Engagement Rings

DeBeers and Diamond Engagement Rings

In the mid eighteen hundreds, diamond mining was undergoing a huge revolution. Previously, the hard and dangerous work was done entirely by hand, but the advent of industrialized mining changed the place of the diamond. You see, previously, the diamond supply came mostly from India. But soon new deposits were cropping up everywhere. By the latter half of the century, the stone was considered relatively worthless, so many were pouring into the market.

Enter Francis Gerety, a young copy writer working for N. W. Ayer & Son. It is she who coined the ad slogan “Diamonds are forever,” which revolutionized the way diamonds were marketed. DeBeers, already possessing a near complete monopoly on the diamond production, had found the perfect way to market their good. That's how the diamond engagement ring became the symbol of fine jewelry of romance. Without this soon-to-be well-known slogan, it's very probable that some other gemstone or stones would occupy this place of prominence in our lives.

DeBeers continued to nurture the perception of diamonds as the ultimate symbol of everlasting love and continued to innovate diamond marketing. They are responsible for many of the most famous diamond jewelry standards, not just diamond engagement rings. They came up with the right-hand rings, worn by women to show independence from marriage, but also the trilogy rings, which feature three diamonds to symbolize past, present, and future. Truly, without these marketing titans, how we go about courting might be incredibly different!