DIAMONDS OR

DEBT: THE COST

OF “FOREVER”

AAA Jewelers

601 South State Street, Salt Lake

City, UT 84111

(801) 359-2035

There was a time when marriage didn’t mean diamond rings. It was 1940 when De Beers,

the world’s largest diamond producer, made the connection between diamonds and

romance in a series of aggressive marketing efforts. Seven years later, they created the

slogan, “A Diamond Is Forever,” teaching the next American generation to love, swoon

over, and worship diamonds.

As if by perfect timing, this was also the period in American economic history when

people were becoming wealthier. Two things happened then: more people started buying

diamond engagement rings and the previous generation of wedded couples started

getting much older, passing down their diamond rings and precious gems to the younger

generation.

Economics and Generation Gaps

1940 was many decades ago. It is

the 21st century now, and America is

far from where it was then. Studies

today prove that younger couples are

reluctant about spending half of their

savings on a rock. This generation

knows what De Beers and diamonds are

all about, but they are not the type to

spend two months’ salary for the ring.

A former diamond salesman says that over the last few years, he saw a 50% increase in

queries regarding family heirlooms or hand-me-down jewels. More young couples are

considering this option and turning to the family jewelry box. This generation is waist-

deep in student-loan debts and is facing poverty and unemployment more than two or

three of the previous generations combined.

What Marriage is Not

Would-be grooms face the accumulated hard-boiled pressure of the famed slogan

and society telling him that he is supposed to buy one, not ask for a free one. There are

whispers telling the man the big buck purchase is a long-term investment. But really,

which one is? The ring or the marriage? Since when did people start measuring a

marriage by the total cost and not the sincerity of the union?

Fortunately, millennials are less easily swayed by excellent advertising and

marketing from diamond producers. Especially for couples who share a home and the

bills that come with it, the idea of the man buying an absurdly expensive piece of jewelry

is viewed as antiquated, and in selected undertones, also anti-feminist.

It’s not just that which comes out of the box that’s precious. Grandma’s diamond is

also “forever”. Those without access to the family’s heirlooms can instead explore the

booming antique-jewelry market. You get unique designs in cheaper prices. Some

jewelers even buy old-cut stones for less and sell them for even less. Besides, and also

truthfully, it’s the marriage that’s supposed to last forever.

\

RESOURCES:

http://www.aaajewelryutah.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/fashion/weddings/with-grandmas-ring-i-thee-

wed.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/fashion/weddings/how-americans-learned-to-love-

diamonds.html

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/