Why Engagement Rings Are a Scam - Adam Ruins Everything

[Music] you've made me the happiest man in the world Emily will you marry me how sweet you like it so you're putting a ring on it what if you were wondering why we put diamond rings on things we like it all oh god you're gonna tell us the awful truth about engagement rings aren't you yeah I am hi I'm Adam Conover and you may think of the diamond engagement ring as a timeless symbol of love but it turns out this ancient tradition was invented less than a century ago by the De Beers diamond corporation before the 1930s nobody exchanged diamond rings when they got engaged it wasn't a thing Apple what do you say we get married oh that's a swell idea Frank what do you give me I got this shiny red apple sold oh I love you Frank but in 1938 the De Beers diamond cartel launched a massive ad campaign claiming that the only way for a real man to show his love is an expensive hunk of crystallized carbon and we bought that jet now hold on looks like if I don't buy you one of these ring dailies then I'm a tiny peck at pencil neck well it's on the side of a building so it's gotta be true chorim's in fact every element of the traditional american engagement was designed to make more money for De Beers how much a drop on that rock no like four grand more than your car my dad said the rule was two months salary yes sorry dude that's not a rule that's just an arbitrary number from an old De Beers ad campaign buy her a diamond worth one month salary she'll be sure to love you eternally profits are down better make it two months this has got to be the most successful ad campaign of all time this is like if in 50 years people were going honey the same thing again yeah I know that pizza in the morning peeps in the evening pizza at supper time when pizzas on a bagel must eat pizza all the time well it's not like I'm throwing my money away I mean at least the ring is worth something actually diamonds are intrinsically worthless I refuse to believe that well maybe you believe DeBeers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer who once said quote diamonds are intrinsically worthless shut up shut up shut up in fact they're quite common the only reason time are even expensive is that De Beers has a global monopoly on diamond mining and they artificially restrict the supply to Jack the prices up but in reality those have a ton of them these are extremely rare a new attention to that which means that diamond you just blew your savings on has virtually no resale value that's why DeBeers wants you to think a diamond is forever if you never try to sell it you'll never figure out how badly you got fine so what do we do about it nothing they've got us by the balls a century of advertising has embedded the idea of a diamond engagement ring so deeply in our culture that even knowing all that doesn't get you out of buying an engagement ring seriously give it a shot okay Emily will you marry me I'm not giving you a ring because the concept of an engagement ring is a scam on the part of the De Beers Corporation but we could open it joint checking account sorry dude I want that rock well thanks man no problem join me next time on Adam ruins life's greatest pleasures when I'll be talking about how puppies only pretend to love you in order to mooch off your food supply hey there if you like that video click to subscribe we're usually these are just can't know they're fake why are you taking them I thought we were solo video no it's done it's over just please click hope you liked it [Music]

Channel: Dropout

Views: 14,194,746

Keywords: Collegehumor, CH originals, Engagement Rings Are a Scam, Wedding, Engagement Ring (Art Subject), Comedy, Funny, Humor, Sketch, Valentine's Day (Holiday), Marriage, Proposal, Propose, proposal fail, marry, scam, truth, diamonds, Adam ruins everything, Adam Conover, the truth about

Id: N5kWu1ifBGU

Length: 3min 54sec (234 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 14 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/lestye]

How are they able to maintain such a monopoly? I would assume there was one country out there with a decent diamond supply that Da Beers couldn't wrap its fingers around.

Also, does that apply to all gemstones?

Like, am I less scummy for getting a sapphire or topaz engagement ring?

[u/systemghost]

This is why if you're going to get a ring you should purchase a synthetic diamond. Buying synthetic will save you lots of money, and you'll be purchasing a superior diamond. Seriously. Lab diamonds can be grown to a superior level than naturally occurring diamonds. You can also get them in a variety of fancy colors.

Fuck DeBeers. Or fuck the trend and get a precious stone other than a diamond.

[u/battraman]

My wife wanted an opal. It's her birthstone (which is a different form of bullshit but whatever) and she likes the color and shine of them.

Now I'm frugal to some and cheap to others but I'd like to think this is one case I was being smart. I went to rubylane.com (kind of like eBay or etsy but for vintage jewelry and stuff) and got her a Victorian era ring with an opal set in rose gold. I didn't pay two months' salary; in fact I paid around $200 for it. A jeweler whom we had clean it told us he would charge several times that for something like it.

I don't have a lot of confidence in my decisions over the years but this is one thing I did right. She gets compliments on it everywhere (people at the bank, people at work, friends, etc.) It's not your typical ring pop ring and it really is something she likes.

The only person who hates it is her mother. She called it a Cracker Jack ring and "not worthy" of being a "real" engagement ring. Good thing I married my wife and not my MIL.

[u/omg_nyc_really]

This video is a summary of a 1982 article in The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/

It's a good read.

[u/BrainzLA]

Awesome! He's a pretty good stand up. He talks about this in his sets.

[u/dart22]

We rescued a beagle to celebrate our engagement. We did name her Diamond though, so I guess technically she has a 25lb Diamond.

[u/acokiko]

I took a Transitional Justice class when I studied abroad in South Africa and we had the privilege of having several classes taught by a former child soldier. All I could think after meeting him was FUCK THE DIAMOND INDUSTRY. Seriously, Blood Diamond was tame compared to the stories he told.

Fortunately, prior to arriving in Africa I was already aware of the monopoly that diamond makers have had over the industry and that they've been assigned this completely fictitious and inflated value because of it. So I've been averse towards purchasing diamonds for a while. But man, ever since my time abroad, once in a while I do go out of my way to explain everything that's wrong about the industry to people who brag about their rings.

That being said, I'd gladly set aside 2 months pay for my future wife to spend as she pleases...so long as she doesn't use it to buy an effing diamond ring.

[u/[deleted]]

I've been telling my dad this (im only 19) for the past two years but he never takes me seriously because im young :(

We're African (specifically Ghanaian) , and I remember asking him why should I buy a blood diamond for thousands of dollars to put on my (future) fiancée's finger yet, we know the miners and smelters are making next to nothing for these gems and are working in such bad conditions. Every now and then, we see the South African miners on strike because of this....

Thanks for the video link OP. Definitely saving it.

[u/MJsdanglebaby]

Heh. I uploaded this DeBeers commercial from 1991 last week. The last line of the commercial is what gets me. There's no way they could advertise that today.