I had this whole 'what are diamonds really "worth" to you' discussion with my best friend. He just got married and I was his best man. When I found out that he spent more than $15,000 on her engagement ring, I almost crapped myself. It is a one carat flawless, rare yes, but I told him that $15K was kind of hard to justify. "wont she still love you even if you gave her something less?" I asked. He told me that the purchase was just as much for him as it was for her, he wanted to give her the symbolism of a flawless diamond, just as much as she liked to receive it.

I suppose if that is your definition of real value, then DeBeers has done a fantastic job.