Doesn't matter; its the males opportunity cost. Have sex with as many single women as you want as long as you're willing to pay a months pay for a ring for each of them. Compared to modern child support payments that would be pretty cheap for some fun, although in context in the olden days it was a relevant issue.
There are of course other societal and cultural issues with an institutionalized "pay a woman for sex" scheme forced on all women. The issue with a street walker is not her chosen line of work which all women are also culturally forced into, the problem is she's undercharging the rest of the fiancee market, cheapening their "product". The union work rule is you get an expensive ring.
I'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with those positions but just pointing out they exist.
I think "zero" is overstating it. And there are many products that lose a substantial fraction of their value as soon as they're purchased. Try reselling your mattress even if it's in near-perfect condition.
Well, they do have some value ( 1/3 of purchase price?), but who cares? The well marketed perception of "Diamonds are forever", that they don't lose their value ever, is a common consensus belief of the majority of diamond ring buyers. So what if it's not true - it achieves the intended goal anyway.
