Carats are a Girls Best Friend

Edited by Rebecca Alexander

Many believe that diamond engagement rings are a statement of love. Others are advocating that the rings are “profoundly anti-feminist.” Quite a new thought considering that many diamond connoisseurs are completely okay with paying ridiculously high prices for diamonds that are dug up by underpaid African miners. Let me paint a pic; anyone see Blood Diamond? There you go.

See, diamonds used to be so rare that only the very very wealthy could afford them. That is, until the 1870s. Diamond mines were “discovered” in South Africa, where, “poorly-paid, abominably treated native African workers” unearthed the gems by the ton. Cecil Rhodes founded De Beers in 1880, and the diamond cartel became the most successful in the world. De Beers controls the supply of diamonds to keep them expensive (just like shown in the movie), but we wonder “How does De Beers convince the world that an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice allotrope of carbon was something they absolutely needed to buy?” And do people realize that the engagement ring is just a marketing ploy conducted by De Beers, for which the price should range from “two to three months wages” from ring guideline originated from De Beers marketing materials in the early 20th century, in an effort to increase the sale of diamonds.

Can you tell which is which?

So, the solution: Carat. A diamond stimulant manufactured by man that cannot be told apart from a real diamond. Sold in many designs, styles, and shapes, Carat Stones are significantly less expensive than their counterparts, and are more attainable by the average joe. And since we live in NYC, it’s a little difficult to spend money on a ring that costs more than 6 months rent, or 3 months wages.

So if you want to keep your ring truely indie, invest in one of their stones. Your man will have some more money in the bank to give you to spend on finding the perfect outfit to match it, and you’ll be preventing the profiteering from a vicious history of cruelty towards the African people.