Something GOOD about the "Wikileaks" cables---Tell me again, WHY, I mean REALLY why do we buy diamonds? I don't get it...

All who know me, know that I am very "free"-market oriented, and don't believe in telling people what they can and can't buy, or bring to market. But, I don't get the purchasing of diamonds for personal use or display.  It is the ultimate luxury, "feel good" purchase/possession that appeals to our most selfish, inner desires.  Is that too strong?  If so, tell me where I am wrong.  What is the real purpose of diamonds for personal use, other than vanity?

Zimbabwe's 'Blood Diamonds' exposed by Wikileaks cable

""The Mugabe regime siezed the Marange fields in 2006 from African Consolidated Resources (ACR), a mining venture listed on London's AIM exchange. The site has since seen horrific violence as local panners were machine-gunned from helicopters or torn apart by attack dogs in a drama with echoes of the film Blood Diamond. "In a country filled with corrupt schemes, the diamond business in Zimbabwe is one of the dirtiest," said one cable in November 2008 entitled Regime Elites Looting Deadly Diamond Fields""....Washington keeps a close eye on Marange because of suspicions that diamonds are being sold to Lebanese traders acting for Al Qaeda. Terrorists rely on gems to move money because they are compact, and do not set off metal detectors.