diamonds - girl's best friend?

warning: this is super frivolous entry written awhile back, posted for someone's amusement ;) probably unedifying so you shd skip it if you think it might stumble you esp if you already have a weakness for those sparklies. OR if you might be tempted to judge me. heh heh :)

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You know how they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend? I never quite understood the enormity/reality/temptation of the statement till I incidentally stumbled into big luring world of diamonds recently. Let me share the series of encounters that I had with Mdm Folly & the rock in the recent fortnight.

Encounter [1] & [2]

Best friend & me were catching up over lunch when she notices my recent purchase. Prodes & i revealed details reluctantly. The floodgates opened & we launched into excited banter about specs, which led to lively discussion about cuts, certifications, carats. Being married she is way more experienced & into the diamond scene than i am so she shared her wisdom. Revisited her engagement ring story & exchanged NEW engagement ring stories. Talked upgrades & jeweller management. Its like a whole new territory of bonding that we NEVER experienced before. Admitting the frivolousness of the conversation helped bring us back down to earth but the moment was… telling.

Another girlfriend in the same week, wanted to buy a cross pendant & asked me to follow her. We had NEVER spoken about jewellery, much less diamonds before so it was out of mere coincidence. We enter shop & I admitted to my recent buy & suddenly I became the (horrors!) diamond expert of us 2! She wanted to buy studs & we spent hours talking to the jewellers that night. Thereafter, she went home & stayed up to 4am learning more about diamonds & over the weekend checked out a jeweller friend’s place. I tell you, diamonds just suck you right in.

Encounter [3] – the main pt of my sharing but I got carried away

a very dear guy friend needed desperately to find 1st year anniversary gift for gf. Having set expectations too high in monthly anniversary gifts [he spent up to $300 per gift! yes, chided him already - no need to give such expensive gifts monthly!! pardon me but who celebrates monthly anniversaries these days?!] he had little choices with which to impress the lady, short of popping a solitaire diamond ring.

So the limited options we worked out (within his already v generous 4 figure budget):

i. diamond studded pendant with initial of her first name – sweet & way within budget but cldn’t get done on short notice

ii. diamond earrings – he refuse to cos he had already given her TWO pairs prior to this. anniversary gift had to be special, cant repeat gift, blahblah

iii. something from tiffanys – which cant be diamond studded obviously. and there was no way id let him get a keychain, tiffanys or not. not romantic & not worth it

iv. tenis bracelet – last option but over budget by at least half

thanks to this guy, me & best friend had to brave temptation by accompanying him to the jewellers. AND help try on stuff. AND calculate value of pieces. AND tiptoe around the gorgeous pieces.

On one hand, I wanted to wring his neck for setting such high expectations (in her, of himself)… On the other hand (he is normally a very kiam guy), it was sweet to see that he was really quite serious abt her, wanting the gift to be sth that she wld want, that wld make her happy – not settling for just anything for the sake of getting a gift [note: she neither asked nor hinted abt the bracelet but he knew she really wanted one lar].

The hilarious bit was us over the phone & him calculating the length of the tenis bracelet to see how many diamonds he can try & take off to make it that teeny bit more affordable. Conversation went sth like this:

R: how? ive no choice but to get the tenis.

Me: tell you get the earrings, you don’t want! They are lovely AND within budget.

R: cannot lar, I cant give earrings again. there were 72 diamonds & it works out to be abt $26 per diamond… I need to take off at least 15 to squeeze into budget! how many do you think I can take off?

Me: I think each diamond is about 2.1mm if I rem correctly *imagining w ruler* … wait! *measure my wrist watch* Think you need at least 14.5cm…

R: what? 2.1mm times 72 makes 15.1cm! *disappointed voice* shucks that means I can only take 5 off at most! nevermind, ill go measure her wrist to confirm...

Me: how are you going to do it discreetly?

R: ive got it all planned. Ill use dental floss to measure when she is asleep... heh heh

Me: you win. Good luck!

See. the obstinate romantic but insistently frugal friend. Hope she turned out very happy!!!

My take

Okay i admit i quite like diamonds, especially after learning more these 2 wks. they are pretty, exquisite & make a girl feel very special to be given, to wear them. there’s also lots to learn in the world of diamonds – what is good quality, what should one compromise on & not, what cuts there are, what should you get given your budget, the variety of settings/cuts that could affect the brilliance, etc – its almost an art to pick the right piece to invest in. think of it as a girl’s version of the car/wine/gadget obsession. there are different pieces (models/vintage) with diff specs & it takes a keen eye to find a worthwhile piece for investment. an investment that has to take into account besides value & durability, softer aspects as well of design & suitability. [guys who have had to pick a piece would know the considerations involved!]

I think its okay for a lady to have a few basic pieces, which should take her through all occasions from work events to day & night functions. by basic I mean a good pair of studs, an everyday wearable pendant & eventually a well-set ring. or two ;)

Personally i think they are a better investment than clothes or bags cos they last way longer & they can actually serve as eventual heirlooms (shd you marry & have kids). But of cos as we know, they still don’t figure much in the big scheme of things cos even diamonds (as much as debeers would have us believe) will pass away one day :)

Also, it definitely classifies as an ostentatious, luxury good. no amount of justification would make it a necessity! and as with all material things, its much better to not even get involved. more self-control is needed to avoid indulgence when in the know than when one is ignorant of it all (somehow the 50% discount signs at sookee call out louder when you’ve gotten a diamond or two). so yes, steer away from the tiffanys, cartiers & leehwas if you’re still a diamond virgin! If you arent, don’t fear – you can still be a reformed, self-controlled diamond appreciator… like me. heh heh thankfully, im enlightened but not obsessed.

Its also not a right, nor sth we shd demand or guilt-trip our husbands/bfs into getting. Afterall there are better & more impt ways to spend God’s money (even the excess bits) than on ourselves.

End of the day, despite our weakness for all things feminine & pretty, I like to believe we woman folk aren’t that superficial. Its easier to shower a girl with diamonds than it is to serve, love & stay committed to her for the rest of your life. Yes, we won't quibble with the occasional token (just as you’d be delighted if your wife wld buy you the idontknow, new plasma tv?) but what does a girl really want? She wants YOU (besides Jesus lar) to be her earthly best friend.

As Alicia Keys puts it:

Some people want diamond rings

Some just want everything

But everything means nothing

If I ain’t got you

Your devotion to her, expressed in your devotion to God & in cherishing her every moment that you’re with her - for me, that beats the tenis bracelet anyday :)