Truth is diamonds are NOT rare … Corporate greed has made them rare

The Diamond Empire

History of Diamonds

Today I Found Out..

The Truth About Diamonds

For generations, the diamond engagement ring has been held up as the ultimate symbol of love and commitment – a timeless tradition deeply woven into the fabric of romantic gestures. However, as the accompanying video starkly illustrates, this cherished ritual is anything but natural. It is, in fact, a meticulously crafted illusion, engineered and perpetuated by the De Beers Diamond Corporation for nearly a century.

Before the 1930s, the video reveals, exchanging diamond rings upon engagement was not a widespread custom. People might propose with a simple token, or simply a verbal agreement. But in 1938, De Beers launched an aggressive and insidious advertising campaign designed to embed the diamond as the indispensable emblem of true love. Their messaging cleverly equated a man’s love and commitment directly with the size and expense of the diamond he purchased. This psychological manipulation was so profound that it created a societal expectation out of thin air.

One of the most enduring myths propagated by De Beers was the “two months’ salary” rule for an engagement ring. As the video highlights, this was never a cultural norm but an arbitrary number invented purely to increase sales, even escalating from an initial “one month’s salary” when profits dipped. This fabricated benchmark forced countless individuals into significant debt, buying into a narrative that directly benefited the diamond cartel.

Beyond the manufactured demand, the video underscores a crucial truth often overlooked: diamonds are intrinsically worthless. De Beers’ own former chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer, is quoted admitting this directly. The perceived value of diamonds isn’t due to their rarity – they are, in fact, quite common. Instead, their inflated price stems from De Beers’ historical near-monopoly on global diamond mining. By artificially restricting the supply, De Beers could dictate prices, ensuring their profits remained astronomically high.

This market manipulation has a direct consequence for consumers: diamonds have virtually no resale value. The popular slogan “a diamond is forever” takes on a darker meaning in this context. It’s not just about everlasting love; it’s about ensuring that once a diamond is purchased, it remains in circulation and out of the resale market, preventing buyers from discovering how little their “investment” is truly worth. The video’s concluding point is perhaps the most unsettling: even armed with this knowledge, the deeply ingrained cultural expectation makes it incredibly difficult for individuals to opt out of the diamond engagement ring tradition without facing social pressure or risking their relationship. This highlights the immense power of corporate marketing in shaping societal norms and extracting billions from consumers for a product whose perceived value is entirely artificial.