Per editor: Bi Lu Ming
Around the Qixi Festival, a large number of "diamond rings" priced at tens of yuan appeared on the Internet, and some online stores sold more than 100,000 yuan a month. Why are so many people buying these "diamond rings"? Do the price and brand of diamond rings represent the value of love? The reporter investigated.
100 yuan cheap "diamond ring" sales are hot
Recently, a large number of "diamond ring" products priced at tens of yuan or 100 yuan have appeared on some e-commerce platforms, which has attracted widespread attention.
On August 22, the Qixi Festival, a search on an e-commerce platform with diamond rings as keywords found that a large number of "diamond ring" goods of more than 100 yuan and tens of yuan were selling hotly. A shop window called the Vingier Premium Boutique shows that a 50-cent (or half-carat) diamond couple ring costs $188, $298 for a carat and $420 for a 2-carat. The customer service staff told reporters that the diamond used in their ring was a moissanese diamond and had a GRA certificate.
Image source: Website screenshot
Data show that moissanite diamond, also known as moissanite, is synthetic, and diamonds are very different: the chemical composition of diamonds is elemental carbon (C), while the chemical composition of moissanite is silicon carbide (SiC), and the hardness and density of moissanite are not as good as diamonds. However, because moissanese are similar in appearance and physical properties to diamonds and are much cheaper, they are often used as a substitute for diamonds. On a purchasing website, merchants sell a large number of moissanese diamonds of various colors wholesale, which can be customized on demand. The merchant told reporters that the price of his wholesale moissanese diamonds was 299 yuan per carat. Although the Van Gia Premium boutique clearly states that it is a moissan, under the language packaging of "new premium proposal confession Qixi Valentine's Day gift", the store is very popular, showing sales of more than 100,000 pieces.
According to a report by Red Star Capital Bureau on the 22nd, a store called "DR Diamond Ring Discount Store" sells products marked with "S925 sterling silver moissan" at a lower price of 29.8 yuan. On the morning of August 21, the product was still on the shelf, with a single quantity of tens of thousands, and at noon on August 21, the product was removed from the shelves, and the product page showed "sold out". "The last batch was sold and removed from the shelves." The store's customer service told reporters.
Some merchants use labels and packaging of well-known diamond ring brands, such as DR, to mislead consumers. It is reported that DR is one of the largest diamond ring brands in China, and its diamond ring prices range from several thousand yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan, and each diamond ring has a unique number and customized record, which can be checked on the official website. These cheap "diamond rings" can be bought for only a few tens of yuan, and they also come with gifts such as true love agreements.
Image source: screenshot from DR official website
So, who exactly is buying these cheap "diamond rings"?
According to a report by Red Star Capital on August 22, the reporter interviewed several buyers and merchants and found that they had different motives and purposes. Ms. An is one of the consumers who buy cheap diamond rings, and she previously bought moissanite diamond rings online for about 200 yuan. Buy a cheap diamond ring to complete the wedding form.
She told Red Star Capital: "I have long known that diamonds, especially broken diamonds, are not valuable, and many people buy diamond rings for tens of thousands of pieces, and the second-hand recycling price is only a few hundred." Now Henan and other places in China have produced a large number of artificial mass diamonds, low cost, good color, professionals can not distinguish which is a natural diamond, which is a man-made diamond, so there is no need to spend a lot of money to buy diamonds. ”
DR Brand Side: Formal prosecution has been made
However, products such as cheap diamond rings and true love agreements with DR on the label may involve infringement.
The brand DR issued a statement in the afternoon recently, saying that recently, DR diamond rings have received feedback from many users that "cheap fake DR diamond rings are being sold on related platforms", suspected of deceiving tens of thousands of consumers. To this end, DR has formally sued the relevant e-commerce platforms and counterfeit merchants, requiring the platforms to immediately remove counterfeit goods and immediately stop the infringement. For such counterfeiting infringements, DR will resolutely crack down on counterfeiting and will not tolerate them. DR diamond ring customization records can be queried on the official website of DR brand, and cannot be deleted or changed for life. Any products that are not customized in DR's official channels and cannot be queried on DR's official website are counterfeit products, please be aware of them.
Red Star Capital Bureau found that many merchants have also withdrawn True Love Protocol box related products. Although the "Overseas Purchasing House of the Great Decoration World", which has more than 100,000 pieces of Moisang diamond products, still displays the "custom DR set" with the true love agreement on the shelf, the store's customer service said on August 21: "The custom is temporarily gone, and now I can only shoot normal rings." ”
There were no products in the "DR Diamond Ring Discount Store", and the store's customer service told Red Star Capital Bureau: "Maybe there will be none in the future." It is also uncertain when it will be available in the future, it may be a year, it may be a month. ”
Is a high-priced diamond ring an IQ tax?
"Cheap diamond rings" have sparked heated discussions online. Many netizens believe that the diamond ring symbolizes a firm and lasting beautiful love, and the high price is reflecting its preciousness, and the appearance of tens of yuan cheap diamond rings not only disrupts the market, but also blasphemes love: "Buying this kind of fake to deceive people is to deceive feelings." "Behind the monthly sales of 100,000 are 100,000 girls who have been victimized." "Men can only customize one piece in their lives, and now they can buy a basket for a few hundred dollars, you tell me what love is?"
Another voice believes that love should not be measured by material things, and whether there is a ring or how expensive a ring is, does not mean whether the other party is sincere with you. Everyone knows that tens of dollars cannot be a real diamond ring, if a man is shy, buy a similar appearance imitation and tell the woman truthfully, this is not a shame; Only those who buy a fake and lie that they are genuine are worthy of criticism.
Image source: Visual China
In fact, the low cost and high profit of diamond rings have been widely criticized. In May, a woman in Anhui Province was ready to sell two diamond rings she had bought for 18,000 yuan more than a decade ago, but the merchant was only willing to recycle them for 180 yuan, saying that this was its true value. Actress Zhang Yuqi also publicly declared on the live broadcast platform, "Diamonds below 1 carat are broken diamonds and are often worthless." ”
According to a report by the Yangtze Evening News on August 22, no matter what the "purchase price" is, the "DR ring" priced at tens of yuan is not only the seller has a number of true or false, but the buyer should also know it. Judging from product reviews, some buy cheap "DR rings" for girls, some girls buy them to wear themselves, and both parties use this as a façade when they get married (or are afraid of losing the real ring when they get married). From the price distribution of DR official stores, the price of genuine rings ranges from a few thousand yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan. The topic between "sincerity" and "real gold" is not much to be discussed. Whatever the purpose of the purchase, it should be clear to the purchaser that this ring will not be "one in a lifetime to order".
Daily economic news comprehensive Red Star Capital Bureau, DR, Yangtze Evening News
Daily economic news