[bigbillheck]

Are you telling me I can get lab-grown coffee and t-shirts that avoid the nastiest parts of the traditional processes? As for phones, I'm on a used iphone 6. That doesn't make its original sourcing any better, but harm reduction is still reduction

[ethanbond]

The utility of a diamond ring is not to have shiny rock. It’s meant to be an expensive useless thing to demonstrate that you/your partner can spend money on expensive useless things.

So a shiny thing that’s less expensive actually doesn’t satisfy the same role.

A shiny thing that’s just as expensive but less valuable (ie lower $/karat, ie lab grown) is so large as to out itself as not-the-truly-ridiculous waste of money that a real diamond is supposed to be for its signaling value.