Are lab-grown diamonds the answer to the prayers of the cash-strapped or have they just changed the rules of the game?
I lost the diamond from my engagement ring five years ago. My husband wants to replace it, but my attitude is, “Eh… I don’t know.” I have a complicated feeling about replacing it; mostly, why spend thousands of dollars on a rock that has no utilitarian purpose, when we should be saving for bar mitzvahs, camp, retirement, renovations? In the meantime, I wear an eternity band with my wedding band; it’s not like my hand is bare. But also, who really cares?
In the past year or so, I suddenly noticed that everyone around me seems to have come into a lot of money. Everyone and their Bandolier had a halo around their neck they wore casually with their Alo sweatshirts and denim skirts. Lots of women had huge eternity bands, too. Wait for the tenth anniversary — what for? Same goes for tennis bracelets.
The world was dripping in diamonds.
Was I missing something?
Reconciling my bare finger was suddenly urgent.
Now, I’m sure there are plenty who can afford it, plenty who are in debt, and plenty more whose eye blinders didn’t reflect anything other than the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds.
I was excited about the lab-grown option. Would they solve my should-I-
get-a-new-diamond existential question? (Yes, diamond dilemmas qualify as existential ones.)
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