December 14, 2005

$260,000 Diamond Ring

I went with some friends to Santana Row in San Jose tonight, to have dinner. I needed to get some things from the mall across the road, so we walked over there. As we passed Davidson & Licht, the jewelery store, my friend was looking at one of the diamond rings, so I suggested that we go inside.

The sales assistant took the ring out and handed it calmly and nonchalantly to my friend. She looked at it and handed it to me. I looked at it. Then we looked at the price tag. They were selling it for just over $260,000. I couldn't believe it. I joked about running out of the store with it. I suggested to the sales assistant that perhaps her heart must be beating pretty hard, but she didn't seem flustered at all.

I just couldn't believe that something so small could be worth so much. That's about the same price as a couple of new Ferrari Modenas. And the diamond was about the size of peanut. And I'm standing there looking like some kid with stubble and a down jacket and the sales assistant is just letting me look at it like it's nothing.

I was thrown off by this for about ten minutes. I asked my female friend if this was a secret that women kept. I had no idea that little diamond rings like that cost so much. I didn't realize that people were dropping by the mall to pick up a little something for the missus and dropping off a quarter million.

It's like a whole new world opened up to me. A whole new reality. This kind of thing is happening to me a lot at the moment. It's like I'm living in some kind of dream. Really unexpected and amazing things keep happening.

Related Links:

Santana Row
Davidson & Licht