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Comment by SenAnder | Hacker News Reader

> Has anyone ever tried to sell an engagement or wedding ring with diamonds? You get cents on the dollar.

Does that mean you can buy one second-hand at a low price, and avoid the inflated market entirely?

Yes, we got used 1920s (or 40s, I forget which) diamond matching (engagement/wedding) rings from a local jewellery market for ~5% of the cost of the equivalent spec ring if it were new. It was in immaculate condition and my wife adores them still 15 years later.

There’s specifically no market for them somehow. I tried to look but the only places I could found that sold them was at pawn shops.

Honestly, second hand diamond and other gemstone jewelry seems like such a missed opportunity. I feel like people would go for it, with the new focus on sustainability and what-not. I wonder why that's not a thing?

The majority of people who understand that diamonds are a scam are not simultaneously attracted to diamonds.

How? You don't usually buy diamonds for yourself, so the person who understands the diamonds are a scam does not have to be the same person who is attracted to diamonds.

It’s far more common for people to collaborate on purchases like this than to surprise each other: you could go so far to say that people choose diamonds for themselves.

Because the marketing goal of the diamond industry is to convince buyers that the amount of money you spent indicates how much you love your spouse.

Theoretically you could spend the same amount an some insanely huge used diamond.

"Used things are for poor people" - they know their market well and don't even have to actively diminish used diamonds/rings value, their customers do it for them.

Sustainability is a luxury belief. The market will change when such values disseminate more broadly.

But that doesn't dictate how much you're supposed to be paying for each individual diamond. If you have a "proof of love" budget of $6000 you could just buy five used diamonds instead. You could then start an arms race with other married couples and claim they don't love their spouses, because they only bought them a single diamond.

Edit: I checked and multi diamond cluster rings look way more impressive and make single diamond rings look cheap and icky.

It can feel like a bad luck kind of thing. Basically the only reason someone would have to sell their wedding rings are divorce or some other downturn. And don't want to invite bad luck by buying it.

Similar to not buying clothing from someone deceased or a wedding dress from someone divorced.

Can argue that this is not very rational. But much about the wedding process isn't :)

> Basically the only reason someone would have to sell their wedding rings are divorce or some other downturn.

That's why your shop should only sell the weddings rings from people who had a long and successful marriage and died peacefully in their sleep at age 95.

Haha, yes indeed. It'll be the free-range eggs equivalent for buying jewelry. Ethically farmed from happy wedded couples.

I don't think people who insist on diamonds care about how they are sourced. After all the blood diamond thing didn't stop anyone. What people want is to be skillfully lied to.

The blood diamond thing stopped a lot of people. I’d say it was the primary reason people pointed to when they passed on diamonds. Now almost all the diamonds you buy are expressed certified as conflict free.

Just gotta market it right. Maybe section off by length of marriage and dissolved by death or divorce.

A 60 year marriage, ended by death of one spouse shouldn't be unlucky. Especially if it was actually the death of both spouses in some tragically romantical way.

You bought me a train wreck diamond???

Don't underestimate the power of superstition.

My wife wears my great grandmother's ring. I thought that she would not be interested but was elated when I discussed the option. When I was talking about marriage with my parents my mom mentioned that she had a couple rings I would be welcome to, but then mentioned: "one is from a very long and happy marriage, that would probably be best, the other...".

They're sold as "estate jewelry".

There are lots on eBay, or at least there were some years back when I was in the market.

eBay is sketchy when it comes to this. I want to have someone verify it is what they say it is.

After you receive it, you can take it to a jeweler for confirmation. If it was falsely represented, eBay should back your return claim.

Even a used one will be priced pretty high. Paid 400 or so for a used one, then immediately took it to someone else to verify it's real...they offered 75 for it(I didn't ask, she just said how much she'll pay for it).

You can buy a second-hand synthetic diamond for even less!

Yup got my wives ring from a pawnshop cheap

Using the plural of wife might be unintentionally adding context here.

If you're racking up wives, all the more reason to save money. Alternatively, I could imagine a new wife becoming quite upset upon learning that her engagement ring was from a pawn shop...possibly upset enough to leave!

I might sound like an asshole, but if she's upset enough to leave you over that you should let her go. I wouldn't want a wife like that, personally.

They shared the ring too! Maximum efficiency.

"One Ring to rule them all"

Phone autocorrected the missing apostrophe to a multiple instead

Yes and everybody should do it.

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