Are Diamonds A Girls Best Friend?

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Most people are shocked when the subject of engagements rings comes up and I blurt out that I never wanted a diamond engagement ring. I just couldn't see spending a huge chunk of money on a ring when the substitutes were just as flawless and eye catching. To me, and I am in the minority here, it seemed like a better plan to take the money that would have been spent on an engagement ring and roll that into a house or investment property. With that being said, my marriage didn't last 'forever' but I wasn't stuck with the quandary of keeping the ring (and the memories) or selling it (and taking a huge loss on it). I cringe when I see people trying to do the math about what to spend on an engagement ring and I have some female friends that have actually handed the rings back to their future spouses because they weren't big enough or expensive enough. Putting yourself into debt over a ring just seems counterproductive to me. The sad truth about the diamond industry is that there isn't a shortage; just like oil, the price is controlled and when the supply even comes close to the demand production is shut down. The diamond trade, at least those imported, had been under the control of De Beers for years and in that time hundreds of people had lost their lives or lived in deplorable conditions just to satisfy the 'highest quality' mission statement of the company. This goes beyond what the movie Blood Diamond (2006) presented as fact. Likewise, people are always clamoring about the slave labor used to process farm-raised seafood and in clothing manufacturing but you rarely hear about the deaths and 'accidents' that occur at the larger mines. Twenty years ago the High Diamond Council / World Diamond Council controlled (and kept in control) the procurement and wholesale distribution of diamonds. The gem in your ring passed through hundreds of hands before it ended up in a display case and in the process the cost of it increased with each transfer of ownership. Do 'real' diamonds mean more when proposing to someone? Could you tell the difference between a real diamond and a synthetic? Do you think the diamond industry is nothing more than a monopoly?