"The diamond market is about like the 'Precious Moments' figurines market, with Debeers replacing the ceramics co."
That's a bit of a stretch. While it's true that Debeers screws with the market, the makers of figurines and other similar collectibles are dealing in an inexpensive, easy-to-reproduce mass market, whereas quality diamonds are a definitely finite commodity. There is a tremendous amount of "smoke and mirrors" play in the diamond industry, and it certainly doesn't stop at Debeers' front door. The New York diamond market is an unbelievable sucker trap, with consumers paying three-digit markup on the ground floor for stones the man in the kiosk purchased in the same building, but on a different floor because he's a "dealer." Look at retail stores, such as Kay Jewelers. There are typically very few truly high-quality stones in establishments such as these, and any knowledgable source can get you similar pieces (and sometimes the exact same pieces from the exact same sources) for 50% to 25% of the retail price. Look at diamond "investment" specialists. A Google search will produce countless stories of people being ripped off, due to misrepresentations made by con artists. But even with all of those layers to the onion, at the end of the day a diamond is not a trinket poured from a mold by some $ 1.80 a day Chinese factory worker. Frank --- You are currently subscribed to e-gold-list as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use e-gold's Secure Randomized Keyboard (SRK) when accessing your e-gold account(s) via the web and shopping cart interfaces to help thwart keystroke loggers and common viruses.
