Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? - Edward Jay Epstein - The Atlantic

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? - Edward Jay Epstein - The Atlantic:



Diamonds as a symbol of ones "love" and bargaining chip for a proposal is an example of success of advertising and propaganda.



De Beers proved to be the most successful cartel arrangement in the annals of modern commerce...  De Beers had to control demand as well as supply. Both women and men had to be made to perceive diamonds not as marketable precious stones but as an inseparable part of courtship and married life. To stabilize the market, De Beers had to endow these stones with a sentiment that would inhibit the public from ever reselling them. The illusion had to be created that diamonds were forever -- "forever" in the sense that they should never be resold.



In September of 1938, Harry Oppenheimer, son of the founder of De Beers suggested to Lauck [the president of N. W. Ayer, a leading advertising agency] that his agency prepare a plan for creating a new image for diamonds among Americans.  Oppenheimer and the bankers believed that an advertising campaign could persuade Americans to buy more expensive diamonds...

Stories would stress the size of diamonds that celebrities presented to their loved ones, and photographs would conspicuously show the glittering stone on the hand of a well-known woman.