Monday, December 04, 2006

Cubic Zirconium - Cheap or Beutiful

I was listening to a podcast on my way to work this morning in which the hosts were talking about how Apple has submitted a patent for a possible use in a rumored iPhone case made of Cubic Zirconium (CZ). OF course during the course of the conversation, one of the females on the show talked about how she would dump her man if he gave her a CZ ring. This made me wonder.

A CZ is definitely man made (except in very rare occurrences in nature), but it is also mega beautiful and has many of the same properties as a diamond. In actuality a CZ has more fire than a diamond does. So why would a woman dump a guy who gave her one? I would guess there are multiple reasons, some good and some bad. I think the culprit is that we as a culture have connected love and money. We have place value on love. The diamond industry has successfully integrated into our culture the notion that true love requires a monetary investment to prove itself. If you love a girl, then you buy an expensive piece of jewelry to prove it to her. Does this pervert love at its core? Does this valuable expression actually devalue love in some way? Diamonds were given because they were beautiful and precious, they still are beautiful but they are widely available. Now a CZ is arguable more beautiful, but less desirable. Just makes me wonder. I guess I need to set up a savings account specifically meant to buy a diamonds so that some day I don't get dumped.
RAV

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

please note that while diamonds are "widely available" they are still rare and must be mined. CZ are man-made and definately not rare. It's the rarety that makes them so attractive and valuable mister.

SaintRAV said...

Diamonds are more available than you thing. They are mined, and they are expensive because of market control not because there aren't enough of them. Also, the De Beers company (the same who have controlled the market for so long) have manipulated consumers in almost abolishing the diamond resale market, thus inflatting demand as well. If their value is your argument, then aren't you just lower the engagement to a business transaction?

Anonymous said...

no, because the diamond itself is a precious jewel which is a reflection of the relationship itelf.
Stop trying to get out of purchasing a diamond, Randy. It won't work! ;)

SaintRAV said...

Not trying to get out of anything. I even said that I am starting a fund to buy a Diamond ring someday. My point is to challenge the conventional thought of how we selfishly attach value to expressions from people. If L gave you a CZ, does this means he doesn't love you as much as he obviously does? Or does a Diamond just feed our needs to feel valuable?