British Reality Show Focuses On The Darker Side of Luxury

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed)
Apr 25th 2010 at 7:02PM

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is the name of a new reality show on the BBC where six rich British teenagers are sent off to the third world countries to see and experience the truth that lurks behind the production of their favorite luxury goods. Off they go to Madagascar to head into the sapphire mines, where they toil away a shovel-ful at a time in an enormous open mine/pit in the desert for £1/day in wages. And there's no whining your way out of it, either -- those that can't hack the blisters, burns, and backaches are sent down into the closed mine, to search for gems in the dark where oxygen has to be pumped in by hand via plastic bag. Yuck.

I haven't been able to watch an episode yet (if you live in the UK you can watch them online here) but I like it -- educational for the kids, viewers, and consumers alike. It could really be eye opening, what do you think?

Tags: luxury goods, reality tv, television, tv

Source

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Francis Apr 26th 2010 2:09AM

Why are we still mining for sapphire? I know in luxury watchmaking, the jewels in the movement and the crystal protecting the dial is sapphire, but grown in a laboratory.

In this way, the manufacturer can guarantee that the sapphire has perfect structure and conforms to physical specifications for size, colour and clarity.

I believe the largest of the sapphires, the crystal protecting the watch face, wholesales for just $20.

reallytorkedoff Apr 26th 2010 6:34AM

There are a number of synthetic stones being made which are every bit as good as their natural counterparts and much cheaper to acquire. Sapphires are a classic example.

But many people are still willing to pay more for "real" stones, even if they are inferior.

It's a form of insanity, I think.

Walt Apr 27th 2010 10:32AM

Sapphires are now grown big time. Because of their superior strength over glass, they are used for defensive purposes on military helicopters and have potential for many more uses. However for jewlery I believe natural sapphire is still the preferred choice just as are most other natural sources.