Diamond Buying: Emotional Experience Or Math Problem?

Professionals in the diamond industry hear warnings about "commoditization" at our trade conventions. We hear the warnings from traditionalists, from sellers and suppliers, from revered industry leaders. We hear the warnings from some of the most esteemed icons of our industry. But what does it mean?

It is about the reduction of an emotional experience to a mere set of numbers. That is the concern.

For many years diamond cutters were considered craftsmen and artists, like blacksmiths and carpenters (the best still are). As technology has moved forward, blacksmiths and carpenters have been replaced with automated manufacture. In diamond-cutting, auto-dialits and assembly line production have replaced the gray-haired cutter of old who took the rough through every step from blocking to brillianteering. However, the unalterable difference between 'smithing and diamond fashioning is that producing a diamond will never be like stamping out automobiles or pre-fabricated woodwork where pieces and parts are interchangeable. Our craft is unique.

Every piece of diamond rough took millions of years to form. Every diamond is a different story. Once mined from the earth each piece of rough is individually studied and analyzed. A different plan is developed for each piece to arrive at the shape, size and beauty that will be yielded. No two diamonds are perfectly alike; not in rough form nor polished. They may be comparable, but color, clarity and even cut differ from piece to finished piece. There are subdivisions within each color grade. There are microscopic elements of crystallization within each diamond that do not appear on a plot. There are aspects to the way the diamond was run on the wheel and took a polish that blend together to create its distinctiveness when finally viewed.

As we know, the cut of a diamond has the largest influence on its overall performance and can be expressed in differing terms. Proportions, cut estimators, 3D scans, natural reflectors and machines like Imagem and BrillianceScope can assign numbers. But numbers will never tell the story of the diamond's birth, its crystallization over millions of years and the blending together of distinctive elements WITHIN the numbers that make it one-of-a-kind.

Traditionalists emphasize that a finished diamond is both a snowflake and an artist's masterpiece. Its uniqueness is absolute; both in nature and in the treatment man has given it. It can never be replicated - and its singular, irreplaceable distinctiveness is the perfect expression for a giver, and the most its wearer could ever hope for.

The traditionalists are right of course.

Now there is concern among traditionalists that by reducing a diamond to a data stream we take away its romance. We remove its symbolic appeal, distinctiveness that can be measured only by the human eye and a history larger than life - and replace them with charts and graphs.

The information age has provided us with the ability to analyze the art of man and nature. We have powerful tools for measurement and analysis. We can place a number beside every facet. We can take analytic photographs at unreal magnifications. We have black boxes that assign values. For trade and factory analysts these things can empower more understanding and the ability to maximize beauty at the source. Certainly there are hundredths of degrees which can help our scientific understanding. However, any professional will tell you that once a diamond is within an acknowledged premium range the nuances of its specific appeal depend entirely on individual human taste and preference. To make such fine judgments, beauty can only be in the eyes of the beholder.

Let us consider the most important people, our clients: For those who will give and receive nature's creation, crafted into shape by man's hand, we should provide technical validation to put them at ease. But for the sake of our trade we have a responsibility to put less emphasis on a decimal point and be more sensitive to our clients' appreciation for the emotional aspect of the diamond - which was his or her motivation for purchase in the first place!

Let us not convert someone shopping for a work of art & love into someone shopping for a tenth of a degree on crown facet number 8. To do so reduces the emotional experience to a math problem and reduces the meaningfulness of the service our trade can provide to our clients.

A healthy marriage of lab grading, parametric data and direct performance assessment should be enough for even the internet shopper's desire for pedigree. By all means, provide validation our clients need to be comfortable in a purchase, but ultimate beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is important for us to remember that when all is said and done it will be sparkle, not statistics, which cause the wearer to love the piece.

John Pollard is Director of Consumer Education at http://Whiteflash.com - a company specializing in Diamonds, http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/1.htm and http://new.whiteflash.com/golden-wardrobe/whiteflash-design.aspxMark Finley
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Suicide Bomber Arrives At Entrance To Paradise At Same Time As Victims

What are they doing here? the suicide bomber asked Allah, pointing to the fifty-two victims he had just blown up along with himself. I thought I was going to Paradise alone.

Dont let him in! a dead man called from among the recent arrivals.

He killed us! a female victim shouted.

Allah, who was sitting on a gold throne at the entrance to Paradise, held up his scepter, which had a curious red button on top, and told the bomber, It always happens this way.

But why? he wanted to know.

Allah held up a scroll on which were written the words he now spoke: Do the math!

I was never good at math, the bomber admitted. Please, explain.

Its really quite simple," Allah told him. "The usual transportation speed from the earth to Paradise is a constant. So everybody who dies at the same time arrives here at the same time.

Oh, sighed the bomber, I didnt think of that.

Justice! We demand justice! the disgruntled crowd confirmed.

Please, let me proceed, Allah advised them. Then he turned his eyes on the bomber. What do you have to say on your behalf?

Praise be to God, replied the bomber, and fell on his knees. I killed them for you, Allah.

I dont remember asking. Got any other reason?

Oh, a really good one.

Do I know everything? Allah asked.

Yes, you do. God is great!

Then why dont I know of a really good reason to kill people?

Infidels! he shouted. Theyre infidels!

Whats an infidel? one of the dead children asked his mother.

Somebody who doesnt agree with me and my superiors! the bomber informed the child.

I don't! one of the dead men exclaimed, and turned to Allah. So let me blow him up!

Please, Allah replied, up here I pass out the rewards and punishments.

Then no doubt I have earned an eternal reward in Paradise, the bomber said.

Never! the dead crowd demanded.

I have earned my eternal reward with my life! the bomber shot back.

Eternal, no doubt, Allah replied. But there seems to be some disagreement about the location.

But my superiors assured me that I would go straight to heaven for blowing myself and these infidels up.

I know that, Allah told him. Its one of the disadvantages of knowing everything. Frankly, sometimes I wish I didnt. I get the worst headaches. He took a notepad out of a pocket in his gown. See. I have a list of your advisors. Now, for the big question. Who should get into Paradise, you or them?

Me? the bomber said tentatively.

Justice! We demand justice! the crowd shouted.

Not to worry, Allah told them. Thats what I specialize in. He turned to the suicide bomber once again. What do you mean by infidels?

They believe different things than I do, especially about you!

Why do you think its possible for people to believe different things, even about me?

Because theyre wrong! the bomber answered.

No, because I decided people should be able to believe different things.

You did?

Am I all-powerful?

Praise be to God, of course, you are, the bomber replied.

Then, if I didnt want them to be able to believe different things, I assume you understand that they would not be able to?"

Oh, the bomber realized.

Thanks, Allah, one of the dead men said. Thats a good point.

You mean they have a right to disagree with me and my superiors? the suicide bomber wanted to know.

How else could they get away with it? Allah asked.

Hmm, I hadnt thought about that, he lamented.

I know that, Allah said. Now, perhaps you know I have a rule?

Oh, lots of them, the bomber went on. I know them by heart.

How about the one about dont kill?

I didnt know that applies to infidels!

Hes guilty! a man yelled.

He killed us! a child screamed.

Send him to hell! his dead mother said, and put her arm around the child.

Well get to who belongs where, Allah said, and turned to the bomber. Do you think I made you?

Yes, you did. God is great!

Do you think I made them?

I dont know why, but, yes, I have to admit you made everyone and everything.

Thank you, Allah said, and pointed to the dead crowd. What would happen if everybody decided to blow up people who dont agree with him or her?

There would be even more blessed martyrs, the suicide bomber said.

You mean crazy people! one of the dead women called.

Hold it, Allah said once again, closing his eyes with a bit of perturbation. I have arrived at a decision.

Then I can enter Paradise? the bomber suggested, and moved forward.

Im not finished, Allah told him, blocking the way with his scepter that had the red button on top.

Tell it like it is, Allah! a dead man called.

Send him to hell to burn forever! a woman screamed.

Please, Allah said, no need to shout. Remember, I can even take a hint. He looked back at the bomber. Do you know we have never had a bomb go off in Paradise?

Really?

"No, its a very peaceful place. And do you know why we have never had a bomb go off?

Because its Paradise? the bomber asked.

Yes, but theres another reason.

Praise be to God, tell me.

Because I never let a bomber in.

But Im done being a bomber, the bomber replied. Now, Im a martyr!

Bomber! a woman yelled.

No, no, Im not a bomber anymore! the bomber shouted.

Arent you? Allah asked. You did decide to be a bomber, didnt you?

My superiors told me to do it!

But you agreed or you wouldnt have done it. Am I right?

Praise be to God, you are all-wise.

Thanks. Then youll understand that once a bomber, always a bomber.

Forgive me, Allah! I was wrong.

Never, Allah! Hes a murderer! a man in the deceased crowd called.

Im afraid I have to agree with them, Allah decided.

With them? With the infidels?

Please, stand aside, Allah said to the bomber. Then he turned to the victims. You can come in.

Thank you, God! they said. Praise be to Allah!

They filed past their great benefactor, bowing as they went.

But Im the one who deserves to go to Paradise! the bomber protested.

Well see, Allah said.

When all the people who had been blown up had entered Paradise, the bomber asked, Is it my turn to go in?

Lets talk about that, Allah said, and moved his finger to the red button on the top of his scepter, which happened to control a trap door. I believe you said you killed those people for me?

Yes, I did.

Do you think I let them be born so you could kill them?

But look how they turned out!

Is that for you to decide or for me to decide?

For you, Allah, I admit it. I was wrong! Im sorry. Forgive me!

I do forgive you, Allah said, but I also gave you the freedom to decide who you would become. And I never change Paradise policy."

"Praise be to Allah, tell me, what is it?"

"No bombers, especially suicide bombers, allowed.

With that, he pushed the red button on his scepter and the unfortunate soul dropped to his unexpected destiny.

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of http://NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway. Critics have called his writing "delightfully funny," "witty," with "good, genuine laughs" and "great humor and ebullience."Golf Swing Speed
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