The De Beers Cartel and the Myth of Scarcity
Discover how a 19th-century diamond glut triggered a marketing masterpiece that manufactured artificial rarity and the engagement ring tradition.
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Diamonds are geologically more common than rubies or emeralds despite their higher market price.
De Beers established a single channel system to control ninety percent of global diamond production.
The two months salary rule was a marketing tactic designed to create social spending benchmarks.
The eternity ring was invented specifically to liquidate a surplus of small diamonds from Siberian mines.
De Beers rebranded diamonds as sentimental heirlooms to prevent a secondary resale market from forming.
Lab grown diamonds now challenge the industry by offering identical stones at ninety percent lower costs.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Rarity Illusion4 min
- 03The 1870 Glut and the Birth of the Cartel4 min
- 04N.W. Ayer and the Invention of 'Forever'4 min
- 05The Mechanics of Price Maintenance3 min
- 06The Reframe: Value as a Narrative Construct3 min
- 07Outro1 min
- Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?
- The history of diamond engagement rings | National Geographic
- How De Beers Changed the Diamond Market with One Simple Tagline
- American RadioWorks: With This Ring - The Diamond Mystique printable version
- The Diamond Myth - EX NIHILO Magazine
- Diamonds, De Beers, CSO
- Nothing is forever: The De Beers story
- Diamonds, De Beers, and the Death of Artificial Scarcity | A CFO Explains Diamonds - Run the Numbers - Podcast Episode - Podscan.fm
- Ernest Oppenheimer wrote the diamond industry's quiet rule in a private memo: the only way to raise a diamond's value is to make it scarce — meaning deliberately reduce how many reach the market - Silicon Canals
- How De Beers shifted our perception about Diamonds – MonteCarlo Times
- How the diamond engagement ring was invented – and sold around the world | Features | Al Jazeera
- Diamond History and Lore
- https://www.dmre.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=kTsuDj3GMDM%3D&portalid=0
- Our history – De Beers Group
- Markets: Continuity and Change in the International Diamond Market
- A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
- Creating an Engaging Tradition: N.W. Ayer & Son and De Beers' Advertising Campaigns in the United States from 1939 to 1952
- Differentiating Diamonds: Transforming Knowledge and the Accumulation of De Beers
- Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond? - 82.02
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