How the diamond engagement ring was invented – and sold around the world

For decades, men successful galore countries were expected to walk 2 oregon adjacent 3 months’ wage connected a diamond engagement ring. This conception – and the iconic presumption of this gem – did not travel astir by accident.

The communicative goes backmost to 1870, erstwhile an Oxford University dropout named Cecil Rhodes acceptable disconnected to effort his luck successful the Cape Colony – modern-day South Africa, past a cardinal British domain.

Seeing the burgeoning diamond mining assemblage there, helium began renting h2o pumps to diamond prospectors to forestall flooding of the mines. Then, implicit the adjacent 20 years, Rhodes and his spouse Charles Rudd proceeded to bargain retired hundreds, and past thousands, of tiny mines and “claims” – landholdings believed to incorporate diamonds – often for a pittance erstwhile their owners faced bankruptcy. Most miners were tiny operators, and Rhodes and Rudd had entree to superior fiscal superior – notably the Rothschild banking empire – done their connections successful London. As the 2 partners combined claims into larger mining units, overhead costs were reduced, and operations became much profitable.

The partners incorporated arsenic De Beers Consolidated Mines, De Beers being the sanction of 1 of the mines they took over. By 1888, the institution had a near-monopoly of South African claims and progressive diamond mines. With diamonds making up much than 25 percent of South African exports successful 1900, De Beers became a powerhouse of the country’s economy, controlling immoderate 90 percent of the world’s full diamond supply. Rhodes himself became a starring imperial figure, serving arsenic premier curate of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.

De Beers was founded upon the racist policies of South Africa, which astatine the clip was ruled by a achromatic minority. The diamonds were extracted by Black miners earning subsistence wages, portion De Beers’s white, European-origin shareholders enjoyed the profits.

Following Rhodes’s decease successful 1902, power of De Beers yet passed to German-born entrepreneur Ernest Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer utilized a operation of fiscal incentives, strategical pressure, and diplomacy to transportation diamond suppliers successful different countries to merchantability exclusively done the London-based and De Beers-owned “Central Selling Organization” (CSO), which successful the 1930s became the unified income transmission for virtually each the world’s pre-cut diamonds. This enabled De Beers to stockpile diamonds, strictly power the merchandise of stones to the planetary market, and efficaciously power prices – thereby creating an illusion of diamond scarcity worldwide.

Meanwhile, De Beers sought to heighten planetary request for diamonds. In 1946, the institution hired NW Ayer, a Philadelphia-based advertizing agency, which 1 twelvemonth aboriginal came up with the legendary slogan, “A diamond is forever”. This reframed the diamond and, specifically, the diamond engagement ring, arsenic a awesome of “eternal love”. Through wide advertising, merchandise placements successful films, and personage PR – for example, lending jewellery to actors for large events – the run transformed the diamond marketplace successful the US, Europe and Japan.

Lasting 64 years, until 2011, this run was an astounding planetary success, with Ad Age mag naming “A diamond is forever” arsenic the apical advertisement slogan of the 20th century. De Beers had manufactured a societal norm, with the diamond engagement ringing becoming astir mandatory successful each developed market. While previously, a fiance mightiness springiness a locket, a drawstring of pearls, oregon a household heirloom to his intended, the fig of American brides with a diamond ringing climbed from 10 percent successful 1940 to immoderate 80 percent successful 1980. In Japan, this fig roseate from little than 5 percent successful 1960 to 60 percent by 1981.

By the aboriginal 1950s, a diamond ringing typically outgo astir $170 – astir $2,300 successful today’s money. De Beers advertisements initially suggested spending 1 month’s wage connected an engagement ring, but by the 1980s, they were posing the question: “How tin you marque 2 months’ wage past forever?” Consumers appeared undeterred by the information that a diamond’s resale worth was typically conscionable 50 percent of its archetypal retail terms (in opposition to gold, which has an “official” benchmark terms acceptable twice-daily).

By the clip Marilyn Monroe sang “Diamonds are a girl’s champion friend” successful 1953 and the James Bond movie “Diamonds Are Forever” was released successful 1971, the diamond had go an icon.

The Kimberley diamond mines successful South Africa, to which thousands flocked successful the 1870s aft the find of diamonds connected the adjacent De Beers workplace [Gray Marrets/Getty Images]

‘Cartel behaviour’

By the precocious 1970s, De Beers was annually distributing immoderate 50 cardinal diamond carats, with income of much than $2bn successful the US alone.

But arsenic the 1980s rolled around, problems started to look for the company.

De Beers came nether expanding scrutiny arsenic the anti-apartheid question gained momentum successful Europe and the United States. Reports of its moving conditions were shocking: debased wage for mineworkers, minimum information grooming and crowded dormitory lodging surrounded by barbed ligament and information checkpoints. This antagonistic publicity enactment De Beers firmly successful the spotlight arsenic 1 of the premier beneficiaries of apartheid.

De Beers had already fought disconnected allegations of “cartel behaviour” from the US Department of Justice. But successful 1994, the institution was indicted by a US expansive assemblage connected price-fixing charges. The institution was barred from doing concern successful the US, wherever its executives could nary longer acceptable ft for fearfulness of arrest.

In the precocious 1990s, reports that the diamond commercialized was financing brutal civilian wars successful Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo further soured user sentiment.

Rebel groups targeted “alluvial” diamond mines – comparatively easy-to-extract aboveground deposits, often successful riverbeds – selling stones into the informal “grey” marketplace and utilizing the profits to bargain weapons. The operation “blood diamonds” entered the lexicon arsenic investigative articles depicted enslaved children with pickaxes and shovels. De Beers was accused of turning a unsighted eye, if not outright complicity. The company’s income declined much than 20 percent successful 2 years, from astir $5.7bn successful 1999 to $4.45bn successful 2001, with different diamond suppliers specified arsenic Angola’s Endiama and Russia’s Alrosa arsenic affected.

But since the aboriginal 1990s, changes had been afoot astatine De Beers. Facing unit from South Africa’s recently elected African National Congress (ANC), it had introduced amended conditions and wages for its chiefly Black mineworkers. At the aforesaid time, Black South Africans besides began to inhabit immoderate absorption roles.

Meanwhile, the US indictment meant the institution had nary prime but to terminate its CSO successful 2000, ushering successful contention from different producers. Diamond prices, nary longer acceptable and dictated by the CSO, became much volatile, taxable to fluctuating demand, economical cycles, and geopolitical conditions.

To antagonistic the humor diamond backlash, De Beers helped instrumentality the “Kimberley Process” successful 2003, done which diamond dealers tin hint the root of diamonds and authenticate “clean’’ diamonds with a microscopic stamp.

A salesperson shows a diamond ringing to a prospective purchaser astatine a jewellery store successful Ahmedabad, India, connected April 14, 2025 [Ajit Solanki/AP Photo]

Not forever?

Today, earthy diamonds whitethorn person mislaid immoderate of their allure with the emergence of “lab-grown” stones and “diamond simulants” specified arsenic cubic zirconia, which are up to 90 percent cheaper than the mined assortment and often distinguishable from the existent happening lone by experts utilizing specialised equipment.

Over the past 2 years, the diamond manufacture has been deed by a “perfect storm” of cheaper synthetic stones, anemic user request successful the US and China, sanctions against Russia and, much recently, precocious US tariffs. This has had a wide adverse impact: the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported that unsmooth diamond imports dropped 35 percent successful 2024, with wide commercialized declining by 25 percent year-on-year (from $32.5bn to $24.4bn) – and successful the Indian gem processing hub of Surat, astatine slightest 50,000 diamond workers were rendered jobless successful 2024. At slightest 80 diamond workers successful India person died by suicide successful the past 2 years.

In 2011, the Oppenheimer household sold its involvement successful De Beers to the London-based mining corp Anglo American, different large shareholder, for conscionable implicit $5bn. De Beers is present erstwhile much up for sale, again with a $5bn terms tag, arsenic Anglo American seeks to exit the declining diamond marketplace successful favour of copper, robust ore and uncommon world minerals.

Despite the volatile marketplace conditions, full planetary user diamond income were valued astatine astir $100bn successful 2024, with the mean terms of $6,750 for a diamond ringing successful the US, according to the Natural Diamond Council – astir 1.3 months’ modular wage successful the United States, but astir 8 months’ worthy of the planetary median income. For those of greater means, London’s Harrods reportedly has a 228.31 carat, pear-shaped diamond disposable to presumption by backstage assignment – with a terms estimated to beryllium successful excess of $30m.

This nonfiction is portion of “Ordinary items, bonzer stories”, a bid astir the astonishing stories down well-known items. 

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