Have you ever wondered where the phenomenon of flashing a diamond ring to signify that you’re engaged came from?
Well, to be frank, I never really gave it much thought either. It was only after an interesting conversation with a friend over teh ais (of course) when the topic came up.
It all started with these two words: De Beers.
You see, the De Beers group was established in 1888. They acquired a diamond mine in South Africa when the farmers sold off their lands after the unanticipated diamond rush. Cecil Rhodes (founder of the De Beers group) corroborated with the Diamond Syndicate in London to fix the diamond price inflation, which in turn, regulated the output of diamonds in order to control the demand, as well as, maintain a stable price for said diamonds to prevent their prices from plummeting. By 1902, DeBeers controlled 90% of the world’s diamonds (I know right).
Due to the Great Depression, the De Beers mines temporarily closed down. However, by 1939 Harry Oppenheimer (son of De Beers’ former Chairman) travelled to New York to advertise these precious stones in America changing the image of diamonds from a luxury to a necessity instead.
The company worked with the ad agency N.W Ayer & Son, and created ads that linked diamonds with romance, a necessity to show your love. By 1947, De Beers introduced their motto “A diamond is forever” concentrating on engagement rings.
This basically created an unconscious obligation for the public, as the purchase of a diamond engagement ring was one of the only ways to truly show how much they loved their partners.
Essentially, this made diamond rings more than just a luxury, but also the most effective trap for a dude to buy their significant other a diamond ring (NOICE).
By convincing people that diamond rings held sentimental value made people not want to resell their diamonds. As a result, it kept the prices of diamonds at a premium. Apart from using the idea of ‘love’, De Beers and N.W. Ayer & Son utilised the golden age of Hollywood as a way to promote diamonds as being glamorous through movies and actresses; they even got the British royals on board by wearing diamonds, as well as, visiting their factory (which they televised, of course).
The fact that the De Beers Group monopolised, and created a huge market and demand for diamonds is quite impressive. So you see, if it weren’t for their aggressive marketing and glamorisation efforts of diamond rings and diamonds in general, it wouldn’t be the big deal that it is today.
Now, if only I could somehow change the perception of teh ais as a glamorous and luxurious drink…. Isn’t that the dream.
—
featured image retrieved here
