I don't like those people either - the ones that take money from the family budget for baubles. But if you aren't strapped and somebody's gonna give you an expensive gift, diamonds are one thing that will appreciate in value and can be passed down through the generations. Unlike, say, another blouse or teapot. Brothers and sisters and I used to all exchange gifts. We've all scattered to the ends of the earth now - there are 7 of us. We pool what we would have otherwise spent on Xmas for each other and write a check to the grade school that educated all of us for their library fund. Probably infinitely more useful there.
