People think of diamond rings as the ultimate symbol of love.  Countless companies compete to sell the 'only' true engagement rings, and they always include at least one diamond.  Diamond tennis bracelets, diamond necklaces, and diamond earrings are the gifts that make most women ooh and ahh with joy, and now men are embracing diamond watches, diamond chains, and even diamond rings of their own.  But how did this start?  Are diamonds so rare, so amazing that the only way to commit to marriage is by giving and/or receiving one?  When did it become impossible to have an engagement without a diamond engagement ring?  When did diamonds become synonymous with romance?

The decision to make diamonds a pre-requisite for marriage was not out of a romantic notion about the most beautiful and valuable gem on earth.  It was quite the opposite.  Diamonds were used in jewelry for royalty and the wealthy.  There was demand for them, but nothing close to what exists today.  In the 1930s, diamond mining was at its peak and the market was flooded with more stones than all of the jewelers put together could possibly sell, unless they came up with something, and fast.  Harry Oppenheimer, son of the founder of De Beers, when faced with a drastic reduction in the value of diamonds, put great marketing to work. 

Oppenheimer teamed up with a US-based advertising agency to create a connection between diamonds and love.  Prior to that, there was no such thing.  Diamond engagement rings were unheard of.  Diamond rings existed, but were far from a necessity.  By creating the line “a diamond is forever”, De Beers had linked their precious gems with romance, and, with those four words, created the illusion that a relationship could not last forever without a diamond to seal the deal.   Women were shown that an engagement ring with the previously-used ruby or sapphire was not good enough.  It had to be a diamond.

The campaign was largely targeted at men, who were led to believe that any engagement ring should cost the equivalent of two months’ salary.  They were also shown that any beautiful woman worth having would accept nothing less.  Because the perceived value of what had been a very common (but beautiful) stone went up so much, women wanted to keep their rings, and because those diamonds stayed in the family and never again went on the market, new diamonds would always be sought after.  So the demand grew to meet the supply.  De Beers carved out a niche for itself—and many other companies to follow. 

It was possibly the most successful marketing campaign in history.  Diamonds were not rare.  They were beautiful, but they were not rare, and, therefore, not worth a lot of money.  But when the value of the diamond was an expression of love, it changed everything.  It was about a bigger, better, more beautiful stone. 

While we want to believe that the value of diamonds comes solely from their rarity and brilliance, we find out that, from the beginning, a slick tagline and an arbitrarily-set price on love determined the cost.  Why are we willing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars on engagement rings?  Because of Harry Oppenheimer, De Beers, and NW Ayer & Son Advertising. 

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