1929! What a year!
Synthetic diamond
The appearance of synthetic gems on the market created major concerns in the diamond trading business, as a result of which special spectroscopic devices and techniques have been developed to distinguish synthetic and natural diamonds.
By the way, one of the worst techniques in the history of mankind is to simply ask if the diamond is synthetic or natural. This is especially true during a wedding ceremony. If you can't tell by looking at it, then keep your mouth shut. Trust me on this one. Hahaha!
I guess I can now rule out ever landing a job at De Beers. Oops.
Source Data:
USGS Historical Mineral Prices
Historical CPI
Stag,
ReplyDeleteI've bought some of these as presents:
http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com/chart_comparison.php
They're better quality and far, far less expensive than natural diamonds. The only way a jeweler can tell that they are not natural diamonds is by concluding that they are too flawless.
Another store of wealth bites the dust. Score another one for the welfare state.
Btw, I'm all for hedonically adjusting the price of diamonds too. Like computers, the quality is improving and the price is plummeting.
My wife is adamant that I keep investing in natural diamonds on birthdays and anniversaries.
ReplyDeleteHopefully these charts will bring some sanity to her line of thinking but I don't hold out much hope.
(my word verification is 'turdimet', I must be the 'Charlie Brown' of the blogging world)
mab,
ReplyDelete"Btw, I'm all for hedonically adjusting the price of diamonds too. Like computers, the quality is improving and the price is plummeting."
No De Beers job for you either, especially in their marketing and sales departments! ;)
watchtower,
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can convince her that the more flaws a diamond has, the more natural it is! That would certainly save some money. :)
Survey: frugality, saving more may be permanent
ReplyDeleteNEW YORK (AP) - New-found frugality and the tendency to save more may be permanent changes brought about by the recession, according to a new national survey released on Friday.
The survey conducted for Citigroup Inc. found that 63 percent of American consumers surveyed said the way they spend and save has been forever changed. Only one-third said spending and saving would go back to the way it was before the recession.
http://tinyurl.com/yerqdgv
The deflation monster is chasing Bernanke and the FED down the street and just like what happened in Japan with the yen the dollar is now the carry trade currency of choice. Stretch for yield baby
Kevin
Kevin,
ReplyDelete"The survey conducted for Citigroup Inc. found that 63 percent of American consumers surveyed said the way they spend and save has been forever changed."
The market does not believe them, yet. I'm not sure when my behavior permanently changed.
It could have been the day I sold all my stocks in 2004.
It could have been the day I decided to buy precious metals or the day I sold them back.
It could have been the day I first started hoarding basic needs.
It could have been the day I assembled storage racks to better organize it. (That was fairly recent.)
It could have been the day I bought pyrex pans so that I could make tastier and cheaper TV dinners.
Who knows!
I can say that if Wall Street thinks my "cash on the sidelines" is coming back into the markets any time soon, then it is in for a rude surprise. It's been over 5 years so far and I have absolutely no desire to gamble again.