Unlike Western tradition, diamond rings are not something in our culture. Like most Indonesians, we value precious metal gold jewelry more than sparkling rock diamonds.
My dear sister, diamond was not a thing for her, but unfortunately, it was a fucking damn thing for me.
That was the period in my life when I fell under the spell of a massive Diamond is Forever marketing campaign.
Somehow, ignoring her hesitation, I successfully dragged her to the diamond store, picked one ring, and made her paid it.
I already had two diamond rings and a pair of earrings. And the ring my dear sister paid for was cheery on the top to complete my diamond collection.
It’s a cheerful, girly style ring shaped like a flower with many small diamonds. Compared to my two other rings, which I bought myself, this is the cheapest. I loved it.
Diamond is still forever.
I remember very well that afternoon. I was in a gym after my office hours. I didn’t feel comfortable exercising with a ring on my finger. So I took off my rings, neatly wrapped with face tissue to avoid some scratches on the tiny precious sparkling rocks.
The diamonds’ qualities are determined based on the 4Cs: color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. Only professionals with trained eyes could asses those 4Cs.
Honestly, I could not differentiate the sparkling from real diamonds, cubic zircons, or plastic-type rocks. Remember, I was heavily subjected to the spell of a century-old diamond marketing campaign.
I then tuck in that safely tissue-wrapped ring in the inner pocket of my handbag. I stuff my handbag into a locker and off for my exercise. Later, somehow, I completely forgot about that ring for days.
