Words: Tom Ward
The modern diamond industry has been called “the greatest scam of all time.” Others see it as one of marketing’s biggest successes. Famously explored by journalist Edward Jay Epstein in his Atlantic story, Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond?, Epstein traced the origin of our global diamond market (worth about $79 billion globally in 2019) to the discovery of huge South African diamond mines which flooded the market, thereby lowering the price of the precious stones, in the late 19th century.
Long-story short, this market saturation led to the creation of De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. (now De Beers), to control supply in 1888. But the part we’re interested in didn’t begin until 1938 when Harry Oppenheimer, the De Beers founder’s son, recruited the New York–based ad agency N.W. Ayer to help persuade the American public that a diamond was the only stone synonymous with romance and that the size of said stone did very much matter.
Thus began the greatest myth in retail history. The truth being that if you think investing in a large rock for your partner’s finger/ wrist/ necklace demonstrates the depth of your affection, well, you’re eating right out of Oppenheimer’s hands.
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