Are Engagement Rings a Scam? De Beers and the Real Diamond History

Facebook ↗WhatsApp ↗
0 0 Edit this post
CollegeHumor’s Case Against Engagement Rings, and the Facts Behind It

Are diamond engagement rings a scam? Not exactly, but the idea that a proposal needs a diamond, and that it should cost a set number of months’ pay, was shaped far more by twentieth-century advertising than by ancient tradition. That is the argument of a short CollegeHumor video from the series Adam Ruins Everything, in which comedian Adam Conover walks a stunned couple through the marketing history of the diamond ring.

The video is funny and deliberately provocative, and it contains some coarse language and adult jokes. Its core claims, though, are well documented. Below you can watch it, then read what the history actually shows, where the video simplifies, and what this means if you are choosing a ring today.

The video: Adam Conover on engagement rings

Adam Ruins Everything began as a CollegeHumor web series and became a television show on truTV, which ran from September 2015 to October 2019. Conover has said the series grew out of a stand-up routine inspired by Edward Jay Epstein’s 1982 article in The Atlantic about how De Beers marketed diamonds. The engagement-ring sketch is the most famous result of that bit, and it spread widely online in late 2015.

Note: the video contains coarse language and some mature humour.

How De Beers turned diamonds into a symbol of love

Rings as a sign of betrothal are genuinely old. Roman brides were sometimes given rings, and the first well-documented diamond engagement ring was given in 1477 by Archduke Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy. For centuries afterwards, though, diamond rings were a luxury of the very rich.

The modern custom is much younger. Before the Second World War, only around 10% of American engagement rings contained a diamond. The diamond trade was dominated by De Beers, which controlled most of the world’s rough supply, and demand had collapsed during the Great Depression. In 1938 the company hired the advertising agency N. W. Ayer to change that.

The campaign that followed was one of the most successful in advertising history. It placed diamonds in films and magazine stories, taught the public about the “4 Cs” of cut, colour, clarity and carat, and in 1947 introduced the line “A Diamond Is Forever”, written by copywriter Frances Gerety. The slogan did two jobs at once: it linked the stone to eternal love, and it quietly discouraged people from ever reselling one. US diamond sales reportedly rose from $23 million in 1939 to $2.1 billion by 1979.

The famous spending rule came from the same source. In the 1930s De Beers advertising suggested a ring should cost about one month’s salary. By the 1980s the suggestion had become two months’ pay, and in Japan, where the company ran a similar campaign, three months.

Where the video is right, and where it simplifies

Right: the tradition was manufactured. The near-universal expectation of a diamond in the United States, and later in Japan, followed a deliberate marketing strategy. That is not a conspiracy theory; it is the documented history of the campaign.

Right: diamonds are a poor investment. Jewellers typically buy back used stones well below retail price, sales tax is lost on purchase, and there is no standardised exchange where an ordinary owner can sell. For stones of half a carat and up, a recycled diamond is indistinguishable from a newly mined one, which is exactly why the trade never wanted a large second-hand market.

Simplified: “diamonds are not rare”. Gem-quality diamonds are less rare than their price once suggested, and De Beers did manage supply to support prices. But the cartel era is over: its control was dismantled around 2001, and today rough diamonds are sold through a more fragmented market of producers and auctions.

Debated: the “breach of promise” theory. The video also mentions an academic idea from legal scholar Margaret Brinig, who linked the rise of diamond rings to the decline of “breach of promise” laws, which had let a jilted woman sue her former fiancé. Without that protection, the theory goes, an expensive ring acted as a kind of financial security. It is an interesting explanation, but it is one researcher’s argument rather than settled fact.

What has changed since the video went viral

The diamond market looks very different today. Laboratory-grown diamonds are chemically the same as mined ones and can only be told apart with specialised equipment. As production has sped up, their prices have fallen dramatically: by early 2025, lab-grown diamond prices were down about 74% since 2020, while prices for natural stones in shops had fallen around 26%.

De Beers itself has felt the pressure. The company started 2024 with roughly $2 billion of unsold inventory, cut production, and its majority owner Anglo American was reported to be seeking a sale.

Spending habits are also more varied than the “two months’ salary” rule suggests. One 2015 study found that almost a quarter of couples did not buy an engagement ring at all, about a third spent less than $2,000, and fewer than 15% spent $4,000 or more.

Choosing a ring without the marketing

None of this means you should not buy a diamond, or that people who love theirs were fooled. A ring can be a meaningful symbol whatever stone it holds. The point of knowing the history is to make a free choice rather than one set by an old ad campaign.

Set your own budget. There is no rule about months of salary. Spend an amount that will not put stress on the first years of your life together.

Consider the alternatives. Lab-grown diamonds, moissanite, sapphires and other gemstones, vintage or family rings and plain bands are all popular choices.

Do not buy it as an investment. Assume you would get back only a fraction of the price if you ever sold it, and buy for enjoyment.

Ask about origin. If you choose a mined stone, ask the jeweller about its source and certification.

Talk about it together. Many couples now choose the ring jointly, which removes the guesswork and the pressure.

Sources: Wikipedia: Engagement ring; Wikipedia: Diamonds as an investment; Wikipedia: Adam Ruins Everything; Films For Action: video share; CollegeHumor, Adam Ruins Everything video on YouTube.

Related:

Labels:

Facebook ↗WhatsApp ↗

COMMENTS

BLOGGER