Gold, Diamonds, and Bad Math
Women spending obscene amounts of money on gold and diamonds has always annoyed me — because most of the time, that money comes out of a man’s pocket.
Back when I was young and dating, in the early days I’d try to get ahead of it by saying something like — “So, you’re a pretty independent-minded person… how do you actually feel about jewelry?”
“Jewelry? I like it — it looks nice. But what does that have to do with being independent?”
“Since ancient times, the reason women have worn jewelry isn’t just to look beautiful. In a patriarchal society it’s really a symbol of keeping women caged. Bangles on the wrist, a necklace at the throat… think about it — these are actually chains, a thousand-year-old master plan to keep women bound and confined to the house.”
A confused look from the other side.
How right or wrong that explanation is matters less than its real purpose: dialing down my future partner’s love of jewelry. (A little manipulation, I admit 🐣🐣.) Because financially, it makes no sense to me at all.
1. Let’s say someone wears jewelry purely to look beautiful. Why does that require real diamonds or gold? There are alternatives so flawless now that, to the naked eye, they’ll never look any less beautiful than gold — and on top of that, you can afford far more variety. Plus, no fear of being robbed on the street. If someone does steal it, the loss is the thief’s.
2. Let’s say you want to buy gold as an investment. I think that’s a bad investment too. Because you’re not buying gold bars — you’re buying bangles, necklaces, and the like. Their making charges are baked into your buying price. But when you go to sell, they only weigh the gold. The money spent on the design is a write-off.
And if you just google how much the price of one bhori of gold rises over ten years versus how much an equivalent amount in plain S&P 500 stock rises, you’ll see exactly what a bad investment gold — or diamonds — really are.
Food for thought.