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7. December 2016

From the Valley of the Diamonds to the Top of the Engagement Ring

It is neither the rarest nor the most notable of gems ... And since our great Mother Earth has created so many other beautiful and rare gemstones, in all colours of the rainbow even, why is it that the classic white diamond is still is the only right choice when it comes to various jewellery and especially the engagement and wedding rings? The explanation comes in the shape of a dramatic story featuring both power, money, blood and manipulation.


We do not know for sure when the first diamonds were found, but ever since the first written records were made, the valuable and precious gems are mentioned in stories and fairy tales. In one of these more historical narratives (the stone tome of Theophrastus from 315 BC) the Diamond Valley is mentioned. Alexander the Great is supposed to have found it, during his invasion of India. This valley is mentioned several times through the centuries, both by the historian Pliny the Elder (in the 1st century), in 1001 Nights (around 850 AD), as well as in Marco Polo's travelogue (Year 1298).


Woodcut print depicting the legend of Sinbad the Sailor in Diamond the Valley, as described in the 1001 Arabian Nights.

 

It wasn’t until Vasco da Gama found the sea route to India around 1497-99, that the Europeans got to see actual diamonds with their own eyes. Until then they were mostly considered a bit of a mirage or an old wives tale. But the riches from the soil of India were about to gain momentum! The weird thing is that when we look at our marriage and wedding traditions today, they often have a religious origin. But there is no mention of neither diamonds nor diamond rings in the Bible, and so the jump from the Diamond the Valley to the woman's ring finger, must therefore be found elsewhere. In order to understand how the diamond has become such an important part of our jewellery tradition, especially when it comes to engagement and wedding rings, one needs to understand the reason why we use these kinds of uniting symbols.

We find wedding rings as far back as the old Roman Empire, several centuries ago. But legend tells us that even long before the Roman civilization was born; there were rituals which symbolically tied a woman and a man together. Back then, when we still lived in caves, it is said that the man tied a ribbon of braided grass around both the waist, ankle and wrist on his woman. This was done in the belief that thus he could tie her soul, disabling her ability to ever look into the direction of another man (bless him).

 


Come to think about it, these kinds of security measure characterize most of the history of marriage and engagement rings to come. In Roman times for instance women were expected to wear a gold ring when in public, showing that she belonged to a man, and was therefore his property. At home, however, she wore a simpler ring of iron, because it was cheaper, more robust and therefore able to withstand the wear and tear of the housework – it doesn't hurt to be a bit practical... ;-)

 

 


From Cupid's arrow to the riverbanks of the Orange River


Until about 150 years ago, diamonds were infinitely rare, and no ordinary person could hope to come even close to owning a diamond ring. The precious gem was reserved for the gods, kings and nobles. Therefore, in order to find the fabled connection between love and diamonds as we know it today, it into these exact circles that we now must venture. By the way: Besides being beautiful, diamonds are of course also tremendously sharp and are therefore put to use on the best scalpels of the pharmaceutical industry. And where did they get that brilliant idea? From the god of love, Cupid of cause!

 


It is said that Cupid dipped his arrowheads in diamonds, in order to better pierce the hearts of mankind. But Cupid's influence on the diamonds of today does not end here. Maybe you have heard mention of the famous "hearts and arrows" –diamonds? Well, if diamonds are cut absolutely perfectly, their facets shape hearts from one side and arrows from the other, seen through a special lens. How fitting for a gem crowning a ring which is all about love, which might be worth remembering if you find yourself in a situation of an impending proposal ...

 


But now we anticipate the course of events! Let us return to the story and get the nobles on the playing field. The first time in history where we encounter a written historical narrative which includes a diamond engagement ring is the engagement between Maximillian of Austria and Mary Burgundy on August 16th 1477. This couple became THE trendsetters to the European nobility, and THEN the demand for the glittering "gravel" skyrocketed. Unfortunately, at the time there were only a few known deposits of diamonds in the world (India), and here the finds were mostly more or less accidental. The rarity of the diamond back then can be difficult to comprehend today, but luckily there were also other engagement trends which still remained in force.

 

 

We speak of course about Claddagh rings. No…? Never heard of them? If you have Irish or American friends, you might ask if they know of the phenomenon. They will likely answer yes. The Claddagh ring was originally created as engagement and wedding ring, with the hands symbolizing friendship, the crown loyalty and the heart, of course, love. It didn’t need any diamond because the vast majority were just made of gold.

 

Claddagh ring in a Castens version: A combination of silver and gold, featuring an aquamarine and a small diamond


The idea of the two hands, which reach out towards each other, thus symbolizes a bond of some sort is old. These rings are called "fede rings” and originate from the Italian "Mani Fede" (hands of faith). The use of this sort of ring can be traced back to the old Roman Empire, where shaking hands was a strong symbol of making a promise (just like it is still is in Jutland today). In the middle Ages and the Renaissance these sorts of rings were therefore often used as wedding rings.

 
Claddagh ring were really popular in Ireland in the 1800s and they remain so today, especially among the descendants of the Irish immigrants in the United States, which proudly carry them as a symbol of their Irish roots. It is said that the workers who laboured through the ruins of the twin towers in New York after the heinous terrorist attacks of 9/11, found no less than 200 Claddagh rings!

 

 

However, by now the diamonds had achieved an unbreakable status as the ultimate expression of love for those (few) who could afford it. But it took a young man's quest for pretty stones before thereat of the world got to get their hands on the diamond treasures of Mother Earth. Erasmus Jacobs was 15 years old and living in Hope Town district along the Orange River. While he was one day looking for neat stone for his sister, he found a beautiful yellow stone, and although there had previously been quite a few other diamond finds by the local population in South Africa, this one is still considered to be the first official diamond find. The stone, which is better known as Eureka, still exists to this day. If you visit the diamond museum in Kimberly, South Africa you can see a replica. The original is on display for the chosen few at the Harry Oppenheimer House, where the raw diamonds are being sorted. The Kimberly mine, which became the result of Erasmus' findings, turned out to be one of the world's first and most productive diamond mines.

 


The Eureka diamond as it looks today. The cut is old - the so called "antique" or "old mine cut" with fewer facets than we use today and with the lowest tip gound off (seen as a small cirkle in the middle of the gem) Because of its history, the gem is almost priceless and it will probably never be recut

 

 

Gem of love? Rather cold cynicism


Within a few years several large diamond fields emerged, and suddenly ordinary people with non-royal budgets could get their hands on the glittering beauties. So why is it that when you think of marriage and engagement, then you probably also depict a diamond ring? The explanation can be found in one place: The De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. or The Diamond Company, as it is also called. In spite of all the traditions, legends and historical facts previously mentioned, it is a fact that before De Beers came along; there was no real tradition of engagement rings with diamonds. And how did one company manage to create such a worldwide tradition? Let’s take a look at De Beers.

It would be natural to think that the founder /-s of De Beers were named De Beers. But that name actually originates from the two brothers who probably missed out on the greatest profit in history, namely Johannes and Diederik De Beers. After a rather unsuccessful diamond-adventure, they decided to sell a large part of their South African plot of land to a just 18-year-old Englishman, Cecil Rohde. He chose to keep the name while he, within just a few years, created the world's leading diamond and mining company - De Beers.

 

A young Cecil Rohdes of just 18 years

 

Already during the first year Cecil both discovered the De Beers and the Kimberly mine on the purchased land plots - both were going to prove to be among the world's largest diamond mines. One can only speculate about the regrets of the two De Beers brothers ... It is a peculiar thought, that Cecil Rohde, a man you might never have heard about before, is the biggest reason why we today associate diamonds with exclusivity, love and becoming engaged.

 

Cecil in his heydays

 

Cecil himself was certainly no romantic nor considered just a nice man. He never married and had no children. Today there is speculation as to whether he actually HAD a secret love life with one or more of his male employees. But at the time it seems that the only thing that fcilled Cecil's heart was diamonds, power and money. And he obtained all three things in large quantities. He was the one who insisted in enforcing the image of diamonds as an absolute luxury item - as coveted as any drug.

 

 

Through brutal acquisitions, following the motto "Any man can be bought with money", Cecil in 1888 ensured each and every mine in South Africa. His two original mines now employed over 50,000 people together. De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. was created. The violent and often ruthless hunt for diamonds and new mines did certainly not make Cecil a popular man. But he was absolutely indifferent to this until his very last breath, which he drew when he was only 49 years old. He died alone and being one of the richest individuals in the 19th century. The torch was passed on to Ernest Oppenheim, whose family kept on running De Beers in the spirit of Cecil.

 


At this time - from 1900 to the 1930’s - De Beers controlled 95% of the world's diamond mines, and one can safely say that they had a luxury problem. The South African underground yielded so many diamonds that the prices of the otherwise precious stones tumbled down. It had to be stopped! But what could you do? They already controlled the world's supply of diamonds. The answer lay at the end of the long journey from the mines in South Africa, over the jewellers in the largest cities in the world until they were presented to the people who ultimately were paying for these gems. De Beers wanted to control the demand. The same single minded determination and cynicism which Cecil Rohde originally showcased, were now put to good use in the process of devising one of the most brilliant and comprehensive marketing campaigns of the 20th century - the campaign to connect true love with the eternal gems: the diamonds. And the crazy part is: No one discovered that it was all a grand marketing ploy...

 

 

Depression, diamonds and Santas

We have now arrived at the interwar period and are in the middle of the Great Depression. The unemployment lines are never ending, the food supply is insufficient and extravagant gestures are nowhere to be found. The last thing on peoples mind is to buy expensive diamond jewellery. The worldwide company De Beers, which for the past 70 years brutally had acquired something close to a monopoly within the extraction of the diamonds of the world, has a problem. At this time the company annually excavates several tons of diamonds in Africa, but the demand is sharply declining. In the 1920’s some jewellers had attempted to start a trend encouraging engagement rings for men, but the idea died very quickly again and so it was back to the drawing board.

In the late 1930s the typical diamond purchased within an engagement ring was small and of very poor quality, with an average price of 80$ (roughly 1000$ today). In those years De Beers actually shut down some of its mines and it is said that they stored tons of diamonds in an attempt to keep the price just slightly up, however without much luck. Harry Oppenheimer was now the head of De Beers, and he realized, that something must be done.

 

 

One of the issues was making the public understand the worth of one quality diamond over the other. The classification of diamonds is rather complex - they can be ordered into no less than 12-14000 categories. This was WAY too confusing and overwhelming to the consumer and so in 1939 GIA, who is the largest and most renowned gemmological institute of the world the famous 4 Cs: Carat, Cut, Clarity, and Colour.

 


The four measurements were going to make it much easier for the customers to feel like "experts" within diamonds, and made it possible to create a certain snob effect. Now it wasn’t just about buying any diamond, but about buying a diamond which was located high on the scale within each of the 4 Cs. The public fully committed to the idea, and the 4 C's spread like wildfire within the jewellery industry. To this day this concept is still the "metrics" by which we judge a diamond, and even very young women often know what the difference between a river and a pique diamond is (if you don’t, then fear not. You can find a crash course of the 4 C’s of diamond grading here)


However, this was still not enough to create any major demand and therefore spending by the war-affected population. De Beers therefore signed on a large advertising agency in Philadelphia and ask them to create a propaganda campaign - yes, that was what they unceremoniously called it back then - which could "create a situation where almost every person wishing to submit to a marriage vow, felt compelled to buying a diamond engagement ring. " The name of the agency was N. W. Ayer and they went to the task with gusto, creating what must be one of the world's first product-placement campaigns.

 


In a large collaboration with the movie companies in Hollywood, diamond engagement rings suddenly appeared on film. De Beers supplied the jewellery and the studios clad their beautiful starlets in lots of diamonds, both at opening nights and "on screen". Mentions of the many jewels were bought in the tabloids, and engagement sessions with well-known stars were arranged, featuring the gentleman asking for the hand of his special someone with a diamond ring.

 


But it didn’t stop there. De Beers also paid for what they called "educational visits" at various High Schools, where the young people were indoctrinated into a belief that a diamond engagement ring was the "traditional" and only true way to declare his love. The piece de resistance was created in 1947, when Frances Gerety wrote the slogan "A Diamond is Forever". She carried on creating campaigns for De Beers for nearly 25 years and the tagline has followed De Beers ever since being voted the best slogan of the 20th century. The slogan has been used in songs, on film, in art and in all of De Beers' campaigns. But most importantly for De Beers: It worked.

 


However in the summer of 2016 De Beers chose to launch a new slogan with a corresponding campaign, aimed at the new target group - The Millenials: "Real is Rare. Real is a diamond. ”The judges are still out on weather this is a good idea or not, but it is in any case clear that the company is trying to reach an audience with different values than its predecessors. Time will tell if it works

 

 

But back to the historical facts: At the end of WW2 approximately 10% of all engagement rings held diamonds in. By the end of 2000, this figure had risen to almost 80%! The effects which the De Beers campaign has had on our engagement tradition, is only surpassed by the influence of Coca Cola's campaign on Christmas from the same period. Because like diamonds were turned into be a natural part of the engagement rings, Santa Claus was changed into being a big smiling, white-bearded man, dressed in red. This - now global - tradition was actually first founded through the Christmas campaign from 1931 by Coca Cola. And like Coca Cola dressed Santa Clause in his good spirits and red apparel, so did De Beers make diamonds and love inseparable.

 


When we create both engagement and wedding rings at Castens, we draw on all the traditions of this tale. To us many things can symbolize the love between two people. A special shape, a specific surface or a particular symbol can be as meaningful as a wonderful gemstone such as the diamond. The story of how they Beers has deceived the world into preferring diamonds when great love was to be declared, does not change the fact that a diamond with its durability and beauty is the perfect symbol of enduring love. Although the jewellery we create perhaps merely provides some wonderful spice in life, nothing beats seeing the light in a man's eyes, when he picks up the ring which is symbolizing his desire for a brilliant future with his one and only.

 

 

 

Read an interesting article about when where and how we like to pop the big question

Tags: diamonds, engagement ring, gems





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