Nothing Lasts Forever (2022) User Reviews

can you see me...?

[ops-52535 · 8/10 · 13 February 2023]

Is the real big issue here, or can you differ between a real natural gemstone or a synthetic one. We are talking about a trillion dollar industry here, the diamond trade, with a premier league of true diamond retailers that moderates the market for all its worth, hiding away diamonds when prices get too low, so that the price for the little gem too rise again. A true crooked business all over the fiddle.

So synthetic diamonds are the grumpy old mans friend. Cause they look the same, weighs the same but cost 1/10 of the natural stones, so my grumpy old spouce may have one or two in her life time cause its price fits the size of my moneywallet better...

so its a documentary about the truth of everything about gemstones, thank god that gold cant be synthesized yet, and the war between the crooks and the other crooks that wants to crush or crash the markets, and the mediators trying to find a rosetta device that can tell the difference between a love diamond or a dantes diamond made in the core of hell.

An interesting documentary, i do not sympathize with none of them cause they are all greedy anyway, but the story about the diamond business are well told, just lacks a proper finale.have a look and youll understand what i mean.

A Truthful Look at The Cost of Love in the Modern Age

[DuskShadow · 7/10 · 24 February 2023]

Diamonds are Forever. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend. Blah blah blah.

People have been spoon fed this kinda nonsense since before the world wars, but this documentary paints the picture that its only been in roughly the last 100 years that people have believed that a diamond ring is a MUST in order for love to exist.

Think about all the times a person grew up, fell in love, got married, had kids, "settled down" and their life just was fullfilled. Yet at any point in those same lives and the lives of just about anyone and EVERYONE you or I have known thats been married or engaged, the question of if and when a diamond ring is gonna be brought to the table is never far from the lips of somebody in the mix. Going back even to some peoples grandparents and great grand parents proposing nad tying the knot, since roughly after the First World War, people in the west have been sold, brainwashed, and lied to about the necessity of having a diamond ring in order to show ones love to a potential future spouse and mate.

The film also suggests that the notion of romantic love is also relatively new, having only existed for 150 years. That pat I find quesitonable given the fact that humans have just about always had the same emotional capacity as we have now. Yet even thousands of years ago, there were traditions to endear a man to a woman and her family if he wanted to marry her. Love always comes first, but the real issue is that so long as society has existed, there have been people that have said that love is not enough, and that loyalty and fidelity and support of your spouse and the children yall will have is not enough...So what else ya got? But who is at fault? Even throughout all the ages and eras of courtship around the world, and even with certain animals in the wild, the male has to do more than show off or be good at the courtship ritual. They have to at times provide a shiny pebble, or bauble, or something extra.

But we are not just base animals, right? Surely the even if nature makes lower creatures go through the ringer like that, it cannot be the same for what men are put through for women, right? So who is at fault?

This film literally points the finger and has testimonials form people within the industry and gives brief timelines, first hand accounts and drops truth bombs about how foolish our notions of value placed upon objects really is. And it makes sense. Love should always be primary. Thats the key that unlocks the door. Its the fuel for the fire of true romance. Anything that is gold or silver or diamond should not even be second, it should be tertiary (third) at best. And even though synthetic diamonds have been made since the late 1940s apparently, and theres literal impact craters in Russia and countless veins that lead to tons of diamonds found, people fuss over whether something is natural or man made?

This is a very straight forward and to the point documentary about all that and a bit more. And folks, really take this stuff to heart, because nobody should have to prove their love by spending tens of thousands on a hunk of rock or metal. Open thine eyes people, and find real romance. TRY!

Otherwise, just go marry some inanimate object if its so much more important than true affection from another human being; theres way too many folks already "shacking up" with "adult toys" in place of actual relationships, which says alot about a deeper problem thats been developing for many years in our species: Lack of Reasoning. Be well yall.

Vanity and the Rich

[keikoyoshikawa · 8/10 · 27 May 2023]

"Nothing Lasts Forever" is apt title for this short but interesting documentary on the diamond business, focusing on the diamond cartels and the rise of synthetic diamonds.

We follow a Serbian gemologist with 30 years of experience as he tells us about the production of synthetic diamonds in China. And about how the cartels, as they publicly deride the rise of synthetic diamonds, actually take advantage of them.

We hear from a diamond dealer, who, in trying to convince us how special and valuable real diamonds are, inadvertently tells us about how fabricated the value of real diamonds are - he admits the entire business is about selling a story, a lie.

We listen to an Indian jewelry designer who levels with us that diamonds are basically worthless and how an entire luxury market has been created by selling lies and catering to people's vanity. She's believable because that's her business.

The truth is that diamonds are not rare. Ms Aja Raden tells us there are enough supply to give every person on Earth (8 billion people) a 1/2 carat diamond ring with another 1/2 billion carat left over. It's a glut that keeps on growing.

Essentially, diamonds have value only because many people give it value. And so, like money, if you flood the market with "fakes" such synthetic diamonds, you reduce confidence and hence the overall value of the commodity.

At least that's what the cartels want you to believe. Aja Raden tells us the cartels are actually producing their own synthetic diamonds. Not to sell, but to undercut all other, smaller synthetic producers. The goal is to make "fake" diamonds uneconomical.

It's a two-prong strategy: 1) convince people that "real" diamonds have value, and 2) make sure that they control the production of "fake" diamonds by pricing others out. In the end, it's win-win for the cartels.

Well made production, but gets nowhere

[suprroo · 6/10 · 9 July 2023]

It's a documentary about the industry of diamonds and the threat of synthetic diamonds being mixed with natural diamonds.

Briefly shows De Beers as the company that created the market for diamonds, and the mais driver of pricing.

It fails into investigate anything really documentary about the illusion being talked about.

Doesn't peak into the courtain properly. It's mainly well directed interviews.

The rythm it's adequate, has some fun to the text.

Amazing soundtrack, the interviews are interesting and engaging. Top notch production. But has nothing in the end, no conclusion, nothing really worth it. It just suddenly ends.

A truly eye-opening documentary

[jp7570 · 9/10 · 24 April 2023]

This is worth the 90 minutes runtime, which peels back the veneer of the diamond business - more accurately a cartel. Anyone who is skeptical of large corporations was probably already skeptical of the myriad ad campaigns surrounding the diamond industry. And while the documentary seems to focus more on engagement rings, the whole industry seems tainted.

Two people interviewed stand out in this documentary. First is jewelry designer Aja Raden, who is not shy about ripping the lid off the rather secretive diamond cartel, especially De Beers. Raden paints De Beers as a monopolistic organization that controls the supply - and therefore pricing - of a significant percentage of the world's gemstones. And when it is uncovered that some - or maybe a lot - of diamonds on the market may actually be synthetic (not natural), DeBeers comes off almost like a criminal organization. If they know about the synthetic diamonds (those that are "grown" in a lab), which are much less valuable than natural diamonds, then they are operating a fraudulent business. But De Beers will never admit that. Instead, they will continue to try to convince you that an engagement ring is worth the 2 months salary (or maybe 3 to 4 months) that the price commands. Who else does that?

The other interviewee is Martin Rapaport, an industry insider (CEO of Rapaport Group) and easily the ***worst*** salesman on why we should buy diamonds. His arguments are old-school misogyny, mainly focused on diamond engagement rings and how they make "women feel valued." His opinions totally ignore other retail channels for diamond, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, watches, etc. And eh remains completely dismissive of synthetic diamonds, which obviously threaten his bottomline. Instead of finding a way to help the industry pivot, he remains an obstructionist.

Even De Beers only recently began selling their own line of synthetic diamonds, but still disses their worth. Not unlike the Koch Brothers or ExxonMobil dissing electric cars.

So why not 10 stars? The documentary ends on an unresolved note regarding a gemologist attempting to create the "perfect synthetic", something that no "expert" will ever be able to detect (despite millions of synthetics already in the market and undetected by these same "experts"). I wish the documentary had reached a more concrete conclusion.

Watch it and ask questions!!

[earitlit-87718 · 10/10 · 12 February 2023]

I already knew that DeBeers was a monopoly that promoted the illusion that natural diamonds were a rare thing.

This is an excellent documentary that covers the impact of manmade diamonds into their controlled artificial market.

No one is saying diamonds are not pretty. No one is saying they're not desirable.

The ground covered has to do with what you have been buying - natural or artificial - and what you may ( or may not) have bought into.

No doubt the ethics of the industry is suspect from top to bottom of the process. It's human nature and it's on full display from the hucksters to the scientist.

My only advice after you watch this is buy what you think is pretty and if the price for the same look is significant between natural and man made.... save your money and purchase what's less expensive.

Diamonds are a lie

[atleverton · 9/10 · 10 June 2023]

This is the bizarre story of how an industry built on lies struggles with technological innovation and ultimately co-ops it. The lie is the fact that diamonds are remarkably common in the world and paying an exorbitant amount for an engagement ring is a tradition that was invented by a cartel. When you think of cartels, you usually think of drugs, but in this case the DeBoers company controls most of the diamond prices in the world. The idea of giving a diamond as an engagement ring is a remarkably recent phenomenon, and it only exists so that the cartel can make money. More recently, the ability to make synthetic diamonds became such that it is impossible to distinguish real diamonds from synthetic ones. And DeBoers was terrified because they had cornered the market with an expensive product, and so ultimately that they decided to market their own line of somewhat overpriced but still cheaper than the real thing synthetic diamonds. I've told you the thesis of the documentary, but it's still entertaining for the great talking head interviews, especially Aja Raden who destroys the lie with a humour that is refreshing to watch.

Synthetic diamonds, lies & greed

[happyart-96487 · 10/10 · 2 April 2023]

A symbol for the world we live in. Because this applies to just about every commercial product on this planet. Aju Raden's quote says it all: The truth is not a requirement for what people believe. What people believe is what they want to believe, what they need to believe, what doesn't conflict with their more necessary load-bearing beliefs. Ultimately, what everybody around them believes.

People lack critical thinking, fall into the trap of wanting to be like others. We believe their stories, because it's the easiest thing to do. Question everything! Because that's what they do not want you to do...

Misrepresentation

[mohitpagaria · 4/10 · 28 May 2023]

Nothing conclusive Only confusing Most of them are half information.

Jewelry designer was super confused she had no clue what she want to convey.

Over dramatic.

Overemphasize on "illusion" because most of top business are illusions.

Most often when you purchase an original painting you pick it because it has some meaning to you. Placing it and seeing it in your space gives you a feeling of comfort. Original Paintings refresh your spirit. Looking at an original painting can be a gift of daily inspiration.

There is no comparison in both the business, but just to say Natural diamond is a illusion business its just not right.

OMG!! The MUSIC!! And we've all been sold a bill (A DOOZIE of a bill) of goods.

[thejdrage · 8/10 · 26 February 2023]

When the guy who married into De Beers and now heads it, proselytizes about digging (blowing stuff up) in Botswana for "real" diamonds instead of buying synthetic because it does wonders for Botswana - the music is SO SAPPY, I almost turned diabetic. Give me a break. Seriously.

There's music throughout, and most of it is appropriate.

This documentary is a solid show and TELL. There should have been an uproar. That said, there should have been a uproar decades ago when Morley Safer went into the Russian vaults and showed the MASSIVE excess of diamonds that are stored in Russia.

The ending was Martin Rapaport spouting off. And Dusan Simic toddling off into the sunset like Charlie Chaplin, with us not knowing what he came up with in the laboratory.

Listen to Aja Raden - the woman knows what she's talking about. And she is telling us LOUD AND CLEAR ...... That the emperor has no clothes.

Great characters, except one

[fx_rousselot · 8/10 · 26 March 2024]

Great characters. Great conflicting views between the old and new world. The first half is particularly interesting. And the journey of one character, arguably the main one, which including a Uber driver gig, is also extremely interesting to follow.

But the designer/scientist/historian/writer hate so much De Beers that she managed to make them sympathetic. She is completely counterproductive and you end up doubting what she's saying.

I'm not sure if it was deliberate by the production to keep her to weaken the "synthetic" side but her interventions are the only weak points in the documentary.