, plus it will be impossible to detect these without disclosure (and after changing hands a few times, how likely is that?), since they're the same chemical composition. :8):

For the public, it's just another avenue for deception that will surely be capitalized on by those who just can't resist screwing their fellow man, and will make valuation by the appraiser more precarious since there's no trait to set it apart from the real thing. Unless these were all to be laser inscribed before leaving the manufacturing plant, how can you give difinitive answers for appraisals without always being left wondering.... :roll:

Price will be the determining factor for those who can't afford the real thing, those who just want a bargain, and those who are so tight they squeak! But when a woman shows off a new diamond, she doesn't preface it with "It's man-made, not real..." :lol:

If I had my druthers, all man-made stones would be for industrial use, and only the real thing would be in jewelry...if I was in charge of the world.... :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:27 pm 
I have a problem with the word "fake" being used regarding synthetics. Fake is a word that applies to imitations - not synthetics.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:14 pm 
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Gems are judged by 3 main factors: beauty, durability and rarity.

Diamonds show little more beauty than their simulants.
Diamonds show durability but do we really care that they are harder than 7 on Mohs scale .. and they have perfect cleavage, so care is an issue.
Diamonds are so rare that they sell billions of carats of them every year. So why they are more expensive than good mandarin garnets is a puzzle to me.

So in conclusion, diamonds don't match all of the 3 criterea to be a true gem.
It's all marketing.

The last factor is romance.
Sure, a gem formed by mother nature is prefered over a lab grown one.
But if you need to make a cartel to control prices to fill the pockets of some ... then I think africanuck made a good parallel to oil.

Where is the romance in that?

Can anyone give me one good romantic view on diamonds that doesn't apply to other gems?

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 6:24 pm 
Doos wrote:

Can anyone give me one good romantic view on diamonds that doesn't apply to other gems?


LOL Doos! "A diamond lasts forever" by DeBeers

And Nucky - don't forget the LifeGem that is created from the human remains of your loved ones, where you can actually say "this was made just for you!"


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