Diamonds are Worthless

nostrich:

I think the De Beers monopoly is well known, but I had no idea the value and emotional importance of diamonds was completely invented by an ad agency hired by De Beers.

Also interesting here is the aspect of marketing diamonds as “forever” to ensure the public don’t go selling them and diluting the market, driving the cost of diamonds down. The public holds over 500 million carats of diamonds, according to this.

Mind: blown.

Worth noting, too, that this was published in 1982. I have no idea what the diamond industry is like today.

Long read, but worth it.