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Proposing to your partner is done with a diamond engagement ring. That is just the way it is. And yet for the longest time, diamonds were seen as luxury products, set aside for only the richest of the rich. How did this view change? Which marketing strategy ensured that diamonds and engagement rings are inseparably connected?

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Why did the diamond industry need a boost?

In the Thirties, the United States and a large part of Europe were in an economic crisis as a result of the stock market crash in 1929. On the one hand, this crash was the result of a post-war overproduction in the agriculture industry in the Twenties. On the other hand, it was due to the increasing mechanisation of industry as a whole. Naturally, diamond sales were in a downward trend during that period.

Future brides preferred a laundry machine or a new car over a diamond engagement ring. Diamond giant De Beers had to look for a new angle to boost its diamond sales.

Which marketing agency popularised the diamond engagement ring?

De Beers tapped on the shoulder of marketing agency N.W. Ayer & Son. Based on exhaustive consumer research, the agency concluded that De Beers needed sentiment, for both their product and their advertisement. An emotional value of a diamond was a competitive edge that no other product could claim or challenge.

That is why N.W. Ayer & Son proposed an ambitious goal: creating a situation in which almost everyone who proposes feels forced to consolidate it with a diamond engagement ring.

Which timeless campaign realised the objective of De Beers?

Frances Gerety, the copywriter for De Beers, wrote monthly letters to newspapers in which she described diamond jewellery worn by Hollywood stars. In 1947, Frances came up with the slogan ‘A diamond is forever’ and added it to the picture of a diamond engagement ring.

Ever since the launch of this campaign, every American woman has wanted a diamond engagement ring. So of course, De Beers never stopped using the slogan.

Are you still looking for a diamond engagement ring? Discover the wide range of engagement rings from BAUNAT or contact our experts for extra advice.
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Stephanie Hesters