Considering a ring for your spouse? How about a synthetic diamond? Opinions?

[FreeJoe]

58. If I were to buy a diamond

I would almost certainly by a synthetic diamond. They are real diamonds. They are better than natural diamonds. They are cheaper than natural diamonds. Less harm is done to people and the environment creating new diamonds rather than digging up old ones. What's not to like?

For me, personally, I would buy a diamond. It seems like such a misallocation of resources. When I proposed to my wife, I did a full reveal of my finances (which weren't all that impressive). I showed her I would sell to buy her an engagement ring and how much we'd pay in additional taxes if I did that. I then offered her the choice of a ring or keeping the money. She's a smart lady. She opted to keep the money.

That was a long time ago. We're still married. We're much, much better off financially. We could easily buy her a nice ring. I've offered several times. She's not interested. She wants to keep the money so that we can spend it on travel when I retire soon.