DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
An internet case study assembled by Peter Spier
Source 1
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December 2, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:
Are Diamonds A Girl's Best Friend
I enjoyed Stuart Banner's post about those jewelry commercials:
I REALLY REALLY LOVE HIM! December is the season for jewelry advertisements.
A typical TV commercial involves a woman who loves a man, but in a tentative,
wishy-washy sort of way, until he gives her very expensive jewelry. Now she really
loves him, all because of that diamond.
Intellectuals often exaggerate the power of advertisers to shape consumer
preferences. From what little I know of the advertising business, it's all about figuring
out what consumers want and then giving it to them. So there must be plenty of
people out there who find the message of these commercials persuasive -- women
who believe that the size of the diamond is an indicator of how much they should love
the guy who gives it, and men who, understandably, strategize accordingly. How
utterly pathetic.
It's not too hard to come up with a functional explanation, in which the size of the
diamond is a signal of either the man's level of commitment or the standard of living
the woman can expect after marriage. But diamond size doesn't seem an especially
good signal of either, particularly if (as in the commercials) the man and woman are
already in the midst of a long-term relationship, in which both of the qualities the
diamond ostensibly signals can be directly observed. And if a signal is needed, why
jewelry? Why not, say, lavish parties for the woman's blood relatives, or the
ceremonial burning of currency? These human beings -- they sure can be hard to
figure out.
Those commercials speak to the fantasy, just like those J. Crew catalogues, which
promise those of us in a certain demographic that with the right accessories, we too
can join that magical world where it is always a sunny Friday afternoon the weekend
of the Princeton game. In the case of the diamond commercials, it resurrects for
women the fairy tale world of our childhood romantic imaginations, where we are
clad in beautiful dresses and a but-hazily-seen Prince Charming showers us with
pretty baubles. On another level, it creates the fantasy of a man who loves you so
much that he will sacrifice outrageous sums of money merely to buy you an object of
absolutely no intrinsic utility whatsoever, and of which he himself takes no enjoyment
outside of yours.
Such commercials are particularly appealing if you're in a long term relationship,
when the initial ardor has faded, and the gent in your life is more likely to come home
with a brand new garbage disposal than some useless piece of compressed carbon.
Of course, if he did, reality might intrude. These days, when both people work, and
both people pay the bills, it's considerably less romantic to be handed a $10,000 rock,
when half of the labor that went into earning that rock was, technically, yours. Those
commercials are drawn from a 50's world, when he brought home the bacon, and he
got to decide how it was spent, so more diamond for you ment less golf clubs and
sports car for him. Of course, that's where most little girls get their fantasy romances,
even in this enlightened age. It's also most likely to still be true in the upper income
brackets, where many investment-banker and corporate-lawyer wives have ripped
out any personality or ambition in order to turn their lives into an altar to their
husbands. . . and the husbands bring home expensive jewelry in return.
Posted by Jane Galt at December 2, 2002 6:06 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound
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Comments
Posted by: Robert Speirs on December 2, 2002 7:19 PM
Diamonds useless? Only if beauty is. Diamonds can be breathtakingly beautiful and
can be handed down as a store of value, although it will be generations before their
resale value equals the purchase price. And they are useful as a status symbol, which
can confer real power.
Also, to say that men made the purchasing decisions in the Fifties - or any time - is
naive. Women have always, in the main, been able to control household decisions, not
least because men don't want to be bothered. Call me cynical, but I don't think the
woman exists or did ever exist who abdicated power over spending decisions because
she hadn't contributed cash to the household.
Posted by: Kris Hasson-Jones on December 2, 2002 7:48 PM
Diamonds are a common stone with an inflated value, and I don't even find them
particularly attractive. I always point out to my kids that those commercials are trying
to instill a false and hurtful worldview, where feelings are supposed to be expressed in
dollars rather than actions and words, and where you judge others by how much
money they spend on you, not how well they treat you in daily life.
Posted by: anony-mouse on December 2, 2002 8:20 PM
I have fond memories of 1999, when the The Family Guy forever shredded those
"musical silouhette" commercials. I think I only saw one of those things ONCE during
prime time for two years thereafter.
Posted by: dude on December 2, 2002 8:27 PM
The only reason diamonds are expensive is because DeBeers maintains an illegal
cartel in them. They buy them from brutal African warlords and dictators and then
carefully limit the supply to keep prices up. They aren't very rare, relatively speaking.
If there were a free market in diamonds, they wouldn't be nearly as expensive as
rubies or emeralds, which are much cooling looking in my opinion. If I ever get
married, I'm giving my girl one of those for an engagement ring.
Posted by: Libertarian Uber Alles on December 2, 2002 8:39 PM
diamonds ain't nothin but a signalling tool (just like degrees that aren't in
engineering, medicine, science, divinity, or law)
course signalling tools are useful... as for there level of rarity.. I'd be interested to
know the distribution of sizes... are they still very common in the 2c plus range?
you drop a 2c+ diamond on your fiancees hand, people notice... and unless the lady
prefers emeralds or rubies, get her a diamond... you're not wearing it, ok... and none
of this moral crap either... give her what she wants, and only what she wants... if
you're not cool with that, find somoene who feels how you do...
and buy something thats at least 1c... (and no you can't get something thats flawed for
brown... vvs1, C-E, perfect brilliant cut! and i'm a guy.. but that's what she'll like...
course i come from something similar to jane's background.. so maybe that's not real
world...
Posted by: Atlee Parks on December 2, 2002 10:50 PM
I just got engaged last week, and I agree with Libertarian that it's a total status thing.
The first thing people (especially female-type people) do after you tell them you're
engaged is to look at the ring. My ring is big enough to qualify as an official "rock",
and I've actually been a bit uncomfortable around with friends and family with
smaller rings. I feel like it's shouting, "hey, look, we're better off than you are!" My
house has a similar value as a status indicator, and I get very similar half-admiring,
half-envious comments on it too. It's sheerly a function of having a ring, and a house,
that are several degrees nicer than those of my friends and family. I'm not personally
into female status games, so it makes me squirmy, but plenty of women care very
much about having a nicer ring, or car, or house, than the next-door neighbor. I think
the desire for big shiny jewelry has much less to do with the Stepford-wife lifestyle
Megan describes in her post than with having a bigger diamond than any of the other
Junior Leaguers.
Also, re non-diamond engagement rings, rubies and sapphires are OK, but emeralds
and opals are too soft for a ring that's worn every day. My mom's engagement ring
from her second marriage is an emerald, and you wouldn't believe how easily they
scratch and chip even if you're careful with them. Diamonds at least have the
advantage of durability.
Posted by: hbchrist on December 2, 2002 10:58 PM
Anyone who uses the cut and carat of a diamond as the starting basis for marital
harmony is a soulless ghoul bound for eternal torment and damnation.
Posted by: Brian on December 2, 2002 11:32 PM
When I propose I'm going to use one of those plastic rings with the big candy on it.
Ring-Pops, I think they call them. With my Bertram Wooster-like dread of
matrimony, I figure it's a surefire way to get her to say no.
Posted by: Elvis Bogart on December 3, 2002 2:12 AM
I hate those diamond ads.
There was a radio ad a few years ago that was almost a parody of itself, it went like
this:
WIFE: (Hateful, shrewish fishwife voice) Aren?t you dressed yet? Are we going OUT
to celebrate our anniversary or not?
HUSBAND: (teasing voice) Is that what you?re wearing tonight?
WIFE: (REALLY hateful, shrewish fishwife voice) Yes, what?s wrong with it...you?ve
got THAT look in your eye....(you bastard)
HUSBAND: I just thought it needed THIS!
WIFE: Wha...OH DIAMONDS! (Totally breathless) Oh honey, they?re beautiful! You
are the sweetest man...I love you! Let?s stay home and celebrate our anniversary
tonight.
HUSBAND: Do you mean that?
WIFE: (Breathless sexy panting voice) Oh......Yessss........
The basic message is: Men, turn that little frigid sexless bitch you?re stuck with into a
an adoring little whore...all it takes is a shiny rock from us!
I hate those diamond ads!
Posted by: David Perron on December 3, 2002 4:18 AM
I hate the whole diamond industry too. So I got my wife a sapphire engagement ring.
Of course, with the built-to-spec ring, platinum prongs (it was a rather large marquee
cut; easy to lose if the prongs lack strength) and spiffy little trillion diamonds on the
side, it amounted to what I would have spent on a diamond anyway. But much more
beautiful, and she gets a lot of remarks on it.
I like rubies and emeralds too, but emeralds are rather more easily cracked.
And bring in the matter replicator idea given in the music-piracy article following this
one, and a diamond is now worth the carbon it's made of, plus overhead. Gold and
platinum are still worth the same. Unless you're talking about something that builds
up matter from nothing, which is another proposition entirely. In a world where you
can now buy synthetic sapphire in chunks weighing a pound or more, and where the
growing of large sheets of synthetic diamond is just around the corner, it may well be
the more complex stones with the odd impurities might be the most sought-after.
After all, without the impurities, rubies and sapphires are just hunks of the same kind
of mineral.
Posted by: Paul Zrimsek on December 3, 2002 8:00 AM
Hey, I remember that Family Guy takeoff too! "DIAMONDS. She'll Pretty Much Have
To." I just about busted a gut laughing.
Posted by: Alex on December 3, 2002 10:37 AM
The opposite commercials do exist as well (at least up here in Canada). There's one
playing right now where a couple is shown in a variety of romantic settings (a nice
restaurant, a horse-drawn carriage in the park, etc.). Each time, the woman says, "I
love you!" and the man says, "Er, uh...um."
Finally, we see the guy unwrapping a Christmas present that turns out to be a gigantic
plasma-screen TV. He turns to her and in a sultry growl says, "I looooove YOU."
See? Women can buy love too!
Posted by: Al on December 3, 2002 11:47 AM
I need to stick up for the corporate lawyers of the world -- and their wives! I am a
corporate lawyer, and my wife is a teacher. She has not "ripped out any personality or
ambition", even though her salary is a tenth of mine and she is content in her job.
Perhaps some of these wives ENJOY what they do and who they are. Not everybody
desires to go to B-school or work in the foreign service. Perhaps some women (and
some men!) are merely content to be a teacher (or even just to keep a nice home) and
to try to make their husbands happy. And thank God for that! They don't have to have
anything "ripped out" in order to be that way...
Posted by: Michael Tinkler on December 3, 2002 11:54 AM
Darlin', I think it's YOU who are getting a little cranky. First this, then the
downloaders. You sure you're over that flu?
Me, of course, I agree that I'd be much more likely to melt for a significant other who
brought me a dishwasher than a diamond (though I was looking at a Bell & Ross
watch the other day that woulda put me in a better mood), but mainly I'm worried
about you, Megan!
Posted by: blabla on December 3, 2002 12:41 PM
One nitpick - nothing has intrinsic utility. Not diamonds. Not anything.
Posted by: Lauren Coats on December 3, 2002 12:46 PM
Has anybody thought about the security aspect? I make, er, good money. If I bought a
ring woth two-three months salary(their guideline), I'd have to worry. I don't want
her wearing a ring that makes it worth somebody's while to cut off her finger to get it.
Why not spend that for something with greater utility/
Posted by: MG on December 3, 2002 1:16 PM
I've long been amazed at the utter inability of the jewelry industry to market to men,
or specifically, to make shopping for jewelry something that men want to do. Men
and women shop differently; there have been studies that document this.
Prefaced by the obligatory disclaimer about generalities blah blah blah:
On the whole, women view shopping as more of a communal event than men do.
Women are drawn to crowded shopping centers. Men view the crowds as an obstacle
to getting in, accomplishing their goal, and getting out as soon as possible. We'd also
rather not twalk to a salespaeron if it is not necessary.
Put it this way: imagine if electronics were sold in stores that didn't list the model,
specs or price of any of the merchandise. In order to find what you wanted, you would
HAVE TO talk to a salesperson. Then if you found out that their selection or prices
sucked, you would have wasted about 20 minutes waiting for attention, talking things
through, and making a polite getaway. As much as men love to buy gadget toys, sales
would plummet. But no, electronics stores know their customer base, and understand
that if we can look at the models, compare specs and prices by reading a few signs,
we'll be happier.
Yet every jewelry store I know displays its merchandise without price tags, without
information on carats, or grading, or anything remotely useful. You walk in, are
forced to talk to some annoying staff member just to find out if it's even worth
thinking about buying there.
Let someone opened a jewelry chain that said to men, "Come buy jewelry here for
your wives and girlfriends. All items are clearly marked with identifying information,
specs, and prices." Every straight man in America would shop there.
Posted by: Rita Fitzgerald on December 3, 2002 4:20 PM
I am not fond of diamonds myself. My mother has a 2 carat natural light yellow
saphire that has my name on it. Wearing a rock on your hand that is the price of a car
or a large part of a house is stupid. A diamond ring shows little imagination or
creativity, just the competiveness found in our culture today.
Posted by: Gary Utter on December 3, 2002 4:32 PM
My lovely wife of 27 years LIKES jewelry. I am seriously considering buying her a
rather expensive diamond ring for Christmas. Not because I'll Get Some (tm), not to
show off what a good earner I am (we work together and make exactly the same
money), but simply because she will really really like the diamond. It will make her
happy.
Making her happy is (always) my goal.
Posted by: Jane Galt on December 3, 2002 5:12 PM
Oh, goodness, I wasn't trying to say that corporate lawyer's wives are all soulless
jellyfish, or women shouldn't like diamonds.
Those commercials are playing into the fantasy lives of little girls. That's why you
never see the man. . . the better for the women to project their fantasy guy, or to tap
into the faceless nonentity who filled her earliest romantic imaginings.
I am perhaps a little jaded, but having hung out with investment bankers and white
shoe lawyers and their wives, I am shocked at the decisions some of these women
have made. Not to stay home; I know plenty of homemakers I adore. Nor to accept
lower paying professions to which they are committed. But there is an astonishingly
high percentage of women whose lives consist of nothing but ferrying themselves
from shop to shop, with intervals of ferrying the children from activity to activity.
They have no interests outside of their appearance and some incredibly vague
platitudes about charity; they do not make their own home; they do not care for their
own children. Their entire existence is dedicated to constructing an elegant facade to
show the world how successful their husband is. Some of those wives have jobs, even
successful jobs, but everything takes a back seat to the big earner. I can't explain it,
exactly, but even my male friends in investment banking and corporate law firms will
readily admit that it describes a large number of the wives. (Not all of my friends,
mind you, find it as creepy as I do. . . probably because they've never been considered
for the position of Investment Banking Wife). But it wasn't supposed to be a general
indictment of all women who stay home, or make less money than their husbands. . .
just the ones who have eradicated all traces of individuality in order to make
themselves a better mirror for their husbands' ambitions. On the other hand, I
probably wouldn't have liked them before they got married either. Or, for that matter,
their husbands.
As for liking diamonds, I think that's fine. I was responding to the commercials, not
issuing a general critique of diamond buying. I own diamonds, and I like them. I just
don't wear expensive jewelry because I tend to lose it. And I'm afraid getting
diamonds from a man never made me feel complete as a woman the way the
commercials promised.
Posted by: Nick M. (Arrogant Rants) on December 3, 2002 10:43 PM
Jane, your only saying that cause you haven't gotten one of those diamond rings from
a REAL MAN.
Thats right baby, you know what I'm talking about. Trips to Vienna, romantic walks
through five hundred year old cities, and a Diamond ring so shiny and big, when you
look at the people's shadow, you can see the jewelry clearly.
Thats how it is. At least, how the commercials tell me it is....
Posted by: anony-mouse on December 4, 2002 2:56 AM
Paul: Hehe, tell me about it. I was watching that episode in a dormitory room with
four other guys, so our collective reaction had considerable dynamic.
Specifically, we were all on the floor for several minutes before finally recovering.
Posted by: A Coward on December 4, 2002 11:38 AM
and of which he himself takes no enjoyment outside of yours.
If he does not get his world fairly rocked that night, he needs to reasses their
relationship.
Posted by: A Christian on Diamonds on July 2, 2003 12:15 AM
My fiancee and I were recently talking about what we want to do with our pooled
money (not a lot as he's a pastor) and we really thought about what we want to base
our marriage on... a material symbol or a life-principle kind of symbol? Definitely, the
latter. My present thinking is why not get a cheaper stone (synthetic that looks real,
for example) and give the rest away to an organization like "Shared Hope
International" (a refuge for Southeast Asian women and girls who have been
trafficked as prostitutes and worse)? What do really want our marriage to be about?
Money/status or a vision to transform this world into a better place for everyone to
live in? Right, so we buy a gargantuan diamond and fund DeBeer's blood-killing
cartel... OR we go with a modestly-priced (but pretty!) rock that symbolizes our
committment to each other and then spend the rest on what we really want our life
together to be about... glorifying God, drawing others to know Jesus Christ, and
making this world a better place to live in. Meaning-making in this world is really
what you determine it to be... don't be afraid to start a new tradition, to express what
you believe in and let others know. I mean, how cool will it be to have someone ask
me about my non-traditional ring and then I have an opportunity to tell them about
"Shared Hope International"... about Jesus Christ, about my love for my husband,
and about what marriage really MEANS to us :)
Comments are Closed.
Source 2
Geraldine Bedell: Diamonds are for never in the modern
world
Wednesday, 20 June 2001
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"Gooness, what beautiful diamonds!" someone once exclaimed to Mae West, to which she
drawled back: "Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Diamonds this was the 1930s were deliciously symbolic of desire and power, sexily
feminine and fabulously glamorous. So what went wrong? De Beers, which controls 80 per
cent of the world diamond market, yesterday announced a 25 per cent fall in its half-year
sales.
The first problem for diamonds is that they don't go with denim. There are, these days, very
few wearing occasions for tiaras, big brooches and chunky diamond bracelets. Even diamond
rings, despite their relative smallness, have annoying sticking-out bits which get tangled up in
children's hair when you are washing it, or jammed in the printer when you're trying to free
the paper.
As Mae West implied, diamonds also acquired a reputation for being bestowed on women in
return for sexual favours. And we like to think we don't have those sorts of transactional
relationships any more. The whole ritual of engagement-wedding-eternity rings (with
diamond necklace for the mistress in due course, if you're that sort of bloke) has become
rather unfashionably H Samuel. You can, after all, buy gold and diamond jewellery in Argos
these days, and the stuff you get from those pyramid jewellery selling operations looks almost
like the real thing.
Some women earn more than their partners, some make most of the sexual demands: for
them, the overtones of reimbursement must be rather confusing. The old idea, presumably,
was that even if the man disappeared, you got to keep the jewels: it was like him giving you
money without quite having to say: "Here you are dear, I think of you as a prostitute." But
how valuable are diamonds, if you can't wear them because they look stupid with your
trainers?
This is not to say that women (even high-earning, predatory women) don't like getting
presents. In truth, how much women like getting presents probably cannot be overestimated.
But you can wear a Prada cardi on the bus without looking like you're asking to be mugged.
And if a guy wants to make a really grand gesture, what's wrong with a car? A painting? A
house? A private island? The great thing about all of those is that you can't lose them down
the back of the dressing table. And when you have the burglars, they won't be
nicked.
There is, of course, a more serious reason why diamonds have fallen out of
favour, which is that they are sometimes a branch of the arms trade. In Angola, the Congo,
Sierra Leone and Liberia, rebel forces have mined diamonds to fund brutal wars. And
although De Beers has campaigned, latterly, against this trade, it remains impossible to know
whether the solitaire you buy in Hatton Garden has on it the blood of people in Africa.
Campaigners have predicted that diamonds could go the way of fur.
I still, I admit, get a lump in my throat when I see those diamond-is-forever ads at Christmas
time, aimed at blokes who have no sense of what to buy their wives. They usually feature
women with swan-like necks, wearing diamond pendants and nothing else (and we know
why).
My lump in the throat is a throwback: the only people who wear jewels today are dowagers
with make-up clogging their pores. In an era of Naomi Klein and Gothenburg, when we are
all experiencing consumerism ennui, it is no longer cool to flaunt your wealth. (It's OK to
have it, of course, just not to have it on your body in a gaudy, meretricious kind of way).
Today you're supposed to use money to heighten and perfect your experience. Unconvinced
that there's much we can shore up against the future, what we want is memories.
Forget diamonds being forever, and all that stuff; let's go to Africa ourselves and climb Mount
Kilimanjaro.
gbedell@lineone.net
Source 3
December 14, 2006
Diamonds Are for Never?
By MIREYA NAVARRO
LOS ANGELES
MONICA GIBSON says she is not particularly political, but when she heard
about conflict diamonds on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last
week featuring the cast and director of the new movie “Blood Diamond,” she
looked down at her engagement ring and thought not of love but of wars
and violence.
Her fiancé gave her the ring last summer, she said, and she may never find
out where its 24 diamonds came from. But as the couple now shops for
diamond wedding bands, Ms. Gibson said she won’t buy unless the jeweler
can vouch not just for the stone’s cut, clarity and color, but also for its
origin.
“So many times you feel helpless when it comes to these major issues,” said
Ms. Gibson, 36, an administrator with a telephone carrier in Pittsburgh. “I
will feel I had some small little piece in helping people somewhere.”
With interest in the origin of diamonds fueled by a new Hollywood movie
that denounces the practices of the diamond industry, and an advertising
counterattack by that industry, customers like Ms. Gibson are asking more
questions about the iconic symbol of eternal love.
The terms “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” refer to gems that have
been used by rebel groups to pay for wars that have killed and displaced
millions of people in Africa, the source of an estimated 65 percent of the
world’s diamonds. The diamond industry maintains it has safeguards to
guarantee most rough diamonds come from areas free of violent conflict
through the Kimberley Process, a tracking system implemented in 2003.
But critics say there’s no independent oversight of the industry’s monitoring
and that conflict diamonds still make their way to the marketplace. The
issue is trickling down to stores and bridal Web sites as the news media,
Hollywood stars and rap songs delve into the subject.
“It’s unconscionable for us for the sake of vanity to contribute to the
destruction of a country,” said a bling-free Jennifer Connelly late last month
at the New York premiere of “Blood Diamond,” which also stars Leonardo
DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. “So I think trying to make more effective
the system of warranties is a pretty clear choice.”
More people are tuning in, said Carley Roney, editor in chief of
theknot.com, a wedding Web site. “There’s extensive discussion going on
our message boards,” she said. “Many women are saying, ‘This is supposed
to be a symbol of all things good and I don’t want to look down on my finger
and think of women and children being killed.’ It undermines the entire
meaning of that ring.”
There is no evidence yet of consumer flight from diamonds. Sales of
diamond jewelry in the United States have been rising, by 7 percent last
year to $33.7 billion. American purchasers account for half the world’s $60
billion in annual retail sales. A pop quiz among theknot.com users over the
last week found a majority of respondents unaware of the term “conflictfree diamond.”
Shane Dunleavy, 23, was among the customers last week in the jewelry
district in downtown Los Angeles, where engagement-ring holiday shopping
was in full swing. Mr. Dunleavy, accompanied by his parents, was seeking a
princess-cut diamond. He had not heard of the debate, but his father had.
“It’s like oil,” Jim Dunleavy, 57, said with a shrug. “You’re still going to buy
oil.”
But other consumers are doing research and reacting accordingly. Some
jewelers said people have made it clear they want only conflict-free
diamonds and have asked where the stones sold at retail were mined.
Abigail Levine, 27, a program director with nonprofit organizations in
Columbus, Ohio, said that while shopping for a ring last September, she and
her fiancé agreed they could do better with their money than to spend it on
a diamond.
“We know diamond companies have marketed this concept of a diamond
engagement ring,” Ms. Levine said. “We didn’t want to buy into that
concept. It’s a huge manipulation, really.”
But in the end, even Ms. Levine could not resist, and two small diamonds
flank her blue sapphire. “We’re not purists about it,” she said. “We just
didn’t want to support the diamond industry in such a big way.”
Bridal experts say the preference for diamonds will surely endure because of
aesthetic and cultural factors. But at the same time, many brides have been
emphasizing individuality by forgoing the traditional for the unique or cool,
experts said, and some have ditched the diamond altogether for a colored
gem like a pink or blue sapphire. Other customers shun diamonds from
Africa in favor of diamonds from Canada, antique diamonds or synthetic
stones.
Also, many of today’s couples are expressing social consciousness in the way
they plan their weddings by, for example, asking for donations to a charity
in lieu of presents. These same couples, the experts note, are likely to care
about the provenance of their diamonds.
“In general, more people have a greater sense of the world around them and
how their actions affect that world,” said Millie Martini Bratten, the editor
in chief of Brides magazine. She said there’s an attitude “not to have a
wedding that’s all about me.”
“Blood Diamond” depicts how diamond companies ignored atrocities
committed in the 1990’s by rebels in Sierra Leone who sold rough diamonds
to buy arms. The World Diamond Council, which represents producers and
dealers, has responded with ads and a Web site, diamondfacts.org. The
council stresses that more than 99 percent of diamonds now come from
conflict-free sources, and that diamond revenue today is mostly used in
African countries for health care, education and other benefits.
"You’re looking at a very, very small percentage of the world supply that can
be considered to be from a conflict zone," said Carson Glover, a spokesman
for the World Diamond Council. “Consumers can feel very confident in their
diamond purchase.” But international human rights groups like Amnesty
International and Global Witness, which first publicized the issue of
conflict diamonds in 1998, say dirty diamonds still reach the market
because of smuggling and weak controls by some producing countries, and
that consumers have no surefire way of telling if a diamond is clean.
A spokeswoman for Global Witness noted diamonds are still coming from
conflict areas like the Ivory Coast, and that a recent General Accounting
Office report found fault with the way the United States was enforcing the
tracking system. (The organization’s Web site is
blooddiamondaction.org.)
Tom Zoellner, who researched the industry for his book “The Heartless
Stone” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006), said the Kimberley Process doesn’t
concern itself with objectionable practices like the use of child labor in
India, where most diamonds are polished. But he said because many
Africans depend on them for their livelihood, a boycott is not the answer.
The best defense against dirty diamonds, he said, is to ask questions.
Rights groups suggest going to retailers who can show a guarantee that the
diamonds are conflict free.
Most stores don’t have a policy, a survey by the human rights groups
showed. Some jewelers don’t consider it their job to know the origin of their
stones. “I’m not here to save the world,” said Raymond Moutran, a jeweler
for 27 years in the Los Angeles jewelry district. “I’m here to make life
beautiful.”
“One guy wanted to know if the diamond was from Africa and whether it
was from an area where people are tortured,” Mr. Moutran said. “I said, ‘I
don’t know.’ He didn’t buy. I don’t need to lie to make a living.”
Another longtime jeweler, Russ Varon, the chief financial officer of
Morgan’s Jewelers in Torrance and Palos Verdes, Calif., said most of the
stores’ diamonds come from African mines through cutters in Israel, and
that about two years ago invoices from his suppliers started showing up
with a statement saying they are conflict free.
But Mr. Varon acknowledged that this document is no guarantee. “I truly
don’t know the story of what’s going on over there,” he said.
Last Sunday, Mary Alice Borello, 53, walked into the Morgan’s in Torrance
looking for a 25th wedding anniversary present. She and her husband,
David, left with a gold band with two carats’ worth of channel-set diamond
baguettes. She didn’t ask questions about global conflicts.
“The question is, should we be concerned as consumers,” Mrs. Borello, a
playground supervisor from Redondo Beach, Calif., said later. “You’d hope
that people who are in the jewelry business would only purchase their
diamonds in a legitimate way. That’s what I would expect from them.”
More education is needed all around, Ms. Roney of theknot.com said. Even
among those who care about diamond origin, some assume, incorrectly,
that any diamond from Africa is dirty.
Knowledge sometimes come in funny ways. Lorne Walker and Laurel
Greenidge of Seattle, both 26, said they heard of conflict diamonds in 2004
from a comedy-club routine by Bill Maher. Ms. Greenidge, who works for a
publishing company, researched the issue and was horrified by accounts of
diamonds being used to pay for wars.
When Mr. Walker, a medical student, went ring shopping, he knew it would
be “a conscience issue” for his fiancée, he said. He bought a Canadian
diamond with a certificate.
The couple married in August. “I didn’t want to look down at my ring every
day and wonder did it support the death of somebody faraway or was it
mined by someone who’s underage and should be in school,” Ms. Greenidge
said. “When I look at it, I think of our relationship and love and happiness
and ever after.”
Source 4
How Diamonds Work
by Kevin Bonsor and Candace Gibson
Browse the article How Diamonds Work
Introduction to How Diamonds Work
On your next trip to the local shopping mall, stop by one of the jewelry stores. Notice the diamond
jewelry that takes up the majority of the showcase and the number of people hovering over the
counters trying to pick out diamonds for their loved ones. There will surely be a salesperson explaining
the "4 Cs" -- cut, clarity, carat and color -- to a young shopper, and explaining why one diamond
is better than the one right next to it. Why all the fuss over diamonds?
Photo courtesy Smithsonian Institution/Chip Clark
The Hooker Diamond necklace, earrings and ring on display at the
National Museum of Natural History
A diamond is just carbon in its most concentrated form. That's it -- carbon, the element that makes
up 18 percent of the weight of your body. In many countries, including the United States and Japan,
there is no other gemstone as cherished as the diamond, but in truth, diamonds are no rarer than
many other precious gems. They continue to demand higher market prices because the majority of the
diamond market is controlled by a single entity.
Video Gallery: Expensive Taste
Bruster's diamond-encrusted ice cream cone is a special treat,
weighing in at 152.16 carats and retailing for $1 million. The cone
was designed by Lazare Kaplan in the likeness of Bruster's cherry
vanilla ice cream waffle cone. In this video from MultiVu, see how
the creation was designed around diamonds of different shapes
and sizes, including a rare 5.63 Fancy Intense Yellow Radiant cut
diamond.
In this article, we will track a diamond from the time it is formed to when it reaches the Earth's surface.
We will also examine the artificial rarity created by the diamond cartel, De Beers, and briefly discuss
the properties of these gems.
Space Diamonds
Diamonds are not exclusive to Earth. Scientists believe that
diamonds may one day be found on the moon. Samples of rock
brought back from the moon indicate that carbon is 10 times more
abundant in the Earth's crust than the moon's, according to the
Artemis Project, a group whose goal is to establish a
permanent moon community. But this group believes that there
may be diamonds under the moon's surface that Apollo astronauts
were unable to detect. There is also some scientific evidence that
diamonds may be found in larger abundance on Neptune and
Uranus. Neptune and Uranus contain a lot of the hydrocarbon
gas methane. Researchers at the University of
California, Berkeley have shown that focusing a laser beam
on pressurized liquid methane can produce diamond dust.
Neptune and Uranus contain about 10 percent to 15 percent
methane under an outer atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.
Scientists think that this methane could possibly turn to diamond
at fairly shallow depths.
First, we'll discuss carbon, the element behind the sparkle.
Carbon and Kimberlite
Carbon is one of the most common elements in the world and is one of the four essentials for the
existence of life. Humans are more than 18 percent carbon. The air we breathe contains traces of
carbon. When occurring in nature, carbon exists in three basic forms:
Diamond - an extremely hard, clear crystal
Graphite - A soft, black mineral made of pure carbon. The molecular structure is not as
compact as diamond's, which makes it weaker than diamond.
Fullerite - A mineral made of perfectly spherical molecules consisting of exactly 60
carbon atoms. This allotrope was discovered in 1990.
©2007 HowStuffWorks
Diamonds form about 100 miles (161 km) below the Earth's surface, in the molten rock of the Earth's
mantle, which provides the right amounts of pressure and heat to transform carbon into diamond. In
order for a diamond to be created, carbon must be placed under at least 435,113 pounds per square
inch (psi or 30 kilobars) of pressure at a temperature of at least 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400 Celsius).
If conditions drop below either of these two points, graphite will be created. At depths of 93 miles (150
km) or more, pressure builds to about 725,189 psi (50 kilobars) and heat can exceed 2,192 F (1,200
C). Most diamonds that we see today were formed millions (if not billions) of years ago. Powerful
magma eruptions brought the diamonds to the surface, creating kimberlite pipes.
Kimberlite is named after Kimberley, South Africa, where these pipes were first found. Most of
these eruptions occurred between 1,100 million and 20 million years ago.
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Kimberlite pipes are created as magma flows through deep fractures in the Earth. The magma inside
the kimberlite pipes acts like an elevator, pushing the diamonds and other rocks and minerals through
the mantle and crust in just a few hours. These eruptions were short, but many times more powerful
than volcanic eruptions that happen today. The magma in these eruptions originated at depths three
times deeper than the magma source for volcanoes like Mount St. Helens, according to the American
Museum of Natural History.
The magma eventually cooled inside these kimberlite pipes, leaving behind conical veins of kimberlite
rock that contain diamonds. Kimberlite is a bluish rock that diamond miners look for when seeking out
new diamond deposits. The surface area of diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes ranges from 2 to 146
hectares (5 to 361 acres).
Diamonds may also be found in river beds, which are called alluvial diamond sites. These are
diamonds that originate in kimberlite pipes, but get moved by geological activity. Glaciers and water
can also move diamonds thousands of miles from their original location. Today, most diamonds are
found in Australia, Borneo, Brazil, Russia and several African countries, including South Africa and
Zaire.
Archean Cratons
Temperatures can reach 1,652 F (900 C) in Archean cratons.
These are common places for diamonds to form. Archean cratons
are stable, horizontal geological formations created billions of
years ago that have been unaffected by major tectonic events,
according to Rex Diamond Mining Corp. These cratons are found
in the center of most of the seven continents (most tectonic
activity takes place around the edges).
In the next section, we'll learn why the properties of diamond make it such a unique gem.
The Properties of Diamonds
Diamonds are found as rough stones and must be processed to create a sparkling gem that is ready
for purchase.
As mentioned before, diamonds are the crystallized form of carbon
created under extreme heat and pressure. It's this same process
that makes diamonds the hardest mineral we know of. A diamond
ranks a 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. The Mohs Scale is
used to determine the hardness of solids, especially minerals. It is
named after the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Here's
the scale, from softest to hardest:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Talc - easily scratched by the fingernail
Gypsum - just scratched by the fingernail
Calcite - scratches and is scratched by a copper coin
Fluorite - not scratched by a copper coin and does not
scratch glass
Apatite - just scratches glass and is easily scratched by
a knife
Orthoclase - easily scratches glass and is just
scratched by a file
Quartz - (amethyst, citrine, tiger's-eye, aventurine) not
scratched by a file
Topaz - scratched only by corundum and diamond
Corundum - (sapphires and rubies) scratched only by a
diamond
Diamond - scratched only by another diamond
Photo courtesy Getty Images
These rough stones will
become dazzling
diamonds after they are
cut and polished.
Even though diamond is only one level higher on the scale than corundum, diamond can be anywhere
from 10 to hundreds of times harder than this class of gems.
It is the molecular structure of diamonds that makes them so hard. Diamonds are made of
carbon atoms linked together in a lattice structure. Each carbon atom shares electrons with four other
carbon atoms, forming a tetrahedral unit. This tetrahedral bonding of five carbon atoms forms an
incredibly strong molecule. Graphite, another form of carbon, isn't as strong as diamond because the
carbon atoms in graphite link together in rings, where each atom is only linked to one other atom.
Project Superpressure
Diamond's natural hardness makes it an ideal cutting tool for
military materials like airplane components and armor. The United
States found itself totally reliant on South Africa to supply the
diamonds for its industrial tools, so after World War II ended, U.S.
industry began a massive effort to engineer its own diamonds.
In 1951, General Electric (GE) launched Project Superpressure. In
this experiment, GE attempted to create diamonds from graphite
by applying massive amounts of pressure and heat in machines
called diamond presses. When the diamond presses failed to
produce diamonds, GE went back to the drawing board using a
meteorite for inspiration.
Researchers had determined diamonds from a crater in Arizona
were formed by a meteorite. In addition to its size and heat, the
meteorite had one other significant component: metal. GE
scientists reasoned that they could make diamonds using a
smaller-scale meteorite crash in a laboratory. They combined
carbon atoms with the liquid metal troilite and added heat and
pressure. The result? A crystallization of diamonds. To learn more
about the experiment, read NOVA's transcript of "The Diamond
Deception [source: NOVA].
Cutting Diamonds
There are special techniques that are used to cut and shape a diamond before it gets to the jewelry
store. Diamond cutters use these four basic techniques:
1.
Cleaving - To cut a rough diamond down to a manageable size, the cutter must cleave it
along the diamond's tetrahedral plane, where it is the weakest. A wax or cement mold holds
the diamond in place while the cutter carves a sharp groove along the plane. The cutter
places a steel blade in the groove and forcefully strikes it, cutting the rough diamond in two.
2.
Sawing - Sometimes, diamonds have to be cut where there is no plane of weakness,
which cannot be done with cleaving. Instead, the cutter saws the diamond using a
phosphor-bronze blade rotating at about 15,000 rpm. Lasers can also be used to saw
diamonds, but the process takes hours. During the sawing step, the cutter decides which
parts of the diamond will become the table (the flat top of the stone with the greatest
surface area) and the girdle (the outside rim of the diamond at the point of largest
diameter). Then, he proceeds to cutting.
3. Bruiting/Cutting - This technique gives diamonds their shape. When diamonds are cut
by hand, the technique is called bruiting -- cutting refers to bruiting by machine. When the
cutter shapes diamonds by hand, he relies on the diamond's hardness as his tool -- he uses
diamonds to cut diamonds. He uses a small, stick-like instrument with a cement-filled bowl
at the tip to hold the diamond. The diamond is inserted in cement with just one corner
exposed. Using one of these sticks in each hand, the cutter rubs the exposed diamond parts
together to bruit them. In the mechanical process, the diamond is placed in a lathe, and
another diamond in the lathe rubs against it to create the rough finish of the girdle.
4.
Polishing - To create the diamond's finished look, the cutter places it onto the
arm above a rotating polishing wheel. The wheel is coated with an abrasive diamond
powder that smoothes the diamond as it is pressed against the wheel.
Cutting and the Bottom Line
Only round and oval diamonds can be cut, while fancy-shape
diamonds (like pear, marquise and emerald) must be bruited.
Some shapes, like round and radiant, require more facets to
properly reflect light, so they must be cut from a bigger rough
diamond. As a result, these cut styles are more expensive than
some others.
Next, we'll learn what determines the beauty and worth of a diamond.
The Four Cs
Diamonds are judged on several factors that determine their beauty. Most diamonds never reach the
consumer market because they are too flawed. Often, these diamonds are used for industrial
purposes -- as an abrasive, for drill bits or for cutting diamonds and other gems. If you've ever
purchased a diamond, you've heard of the "4 Cs:"
1.
Cut - This refers to a diamond's geometric proportions and how it has been cut. When a
diamond is cut, facets are created and the diamond's finished shape is determined.
Clarity - This is the measurement of a diamond's flaws, or inclusions that are seen in the
diamond. Clarity levels begin with Flawless and move down to Very Very Slight (VVS), Very
Slight (VS) and Slightly Included (SI).
3.
Carat - This is the weight of a diamond. One carat is equal to about 200 milligrams.
4.
Color - In referring to transparent diamonds, the color scale runs from D to Z, beginning
with Icy White -- the color of the most expensive transparent diamonds -- and ending with a
light yellow.
2.
Other unique qualities of the diamond include its transparency, luster and dispersion of
light. A diamond that is created from 100-percent carbon will be completely transparent. Diamonds
often contain other elements that can affect their color. Although we often think of diamonds as being
clear, there are also blue, red, black, pale green, pink and violet diamonds. These natural colored
diamonds are the truly rare ones, and thereby can sometimes be the most costly.
Diamonds are made in the molten magma deep inside the Earth.
Only nature can create diamonds, but it is people who have
created the artificial rarity that has spurred demand for these gems.
Carbon is one of the most common elements in the world, and
diamonds are a form of carbon. Naturally occurring diamonds are
no more rare than many other precious gems. The truly rare
transparent diamonds are those rated as flawless, meaning that
they don't have the slightest imperfection.
Diamonds were not always so popular with the American public,
and they were not always so pricey. A diamond placed in a
mounting on a ring has a markup of about 100 percent to 200
percent. The only reason why we pay so much more for diamonds
today than for other precious gems is because the diamond market
is controlled almost entirely by a single diamond cartel, called De
Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., which is based in South Africa.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
De Beers stockpiles diamonds mined from countries around the
Only the very best
world and releases a limited number of diamonds for sale each
diamonds will be
year. De Beers produces half of the world's diamond supply and
mounted into extravagant
controls about two-thirds of the entire world market, according to a
bracelets, earrings and
Washington Post report. At times, just to keep prices up, De Beers
rings like these.
has bought tremendous numbers of diamonds from countries
attempting to inject large quantities into the market. If De Beers
were a U.S.-based company, it would be in violation of antitrust laws for fixing the prices of diamonds.
Next, we'll learn about the marketing strategies behind De Beers' success.
Marketing Diamonds
Quiz Corner
How much do you already know about diamonds? Test your knowledge in the
Diamond Quiz.
The secret to De Beers' success is a marketing campaign that has permeated our culture --convincing
every woman that she should receive a diamond ring from her fiancé and convincing each groom-tobe to pay "two-months salary" for that ring to show how much his love is worth.
Prior to the 1930s, diamond rings were rarely given as engagement rings. Opals, rubies, sapphires
and turquoise were deemed much more exotic gems to give as tokens of one's love, according to the
book "Twenty Ads that Shook the World" by James B. Twitchell. Twitchell goes on to describe how De
Beers changed the world diamond market.
This idea of connecting diamonds to romance was captured in a brilliant ad campaign begun in the
1940s, causing demand for diamonds to increase. Surely you've heard the De Beers advertisement
that "A Diamond is Forever." This ad campaign, which was created by the N.W. Ayer
advertising agency in 1947, transformed the diamond market. In 2000, Advertising Age magazine
named the ad campaign the slogan of the 20th century. De Beers infiltrated Japan with the same ad
campaign in the 1960s, and the Japanese public bought into the idea as much as the Americans did.
Later ads by De Beers told consumers to hold onto their family's diamond jewelry and to cherish it as
heirlooms -- and it worked. This eliminated the aftermarket for diamonds, which further enabled De
Beers to control the market. Without people selling their diamonds back to jewelers or to other people,
the demand for new diamonds increased.
New Diamond Campaigns
De Beers has continued to persuade the public to buy diamonds
well into the 21st century. In 2001, the three-stone "Past, Present,
and Future" ring debuted, which was quickly established as the
essential anniversary gift. 2006's "Journey" jewelry capitalized on
the same concept, but rather than making a statement with just
three stones, this jewelry line symbolizes how love grows by
linking a series of multiple diamonds from small to large. And in
2004, De Beers sought to reach an untouched sector of the
market -- single women -- with the "Right-Hand Ring" campaign,
which encouraged women to buy diamonds as presents for
themselves.
There are fewer than 200 people or companies authorized to buy rough diamonds from De Beers.
These people are called sightholders, and they purchase the diamonds through the Central Selling
Organization (CSO), a subsidiary of De Beers that markets about 70 percent to 80 percent of the
world's diamonds. De Beers sells a parcel of rough diamonds to a sightholder, who in turn sends the
diamonds to cutting facilities and then to distributors.
Some rough diamonds are sold outside the CSO. These diamonds come from small producers in
Australia, Russia and some African countries. The cost of these diamonds is still largely influenced by
the prices set by the CSO.
Diamonds are the most coveted of all precious gems, as is witnessed by the extremely high demand
for them. While this has not always been the case, diamonds are nonetheless exquisite gems that go
through a long, tedious refining process from the time they are pulled from the ground to when you see
them in the jewelry store. And, while some of the mystique of diamonds may be gone -- they're just
carbon, after all, the diamond will likely continue to be a highly coveted jewel, because, well, "A
Diamond is Forever."
But, as the saying goes, beauty often comes at a price. And, sometimes, that price goes beyond the
financial realm. In the next section, we'll examine some of the biggest controversies in the diamond
industry.
Diamond Controversy
If you've ever shopped for a diamond, you know that weighing the 4 Cs is hard enough without having
to think about the diamond trade. But ethically speaking, a diamond's origins can be your most
important consideration. Perhaps the biggest controversy facing the diamond trade today is conflict
diamonds. These stones are also known as blood diamonds because of the blood shed to
obtain them.
A conflict diamond has been stolen or illegally mined and then sold
to raise money for rebel militia or terrorist groups. These groups
earn money for weapons by forcing men, women and children to
dig for diamonds. Anyone who protests is killed or threatened by
having a limb cut off. Most conflict diamonds come from Angola,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast, Liberia and
Sierra Leone. If you don't shop carefully, you could be buying one
of these stones.
Conflict diamonds are smuggled into the diamond trade along with
legitimate diamonds. The United Nations (UN), the Conflict
Free Diamond Council and other groups are working toward
better regulation so that conflict diamonds don't make it to the
market. These groups have instituted the Kimberley Process,
which monitors and certifies a diamond at every point of its
Photo courtesy Getty Images
A victim of violent rebel
forces.
production process. Because of the Kimberley Process, the UN estimates that 99.8 percent of
diamonds on the market now are conflict-free [source: National Geographic]. Before you purchase a
diamond, you can request to see its conflict-free certificate -- in the future, the UN will also require
diamonds to have laser engraving and optical signatures, and to be entirely produced within a single
country.
Conflict diamonds are not the only controversy darkening the
diamond trade: human- and animal-rights issues run rampant in
India as well as certain countries in Africa. In some African
countries, miners use children to dig in tight, underground spaces
where men and woman can't fit, even though child labor is illegal.
The mining towns in these African countries also have steadily
increasing murder and HIV infection rates as a result of trespassing
and sex trade. In India, where 92 percent of the world's smaller
diamonds are cut, children are given the smallest stones to work
with because their eyes and fingers are better suited for seeing and
shaping tiny facets [source: MSN]. Severe eyestrain, repetitive
motion injuries and lung infections from inhaling diamond dust are
just a few conditions that affect these workers.
Animal-rights activists have just as much at stake in diamond
industry regulation as human-rights organizations. According to the
Animal Welfare Institute, African primate populations are dwindling
-- in 15 to 20 years, apes will become extinct. The chimpanzee
population has declined to only 150,000, and with 600 gorillas
being poached yearly, they're facing extinction as well. The
dwindling primate population may be partly attributed to poaching,
but not all poaching is for sport. Some hungry diamond miners with
no other food source depend on these animals for survival.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
Indian children cut
diamonds that are too
small for adults' eyes and
fingers.
Photo courtesy Getty Images
Poachers target full-grown gorillas, which provide
the most meat. The gorillas' babies will die with no
one to care
for them.
Guilty Gourmet
Hungry miners aren't the only ones poaching. In non-African
countries, bushmeat is considered a delicacy and is a profitable
product. Bushmeat includes bonobo apes, chimpanzees, duikers,
elephants, giant pangolins and gorillas. Up to 10 tons of this exotic
meat is smuggled through London's Heathrow Airport daily
[source: Animal Welfare Institute].
Next, we'll delve into diamond history to learn about the discovery of some truly extraordinary
diamonds.
Famous Diamonds
The world's most famous diamonds are its largest diamonds. At
staggering weights up to thousands of carats, these diamonds
have been cut, re-shaped and sold many times, contributing to
their rich, interesting histories. Despite diamond's natural, clear
brilliance, some of these stones have a dark side.
The Cullinan - This 3,106-carat diamond is the
largest diamond ever found. It was discovered in 1905 in
Transvaal, South Africa. In 1907, the diamond was
presented to King Edward VII of England. Later, it was cut
into nine major stones, including the 530.20-carat Star of
Africa diamond that is set in the Royal Scepter displayed
in the Tower of London.
The Hope Diamond - Possibly the most famous
diamond in America, this 45.52-carat diamond is on display
at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington
D.C. Its history dates back to the 1600s, when it was
originally a 112.1875-carat diamond. In 1668, it was
Photo Courtesy Getty Images
purchased by King Louis XIV, of France. It is believed to
Cullinan
II, the Lesser
have been originally found in the Kollur mine in Golconda,
Star
of
Africa,
was cut
India. The diamond was recut in 1673, creating a smaller
into many smaller
67.125-carat stone. You can learn more about the Hope
diamonds
Diamond at the Smithsonian.
that are in the
The Excelsior - Perhaps the second-largest diamond
Imperial State Crown.
ever found, the Excelsior was found in 1893 in South Africa.
The original stone weighed about 995 carats. In 1904, I.J. Asscher and Company of
Amsterdam cut the Excelsior into 21 polished stones weighing between 1 and 70 carats.
The Great Mogul - Believed to be the third-largest uncut diamond ever found, it was
discovered around 1650. Its original size is said to have been 787.50 carats, but it was
cut to just 280 carats. The diamond is named for Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal.
After the diamond was cut, he fired the cutter for doing such a poor job. Mysteriously, the
whereabouts of the Great Mogul diamond are unknown today.
Photo Courtesy Smithsonian Institution
The Hope Diamond
Most people can only dream of owning a diamond as large as these famous stones -- but synthetic
diamonds could change that. In the next section, we'll learn about different synthetic diamonds.
Synthetic Diamonds
For people who can't afford real diamonds or want a 100-percent guarantee that their diamond is
conflict-free, synthetic diamonds are a good substitute. For many years, the only synthetic option
available was cubic zirconia, but now consumers can also choose from Moissanite and man-made
diamonds.
Cubic zirconia, commonly called CZ, is a laboratory gem that has
been on the market since 1976. It's a hard gem (8.5 on the Mohs
Scale), but it's not as hard as diamond. On the one hand, CZ is
compositionally superior to diamond. CZ has greater brilliance and
sparkle, it's entirely colorless and it has no inclusions. However,
most consumers agree that CZ is simply too perfect -- it looks
artificial even to the naked eye. Because of this, some CZ
manufacturers have started producing the gem with colored tints
and inclusions so that it more closely resembles diamond.
Moissanite has become CZ's biggest synthetic rival. Moissanite
became available in 1998, and it's even more similar to diamond in
composition and appearance. Moissanite is harder than CZ, but at
9.5 on the Mohs Scale, it is still softer than diamond. Moissanite's
color is faintly yellow or green, and the tint becomes more apparent
in larger stones. It also has small, stretch-mark-like inclusions that
form during its growing process. Like CZ, Moissanite is more
radiant than diamond, but this quality is considered a disadvantage
rather than an advantage.
Photo courtesy Carnegie Institute of
Washington
Orange and yellow
synthetic diamonds like
these are less expensive
than colored natural
diamonds, which are rare.
Photo courtesy LifeGem
The closest synthetic approximation to diamond is a man-made
A LifeGem like this yellow
diamond. Unlike CZ and Moissanite, man-made diamonds are pure diamond commemorates
carbon. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recognizes
a deceased loved one.
these as real diamonds from a compositional perspective. But, the
man-made diamonds don't have the rich geological history that
natural diamonds do. Laboratories simulate the heat and pressure from the Earth's mantle that create
natural diamonds. For the synthetic manufacturers and the consumers, diamonds come down to a
matter of time and money: days versus millions of years, thousands of dollars versus tens of
thousands of dollars or more (man-made diamonds sell for about 30 percent less than natural ones)
[source: MSN]. If you want a uniquely colored, relatively inexpensive diamond (it will cost less than a
natural colored diamond), you can find man-made ones in shades of orange, yellow, pink and blue.
Finding a large diamond will prove a greater challenge -- most man-made diamonds weigh less than
one carat. If you want the best synthetic has to offer, man-made diamonds are a no-brainer. Even
jewelers can have a hard time telling them apart from natural ones. To prevent retailers from passing
off man-made diamonds as natural ones, the GIA is selling machines that will help jewelers easily
distinguish between the two.
It may come as no surprise that the developer behind these machines is none other than the king of
the natural diamond industry: De Beers.
LifeGem
Another type of synthetic diamond is the LifeGem, which uses
carbon from a loved one's cremated remains or strand of hair to
create a commemorative diamond. LifeGems can also be made
from your pets' cremated remains. Depending on the color, size
and quantity of your LifeGem order, you can receive your diamond
within 24 weeks at a cost ranging from $3,500 to $25,000.
For more information on diamonds and related topics, check out the links on the next page.
Lots More Information
Related HowStuffWorks Articles
How Moissanite Jewels Work
Diamond Quiz
How Volcanoes Work
How Carbon-14 Dating Works
How the African Diamond Trade Works
What are the "four Cs" that people talk about when buying a diamond?
How does a "carat" relate to a "karat"?
More Great Links
American Museum of Natural History: The Nature of Diamonds
The Diamond Invention
MSNBC: A Diamond's Journey
NOVA: The Science Behind the Sparkle
Apollo Diamonds
Sources
"The Art of Cutting Diamonds: The Manner of Preparing the Gems for the Market." The
New York Times. 9/7/1885 (10/9/2007).
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=
9F05E3DD1139E533A25754C0A96E9C94649FD7CF
"Blood Diamonds- Conflict Diamonds- What is the Kimberley Process?" Geology.com.
(10/9/2007)
http://www.geology.com/articles/blood-diamonds.shtml
"Bushmeat." The Animal Welfare Institute. (10/9/2007).
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:Sb2nf0kvVlUJ:www.awionline.org/
othercampaigns/Bushmeat/bushmeat.pdf+Bushmeat+the+taste
+of+extinction&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
"Conflict Diamonds." United Nations Department of Public Information. 3/21/2001.
(10/9/2007). http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html
"Cubic Zirconia." Estate Antique Jewelry Sarasota Gold and Silver. (10/9/2007).
http://www.sarasotagoldandsilver.com/info/Cubic_zirconia.php
Hussain, Sakina Sadat and Peter Cahill. "A Diamond's Journey." MSNBC.com.
(10/10/2007). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15842546/1
JJKent, Inc. "About the Early Methods of Cleaving, Sawing, and Cutting Diamonds." 2004
(10/9/2007).
http://www.jjkent.com/articles/methods-cleaving-sawing-cuttingdiamonds.htm
LifeGem. "LifeGem. More than a Breakthrough." 2006 (10/9/2007)
http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/LGProcess2006.aspx
"Moissanite." Diamonds are Forever Index. (10/9/2007).
http://www.diamonds-are-forever.org/uk/moissanite.htm
Mulrean, Jennifer. "Man-made diamonds: a girl's new best friend?" MSN Money.
(10/9/2007). http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P97816.asp
NOVA. "The Diamond Deception." 2/1/2000 (10/15/2007) NOVA Transcripts: PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2703diamond.html
Roach, John. " 'Blood Diamonds' and How to Avoid Buying Illicit Gems." National
Geographic News. 12/8/2006 (10/9/2007).
http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/89380450.html
Source 5
Marketing
Wedded to the West
Robyn Meredith, 03.28.05
A decade of advertising by De Beers Group is changing Chinese
traditions, perhaps forever.
A Chinese fable has it that when babies are born, a Chinese version of Cupid ties a red string around
the ankles of an infant boy and girl destined to meet and marry later in life. Today the lucky-color leash
is taking on a sparkle.
De Beers Group, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, has exported its "A diamond is
forever" marketing to a land where gold and jade jewelry were traditional wedding gifts. Until 1993,
when De Beers started marketing diamonds in China, there was no such thing as a diamond wedding
band or engagement ring. Now young adults in China are open to a more Western tradition.
Half a century after a U.S. copywriter penned De Beers' famous slogan, it is being propagated as
"Zuan shi heng jiu yuan, yi ke yong liu chuan" across China, where more than half of new brides in big
cities receive diamond engagement rings. Tang Qi, a 28-year-old art director at China Interactive
Media Group, a publisher in Beijing, paid $1,000, or almost two months' salary, to buy a diamond
solitaire for his wedding last summer in Tianjin. "Jade is for old people," says he.
By the Numbers
The Price of Love
Life is getting expensive for
Chinese boyfriends looking to
wed.
85% American brides given
diamond engagement rings in
2003.
51% Chinese brides given
diamond rings (top 25 cities) in
2003.
$2,500 Average spent on a
diamond solitaire in the U.S
$560 Average spent on a
diamond solitaire in China.
1948 Year slogan "A diamond
Last year retail sales of diamonds in China climbed 12% to $1.4
billion. That outlay comes to a mere dollar per capita--versus $100
in the U.S.--but it has the potential to grow, given the rising
affluence of the Chinese and their predisposition to save money. It
is possible to convince oneself that a jewelry purchase is a form of
saving. De Beers' target buyer has an annual household income
of $2,900, the bottom reaches of the middle class in China.
Images in showy ads created for De Beers by ad agency JWT
resonate among consumers who are just starting to discover and
crave the trappings of middle-class life. They feature well-dressed
couples enjoying other luxuries. At least one features a well-to-do
couple frolicking on the beach, suggesting they can afford a
vacation, another treat in China.
De Beers is also convincing TV producers to weave diamonds into
the plots of their programs. China's state-run network CCTV last
year borrowed the storyline of a De Beers ad for an episode of its
popular drama Pink Lady. In it, a woman checks out her reflection
in a restaurant window and admires the glittering diamond
pendant around her neck. A man sitting with his girlfriend in the
restaurant also notices the bauble and is so captivated by it that
his date storms off.
is forever" was first used.
1993 Year slogan "Zuan shi
heng jiu yuan, yi ke yong liu
chuan" first used in mainland
China.
Source: De Beers.
De Beers has been able to accomplish a lot with little money. It
advertised in 11 eastern Chinese cities for several years, taking its
pitch last year to smaller cities on the mainland. This year it plans
to spend $9 million on TV, magazine and newspaper ads for
diamond rings in big cities and in 17 additional cities and towns,
including remote outposts such as Hefei and Tibet's Lhasa.
"This has happened much more quickly than we ever thought it would," says Christina Hudson, De
Beers' marketing director for Greater China.
De Beers has helped change wedding ceremonies, inspiring brides, for instance, to dispense with the
traditional red dress in favor of white. Diamond Trading Co., the company's sales and marketing arm,
even plays a role in some nuptials. Several times a year in Beijing and Shanghai it cosponsors mass
weddings on days the Chinese consider auspicious, such as New Year's Day (Jan. 1) and National
Day (Oct. 1). When 150 couples were wed at a mass wedding in Shanghai last fall, they walked under
a 9-foot-high diamond solitaire ring as each groom gave his bride a ring. A diamond-themed float was
part of a parade in another ceremony. De Beers' marketing company ponies up $13,000 to sponsor a
mass wedding. Jewelry stores chip in $87,000.
There are challenges. Some ads have fallen flat. Consumers complained that the reality in one TV
spot ruined the fantasy of romantic love. It showed a man giving his girlfriend a diamond ring. It then
flashed ahead to show the couple, years later, strolling along the beach with their son. It bombed.
"‘Don't show the child when I'm thinking about love,'" Hudson recalls hearing from consumers.
Another time De Beers organized a splashy traveling exhibition of famous diamonds, including one of
Elizabeth Taylor's rings, for Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. But it made only two stops because
customs officials in Guangzhou refused entry.
There's some risk diamond sales will slow this year because superstitious Chinese will pause from the
wedding rush during the Year of the Rooster, considered an unlucky time for such unions. But De
Beers is undaunted. Its latest TV commercial shows a groom leading his bride through a maze by
pulling a red string. When she finds him, a diamond slides down the string onto her finger.
Source 6
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De Beers Celebrates 50 Years of 'A Diamond is Forever'
By ROB BATES
April 08, 1997
This year, De Beers trumpets its 50th continuous year of using its celebrated slogan, "A
Diamond Is Forever."
But those four magic words aren't the only things that have remained constant. Ever since De
Beers started advertising in the United States some 55 years ago, it has tried to get consumers
to buy diamonds for the same sweet, simple reason: They represent love.
"In a way we have been running the same strategy for 50 years," says Jim Haag of De Beers'
advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. "The diamond market has been built on emotion."
For proof, read the following from a diamond ad in the 1950s: "Now all of nature seems to
sing of love and happiness and marriage. It is engagement time, and the earth's fairest tribute,
their engagement diamond, radiantly proclaims his vow, her happy answer."
Now, fast forward to 1995: The pace is punchier but the message is the same. In a TV ad, as a
man presents his diamond engagement ring, his "inner voice" intones: "Ask the sea to pause a
moment. Ask the sky to hold its breath. Ask the world to wait and listen. My heart has a
question for you."
Diamond marketing may have been built on emotion, but there is more to it than that.
Through the years, the romantic pitch has run hand-in-hand with a more rational one that
stresses the four C's and how to spot quality.
The quality message also extends to retailers. From their earliest ads, De Beers has advised
consumers to buy from a trusted jeweler.
"That's basically the same message we use today," Haag says.
It is interesting to note that when De Beers first started advertising, many of the company's
higher-ups pooh-poohed the idea, thinking it would cheapen the image of diamonds. They
shouldn't have worried. From the first ads, diamond advertising has tried to put the product on
a pedestal.
Take the most recent "Shadows" ads: They don't feature rock music - although that was tested
- but ornate classical. And feedback from focus groups say people like it that way.
"Women in particular are very picky about what we can and cannot do with diamonds,"Haag
says. "We can't mix it up with explicit sex or anything else. The smallest thing can get a
strong negative reaction."
So has all this advertising paid off? The statistics tell the story: In the years since De Beers
began advertising in the United States, the diamond market has grown from a reported $23
million in the 1930s to $16 billion today. And engagement rings have gone from a gift bought
mostly by debutantes to a mass-market item acquired by an overwhelming majority of
American fiancës.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of "A Diamond Is Forever," National Jeweler takes a look
back at a half century of marketing memories. You'll be surprised how much has - and hasn't changed.
Source 7
Diamond Ads Through the Years
1930s
Harry Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers, decides that advertising could help the
diamond market, then reeling from the Great Depression. This suggestion is not
universally welcomed. Many De Beers executives consider advertising brash and
think the stone's image will be tarnished because of it.
The relationship between De Beers and ad agency N.W. Ayer gets off to an
unfortunate start, as a plane carrying Ayer executives to South Africa crashes in the
sea. Several executives are injured, but the soggy ads are saved.
After Ayer is given the go-ahead in 1939, De Beers releases its initial effort,
targeted solely to the "upper class."
"Diamonds were not a mass-market phenomenon," says Jim Haag, managing
director of the De Beers account at J. Walter Thompson, De Beers' current ad firm.
The early ads are in the best possible taste, and feature reproductions of famous
artworks by Picasso and Dali. The copy is elegant and literary, a complement to the
upscale magazines they appear in, such as The New Yorker and The Saturday
Evening Post.
1940s
De Beers' initial ads get rave reviews and are a smashing success - by one account,
diamond sales jump 40% by 1941, the campaign's second year.
But then there is a bigger problem to contend with: World War II. Many young
men are stationed overseas and have to put off getting married, let alone buying
diamonds.
The De Beers ads of that period are probably their most melancholy. They feature
women who are missing their boyfriends and husbands, and how a diamond
symbolizes that faraway love.
"It was a time of delayed dreams," Haag says.
The De Beers ads also mention that by buying gem diamonds, one is encouraging
the mining of industrial gems, which are crucial to the war effort.
"You needed to tell people it was OK to buy diamonds," Haag says.
Later in the decade, the ads feature the weddings of real servicemen who have
returned from overseas. This is followed by portraits of newly engaged young
socialites.
1950s
The 1950s are the era of suburban safety and conformity, and this is reflected in De
Beers' ads.
"It was a time when people were saying, 'I want to be just like my neighbor,'" Haag
says. One ad makes this explicit, telling men that the diamond he buys is a measure
"of the depth of your affection, the quality of your judgment, your position in life."
"We could say that back then," Haag says. "Everyone was following the pack so
much that we could tell men they had to have diamonds."
1960s
The first half of the decade is "a continuation of the '50s," Haag says. He notes that
at least one of the models in the De Beers ads of that period bears a resemblance to
then-first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Diamond engagement ring acquisition among
engaged couples peaks during this era, topping out at 80% in 1963. (It's now
around 70%.)
The second half of the decade is the era when young people are in revolt - the time
of Woodstock, drug use and "dropping out."
De Beers marketers in this period face a tough challenge: How do you market a
traditional product to an audience that disdains both marketing and tradition?
The occasionally humorous results of this dilemma include adorning ads with
hippie "love poetry," quasi-psychedelic graphics and taglines like "Love Is a
Changing World."
Elegance is de-emphasized, and ad models begin appearing in denim and T-shirts.
Some ads even tackle the tradition issue head-on: "My church may be a meadow,"
one reads. "And my wedding dress won't be my mother's. But when it comes to my
man, and the diamond his love gives me, I want all things that women have always
dreamed of."
"We tried to get into the era's mind-set," Haag says, "and let people know there was
room in everyone's life for a little tradition."
Even so, diamond engagement ring acquisition drops from its high-water mark a
few years back.
1970s
The '70s are another challenging time for the company.
"It was the time of singles bars," Haag says. "It wasn't a big era for love and
romance." But it is a big era for accessories - beads, bangles and so on - and so the
company starts promoting diamond jewelry as "wearable for everyday."
In addition, De Beers airs its first television commercial - during Christmas 1977 although full-scale TV advertising won't begin in earnest until the mid-80s.
1980s
"The 1980s are basically the same as the '50s," Haag says. But in addition to
conformity, the Reagan era celebrates materialism. Not only are consumers trying
to keep up with the Joneses, they want to leave them in the dust.
De Beers ads around this time brim with attitude, encouraging those who have it to
flaunt it. "She married you for richer or poorer," one reads. "Let her know how it's
going."
The U.S. diamond market is also becoming mature, and acquisition rates for
products like the diamond engagement ring are so high that De Beers begins
looking for other ways to expand the market. The company introduces other "rites
of passage" products, including the sweet 16 diamond (now defunct) and the
diamond anniversary band, a refashioning of the '70s-era eternity ring.
In addition, the company begins urging consumers to "trade up" to bigger stones
and launches its two months' salary guideline for engagement rings in 1981. (The
guideline exists in other countries, too, although it is one month in Europe and
three in Japan.)
This is also the decade of the tennis bracelet, which begins when tennis pro Chris
Evert drops her bracelet on the court. The company heavily publicizes the fad and
even runs a few ads for it, featuring a bracelet alongside a tennis racket.
1990s
The '90s seem like they are split into two, Haag says.
The first part of the decade the country is in recession, and diamond sales drop for
the first time in years. Consumers are stingy, and De Beers ads portray diamonds as
a back-to-basics product. But the second half of the decade is seeing more of a
focus on quality, Haag says
He also calls it a decade of intimacy.
"Diamonds are not just for outer show anymore," Haag says. "There's more of an
emphasis on what they do to your inner self."
In 1993, De Beers makes a radical change in its U.S. advertising strategy launching its first-ever synergistic campaign, called "Shadows," featuring trick
photography and classical music.
The "Shadows" ads undergo some fine-tuning. Early print versions are dropped,
and the commercials add voice-over narration. But the basic core of the ads today -
as well as the sweeping orchestral score that accompanies them - have essentially
run unchanged for four years.
Stephen Lussier, divisional director for De Beers' Consumer Advertising Division,
says the "Shadows" ads, which are running worldwide, are among the most
successful in the company's history.
Lussier says the "Shadows" commercials had their origin in a concept for print ads.
De Beers wanted to show diamond wearers as anonymous, so there wouldn't be a
problem with people relating to the models. But early treatments came across as
lifeless. The switch to computer-generated shadows was an attempt to inject
humanity back into the ads.
The commercial's music - which has grown so popular that Sony Music has issued
it on compact disc - was the last element the company added, Lussier notes.
"We tested all sort of scores from jazz to rock to existing classical," he recalls.
"Finally we commissioned the London Symphony to do an original piece, and that
music has ended up as powerful an element as anything else in the advertising."
During the 1990s, the De Beers ad campaign also has a major behind-the-scenes
shakeup. In 1995, De Beers changes its agency from N.W. Ayer, its home for 57
years, to J. Walter Thompson, which does its advertising in every other part of the
world. At the time, the change is a shock.
"I never thought this day would come," says one Ayer staffer.
Eventually, most of the major players at Ayer make the leap to Thompson, and
Lussier now calls the agency switch "seamless."
The Future: More Brands, Different Types of Ads
When looking at the future of the U.S. retail diamond jewelry market, De Beers has
a problem - but it's a happy one.
The U.S. market is already very developed in terms of diamond ownership, Lussier
notes. In particular, ownership levels of the company's core product - diamond
engagement rings - are already very high, and therefore unlikely to increase.
As a result, the company is trying to boost its U.S. business in other ways - by
getting consumers to "trade up" their purchases, and introducing new products to
catch consumers' fancy.
That is the reasoning behind the launch of De Beers' latest product trend - the
diamond solitaire necklace.
"We are always looking for new occasions, new products," Lussier says. "We still
think we have a lot of mileage, a lot of room to develop. But you have to give
people something new to entice them back into the market."
The diamond solitaire launch in particular is being watched closely by De Beers
executives, who hope to duplicate the success of the tennis bracelet in the 1980s.
Lussier notes that the tennis bracelet fad was fueled by happenstance - Chris Evert
dropping hers on the tennis court. The launch of the diamond solitaire necklace will
test whether De Beers can start a fad from scratch.
"We want to see if we can create these trends, instead of just ride them," Lussier
says. "Hopefully, the diamond solitaire necklace will be the first in a series."
Given the success of the "Shadows" ads, Lussier thinks future De Beers ad
campaigns also will be thematically linked and synergistic - although he notes that
there are no plans to drop "Shadows" in the near future.
"As long as the consumer keeps telling us they like them, we will keep running
them," he says.Lussier also notes that television is likely to be the main carrier of
De Beers' message for a while to come, because it is the best transmitter of
emotional messages. He adds, however, that the company is also testing the waters
of different media, such as radio and the Internet.
"The Internet could be a powerful way of transmitting messages that have a lot of
information," Lussier says.
He also indicates that De Beers wants to emphasize its "forever" message around
the time of the new millennium.
"We think then the concept of forever may have some extra resonance," Lussier
says. "After all, diamonds are one of the few products that have been around since
the first millennium."
(Tomorrow: More on De Beers advertising through the years.
Links referenced within this article
Find this article at:
http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1040078&imw=Y
Source 7
Forever Diamonds
Contributed by Barry Kaplan
A powerful company, a catchy slogan, and how they forever changed the way we
value diamonds.
Birth of a Legend
The prestigious US magazine, Advertising Age, in its
January 1999 edition, proclaimed "A Diamond is Forever",
the most recognized and effective slogan of the twentieth
century. Today, diamond engagement rings are
commonplace, but were it not for a single company and
its drive to dominate the diamond industry, history would
have turned out differently.
Diamonds are not as rare as many people think; they are
certainly not the rarest of gemstones - that honor goes to
rubies - but they are the hardest. The illusion of diamond
scarcity and its instant association with the concepts of
romance and affluence can be traced back to a successful meeting in New York between
Harry Oppenheimer and the president of N.W. Ayer & Son, Gerold M. Lauck, in September
1938.
Harry Oppenheimer was the son of the founder of the company that would become the most
successful cartel of the twentieth century - De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. The South
African company incorporated in 1888, during the burgeoning local diamond rush. At its
formation and over the ensuing years, De Beers would successfully acquire countless
interests in diamond mines and production facilities throughout the world.
The gift of love
N.W. Ayer & Son, a leading advertising agency in the United States, and the young
Oppenheimer,encouraged by his bankers, sought to reverse the declining price of diamonds
with a well-funded advertising campaign. Europeans were not yet taken with the idea of
purchasing engagement rings featuring diamonds as the gemstone of choice. Moreover,
impending war in Europe forced Oppenheimer and his bankers to promote their interests in
their biggest market - the United States. At the time of the meeting with Ayer, three quarters
of the cartel's diamonds were being sold there. But difficulties beleaguered this market too;
diamonds were of an inferior quality to those sold in Europe, and prices were low - an
average of $80 per stone.
Oppenheimer told Ayer that De Beers had not approached any other agencies and that if
Ayer's plan was accepted, it would become the exclusive agency for promoting De Beers'
interests in the United States. This shrewd tactic proved to be a strong motivating factor for
N.W. Ayer, and after extensive research, the agency proposed a campaign to "channel
American spending toward larger and more expensive diamonds".
To achieve this goal, Ayer further recommended strengthening the association of diamonds
with romance. Young men, who purchased 90% of engagement rings, would be bombarded
with the idea that diamonds were the gift of love. The first campaign aimed at men was
launched in 1939 emphasizing the male's business savvy. Women, too, would be targeted
with the idea that no courtship would be complete without a sparkling diamond. Famous
houses of worship were featured in follow up advertisements, establishing a link between
diamonds and the sacred tradition of a religious wedding.
A necessary luxury
Ayer's marketing plan included public relations,
advertising, product placement in films and on television,
radio programs publicizing diamond trends, portraits of
betrothed socialites, stories and photographs of celebrities
for inclusion in magazines and newspapers - all targeted
at a specific goal - the idea that diamonds were eternal,
forever linked with romance, emotionally valued, and a
necessary luxury.
One strategically successful and aesthetically creative
magazine campaign - The Great Artists - featured the
paintings of Picasso, Derain, Dali and Dufy, accompanied
with poetic copy and prominently featuring four diamonds
ranging from a half to three carats. The idea was to associate diamonds with the
sophisticated subtext of art. These advertisements appeared in Fortune, Vogue, Time, The
New Yorker and other publications, circulated mainly to middle and upper class readers.
Ayer engaged jewelers to give talks, lectures, classes and informal meetings to thousands of
young women. Ayer also arranged for movie stars to appear at social events adorned with
diamonds. The agency used its influence to modify film scripts and movie titles to feature
diamonds more prominently. One example is the 1941 film, Skylark, which has the female
character shopping for diamonds.
By 1941, the downward trend in retail sales had been reversed and in just three years, sales
of diamonds in the United States had risen 55%. Ayer's success inspired the agency to
pursue a new goal - to reinforce the "psychological necessity" of diamonds. An estimated 70
million people over the age of fifteen would be targeted with future marketing campaigns.
A diamond is forever
The slogan that would become the most resilient in history would be created in the office of
N.W. Ayer in 1947. After a confounding series of unsuccessful attempts to produce a slogan
for a new De Beers advertising campaign, Frances Gerety, a copywriter at the advertising
agency, prayed for some divine assistance. Before heading home, she scrawled "a diamond is
forever" on the bottom of a picture of two honeymooning lovers. It may have had humble
beginnings, but according to Advertising Age, it is the most recognized slogan of the 20th
century, and some ninety percent of all Americans know it. In less than a year, "A Diamond is
Forever" became the official slogan of De Beers.
Hollywood's association with the alluring gem would continue into the fifties with "Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes", a box offices sensation starring screen icons Marilyn Monroe and Jane
Russell and featuring the sensuous song "Diamonds are a girl's best friend". Monroe's
feminine sensuality helped secure the appeal of diamonds for women. By the end of the
1950s, N.W. Ayer was pleased to announce to De Beers that its twenty-year marketing
campaign had successfully influenced the American public to consider a diamond engagement
ring a necessity to the engagement ritual.
A new Japanese tradition
In the 1960s, De Beers aimed its marketing prowess at
conquering international markets. Japan, Germany and
Brazil would be first, for which De Beers enlisted the help
of J.Walter Thompson, an advertising agency with a vast
network of international subsidiaries and affiliates.
Japanese parents adhered to a 1500 year old tradition of
arranging marriages for their children through trusted gobetweens. In 1959, postwar Japan didn't permit the
importation of diamonds, and the carbon-based gemstone
did not yet feature as part of the yuino-hin bundle of gifts exchanged between the parents of
the groom and the bride's family.
J. Walter Thompson's campaign sought to glamorize western values in a series of Japanese
magazine advertisements featuring European-styled women wearing diamond rings, and
involved in a variety of outdoor sporting activities. By 1981, sixty percent of married
Japanese women sported a diamond. It had taken De Beers only fourteen years to make
Japan the second largest engagement ring market after the United States. Japanese men
were now spending three to four months' salary on their engagement ring purchases,
considerably more than in the US.
Smaller is better
After extensive exploration in the late 50s, the Soviet Union had discovered several diamond
mines in Siberia. These mines unearthed a plethora of half carat or smaller diamonds at a
frenzied pace. In a private agreement with the Soviets, De Beers secured rights to this
production. To sell the smaller stones, De Beers informed N.W. Ayer to focus on a strategy
stressing the importance of "quality, color and cut" over size. Pictures of quarter carat rings
immediately replaced pictures of larger rings. De Beers developed a new ring, called the
"eternity ring" which would feature as many as twenty-five diamonds. These rings would be
targeted at older women with the theme of "recaptured love".
By the mid 70s, the smaller-diamonds campaign was becoming too successful. Research
showed that the average size of diamonds had fallen from one carat in 1930 to .28 carats in
1976. Meanwhile, Soviet diamond output continued to increase and De Beers sought
additional avenues to market their production. They hoped to garner the same success they
had enjoyed in Japan with the new international campaigns in Brazil, Germany, Austria and
Italy. But that strategy, and existing sales of eternity rings would be insufficient to absorb all
of the Soviet's output.
Bigger is better
N.W. Ayer suggested a bilateral approach for their 1978 campaign - smaller diamonds
displayed in photographs, and an informative and emotive promotion aimed at reorienting
consumer tastes and price preferences towards solitaire rings and away from multi-stone
jewelry. Furthermore, they would use strategic campaign refinements to restore the status of
bigger diamonds. Wholesale diamond sales reached $2.1 billion by 1979, a hundred-fold
increase since 1939. In 2002, sales reached $5.15 billion. The key to this enormous revenue
growth was one successful advertising campaign after another. But the collapse of the Soviet
Union, civil unrest and war in Africa, and the discovery of new mines over the preceding
decade had taken their toll on De Beers' command of the diamond trade. By the turn of the
millennium, De Beers' market share had dropped to sixty five percent.
Past, Present and Future
With the continued success of its existing marketing
campaigns, De Beers sought new avenues to increase
diamond demand. In January 2000, J. Walter Thompson
announced an extensive marketing campaign for the
"three-stone diamond anniversary ring", which featured a
center half-carat stone flanked by two smaller-sized sidestones. The three-stone ring initiative was targeted at
couples celebrating their anniversary. Research conducted
by the advertising agency showed that female consumers
shared a "desire to take stock of their relationship in the present day, reflect upon the
journey shared as a couple, and look forward to the many happy years that lay ahead". The
three-stone ring was tailor made for each facet of the relationship: Past, present and future.
The three-stone ring campaign was a tremendous success.
What's in a name?
Then, in September 2000, De Beers made sweeping changes to its identity. Instead of using
its own name in advertising, De Beers decided to use "Diamond Trading Co." (DTC). A new
icon, called the ForeverMark shaped like a diamond with a star in its center was unveiled to
the public in January 2001. The decision to use DTC instead of De Beers was an astute
repositioning. De Beers would use the DTC name and the ForeverMark logo to market their
rough production and the "De Beers" name to sell an exclusive brand of diamonds in soon-tobe-launched trendy De Beers stores.
In an effort to compete with the marketing budgets of other luxury goods, De Beers, realizing
that diamonds lagged other luxury goods in advertising expenditure, raised its 2002
advertising budget to almost $200 million. De Beers leveraged an additional $150 million of
diamond advertising from its customers. These enormous advertising resources helped
launch the Fall 2002 ad campaign.
Bigger is better... again!
J. Walter Thompson's campaign was aimed at stimulating
women's desire for larger diamonds. The ad agency's
research found that 82% of survey respondents desired
jewelry with a diamond of at least a half-carat, but few
actually received such stones. The "Diamonds that Make a
Statement" campaign was targeted at 25-54 year old
affluent married couples, earning a combined household income of at least $75,000. It
featured products such as stud earrings and solitaire necklaces.
The ads debuted in September 2002 featuring diamonds
and advertising copy on an all-black background. Each
advertisement consisted of two panels. One panel showed
a smaller diamond, the other showed the same design
with a larger diamond. Accompanying the photographs
were humorous catchphrases like "Thank you, Bob ...
Thank you, Lord."
The De Beers branded diamond
In 2002 and 2003, four De Beers-branded diamond stores were opened - one in London, and
three in Tokyo. The store openings and diamond branding was part of a De Beers joint
venture retail partnership with LVMH, the world's leading luxury brands holding company that
owns over 60 brands.
LVMH already owned several high-end fashion, leather goods, cosmetics, jewelry and watch
brands, including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, Christian Dior, and TAG Heuer. De Beers
already controlled the majority of the world's diamond rough production, but with new mines
being discovered in Canada and the rest of the world - many of which were not under the
dominion of a De Beers alliance - it was only a matter of time before De Beers' stranglehold
on rough diamond supply was eroded. The goal of the De Beers LVMH partnership was to
help De Beers shift its core business away from mining and marketing of rough diamonds to
the development of a retail brand bearing the powerful De Beers name.
Raise your right hand?
Constantly seeking new avenues to stimulate diamond
demand, the DTC, in September 2003, launched the
"Women of the World Raise Your Right Hand" print
campaign targeted at the evolved, affluent, fashion savvy
woman who has probably been married at some point,
previously received diamond jewelry, and needs no one's
permission to indulge herself. The target group for this
DTC campaign, women aged 35 to 64, is slightly older
than in other campaigns. Each advertisement features
four ring styles - modern vintage, contemporary, floral
and romantic - and a photo of a stylish woman who
exemplifies the target audience. The ad copy encourages
women to think of rings for their right hands as expressions of personal style for the
independent, worldly, assertive sides of their personalities.
Celebrate Her
The DTC's 2003 holiday campaign was themed "Celebrate
Her," designed to motivate men to purchase diamond
jewelry for their significant other. The campaign featured
solitaire, three stone and right hand diamond rings. The
DTC's research indicated that "He" was looking for a way
to show his significant other how much he valued their
relationship and everything she did for him. He was looking for a gift that demonstrated his
love for her.
Forever De Beers
Prior to the twentieth century, the proposal ritual in western tradition consisted of only two
stages: a man asked a woman (in person or in a letter) for her hand in marriage, then met
with her father to ask for his consent. The present day engagement proposal involving the
giving of a diamond ring has augmented the erstwhile tradition and is now firmly established
as a universal custom.
The inspired and brilliant marketing initiatives of one company, De Beers, and its talented
throng of publicists, marketers, and advertisers has forever changed the way we perceive and
value diamonds - symbols of esteem, wealth, luxury and above all, romance.
© Barry Kaplan. All Rights Reserved.